Tailgate rust - 1999 E300TD Estate

[charlie avis]

i have had the above from new. I have rust bubbling up around the release handle on the tailgate which is strange for a car of only 3+ years. The handle itself is also covered and protected so i suspect the rust is coming from inside the tailgate panel. I suspect a leak at the window seal or surrounding the tailgate windscreen wiper. has anyone experienced this type of problem before?

 

[simon]

Tailgate rust

Its a known defect on this model.
Ernmest Sidesman

 

[BenH]

Tailgate rust

...and on my '95 W210 E saloon, plus several others that I've seen.

I also had rust under the door seal along the top of the window frame on the front passenger door. I could only see most of it by peeling back the rubber. Worth checking out on your cars before it becomes noticeable.

If you're after any help with a metallic-paint repair, Charlie, I might be able to give you some tips. I'm no expert, but after three attempts at the boot lid rust repair, I had a bit of practice!

 

[Dunk]

Tailgate rust

Although not directly relevant I experienced rusting around the lock on the boot of my 1996 E320 Avantgarde saloon about 18 months ago - apparently this is not an unknown fault.  After "discussions" with my nearest main dealer, Mercedes agreed to fit a new boot lid etc providing I contributed 50% of the labour. It may be worth a try.

 

[Spike]

Tailgate rust

Ben,

Please do tell us if you have any tricks about metalic paint repair.

I am thinking of doing a rust spot repair on the bootlid of my 1991 CE and *any* advice would be appreciated.

 

[BenH]

Tailgate rust

Spike, I'm not professing to be an expert, and take my advice with a pinch of salt, but there are a couple of things that I learnt when I painted around my boot lock.

- When you buy the touch-up kit from MB you get the colour plus the laquer. This kit is OK for stone chips, but for larger areas you need an aerosol laquer. Check before buying the laquer - acrylic will go over anything, but cellulose will only work over cellulose paint.
- Scratch off *all* loose paint from around the rusty bit, plus a small margin of good paint. Take care not to scratch the surface of the good paint. A sharp screwdriver was good for me. Be brutal, or you'll end up doing all this again. I did!
- Rub down the rust with emery paper, and kill all remaining traces with a rust gel. Wipe the new clean bright metal surface with a clean cellulose-dunked cloth.
- Paint the bare metal with a couple of coats of red oxide paint. I used a modeller's brush, which was ideal. You'll be painting up to the hard edge of the paint around the area that you cleared. You *don't* need to fill the depth of the original paint + laquer using the red oxide plus the metallic colour. (See later steps.)
- Get some fine emery paper to smooth down the last coat of red oxide. My paper was 1200 grit, which was OK for this bit.
- Paint the metallic colour onto the red oxide, again using the hard edge of the original paint as your guide. You can remove any overpaint with a dab of cellulose thinners on a cloth, but make sure it's done carefully or you'll leave fur in the paint! (I did, the first time!)
- Leave the metallic colour paint to dry and harden for at least a day. Once it's hard, you can rub it down to provide a key for the laquer. At this stage you can also rub down the level of the surrounding paint + laquer until it's the same level as the bare colour paint. This way, your sprayed-on laquer won't be covering a step in the paint level - just a smooth surface. Don't worry about rubbing scratches into the original laquer surface provided you use a good paper, and it's *very* fine (1500 grit), the new layer of sprayed laquer will fill the scratches and look perfect.
- *Gently* wipe down the whole area with cellulose thinners *once* to get rid of dust and clean it. If you wipe it more than once, or too roughly, you'll wipe off a layer of your new metallic coat, exposing the red oxide below. I screwed this up twice. Dummy!
- Mask the original bodywork at least four inches from the repair all round, then spray the laquer on in *very* short bursts, light coats and quickly. Concentrate on the repair - the area of partial spray will be fine once it's dried, with a bit of T-Cut and some rubbing. That will blend the new laquer into the old.

That's all the suggestions I can give. I'm pretty pleased with the two repairs I've done. The boot lock repair is obvious if you're looking in the right light, but you wouldn't notice it if you weren't searching for it. My repair is about 1/2 an inch wide, round a crescent about 3/4 of the circumference of the lock, which is a big area to do with a touch-up stick, and I'm pretty happy.

I'm sure someone with more experience would do it differently, and perhaps use an aerosol of colour paint instead of the stick, but this is good enough for me without limitless funds!

Hope this helps.
Ben

PS. Dunk - well done for the successful 'negotiation' of your new boot lid. My dealer had to surpress laughter when I approached them with my request!

 

[Spike]

Tailgate rust

Thankyou Ben,

I think I have grasped the consept now. It certainly inspires me with a little more confidence. I guess the real secret is just to take your time over things and not to rush.

One thing though is where to get the materials. I dont suppose they would have things like cellulose at Halfords or the like.

Can you reconmmend somewhere ..or at least point me in the right direction of the kind of shop that would sell this stuff.





(Edited by Spike at 10:08 am on Sep. 3, 2002)

 

[BenH]

Tailgate rust

Well, for acrylic laquer (which is probably the more common) you can go to Halfords, or your local friendly (and cheaper) motor factor. Get the touch-up from your MB dealer - they had to order mine.

You ought to be able to find 1500 grit emery paper at the motor factor too. I don't think Halfords stock it. If you can't find it, ask at a body shop where they get theirs, or even if they'll sell you some.

Taking your time is probably the best thing you can do. Each of my two repairs were spread over about 3 days as I waited for all the various coats of paint to dry (and as I repaired my cock-ups). My rust spots were serious - metal was disappearing!

Good luck.
Ben

PS. Remember that *anything* you do that stops the rust is better than doing nothing at all! Even if it doesn't look perfect, at least your car ain't rusty any more.