W210 Query

[Johnowat]

Hi Everyone

Just wondering if anyone had any advice on what has happened on my W210 98 E280 class merc.

As you can see from the below images something has leaked from my wing mirror and has left this rather un attractive mark down the side of the car. It seems to have come from fluid which is inside the mirror, has anyone seen anything like this before???

IMG]http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p117/johnowatkins/Image090.jpg[/IMG]

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated

Thanks

Johno

 

[MIW615]

Hi Everyone

Just wondering if anyone had any advice on what has happened on my W210 98 E280 class merc.

As you can see from the below images something has leaked from my wing mirror and has left this rather un attractive mark down the side of the car. It seems to have come from fluid which is inside the mirror, has anyone seen anything like this before???

IMG]http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p117/johnowatkins/Image090.jpg[/IMG]

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated

Thanks

Johno

Yep, i guess it's the driver's side mirror - it's the fluid that is inside the glass that gives you the auto dimming - mine did the same thing, a new glass is required, I tried secondhand, e-bay, but ended up buying from Mercedes - £190.00 if I recall correctly

 

[Blobcat]

What has happened is that the photo-electrical chemical inside the mirror that automatically dims the mirror has leaked out and stained the paint. I've seen this before and respray the door was the fix.

 

[Blobcat]

Yep, i guess it's the driver's side mirror - it's the fluid that is inside the glass that gives you the auto dimming - mine did the same thing, a new glass is required, I tried secondhand, e-bay, but ended up buying from Mercedes - £190.00 if I recall correctly

Used to be £150 + vat from MB if you want the heated/dimming mirror. Although you may find Dronsfields/Mercman have a few second hand ones. Alternatively you could replace with a normal mirror glass.

 

[MIW615]

Used to be £150 + vat from MB if you want the heated/dimming mirror. Although you may find Dronsfields/Mercman have a few second hand ones. Alternatively you could replace with a normal mirror glass.

I wanted to keep the car original, apart from the problem mentioned above the auto dimming / heating works well.

If you want to take a cheap option Halfords will supply a "stick-on" glass that will fit for about £12.00

 

[Johnowat]

thanks all for the replys and I have just taken the car down to the car wash and that stuff has bled into the paint and not coming off Any cheaper alternatives than a respray?

 

[MIW615]

thanks all for the replys and I have just taken the car down to the car wash and that stuff has bled into the paint and not coming off Any cheaper alternatives than a respray?

Take the car to a paint / bodyshop, depending how much it has penetrated they may be able to sort - failing that it's a paint job

 

[Johnowat]

Ha just to make matters worse spoke to Mercedes Benz in Stourbridge and they quoted me £202 for the lens and £46 for the casing and have been told that if I need a respray that they will have to do the wings and back door so it blends in which they reckon will cost me £500 upwards. So for no apparent reason I need to spend in the excess of £800 Not a good day

 

[television]

John, you do not need to spend that much, there are some very good coach builders around that work for a fraction of that, I see that you are based near Birmingham, maybe some one could recommend a good coach works

 

[jibcl500]

Johno

where are you in the uk, I have some special body shop polishes that may remove that stain.

jib

 

[mister_cee333]

Re - paint job...

Try T-Cut.

If that doesn't work then try to find a trade motor factor's, one which does paint supplies etc. Buy a tin or tube of Farecla G3 Rubbing Compound. (also on ebay). It's like T-Cut but a bit stronger. Apply with a damp/wet cloth in a circular motion, then polish off with a dry cloth. You might find it sharpens the car colour drastically so you might end up doing more than the stained area.

If that doesn't shift it then rub the paintwork down with a fine grade (like 1600 grade) wet and dry sandpaper. Use plenty water, work with a wet sponge squeezing water down over the working area at all times. Obviously don't rub too hard or for too long or you will rub through the paint or lacquer. Once all the staining has gone, then apply the G3 rubbing compound as above. This will bring the shine back.

The above steps have never failed to work for me.

There have been some new paint specifications so hopefully someone else will confirm that this won't harm your particular spec. But at the end of the day if your only option is to re-spray it then you have nothing to lose by trying this first.

BTW it will take about half an hour.

 

[Johnowat]

Thanks Guys for the advice I will give it a go at the weekend I live in Worcester and I could swap some Lea & Perrins sauce for you kind gesture of polishes jibcl500

Thanks again

 

[Blobcat]

Re - paint job...

Try T-Cut.

If that doesn't work then try to find a trade motor factor's, one which does paint supplies etc. Buy a tin or tube of Farecla G3 Rubbing Compound. (also on ebay). It's like T-Cut but a bit stronger. Apply with a damp/wet cloth in a circular motion, then polish off with a dry cloth. You might find it sharpens the car colour drastically so you might end up doing more than the stained area.

If that doesn't shift it then rub the paintwork down with a fine grade (like 1600 grade) wet and dry sandpaper. Use plenty water, work with a wet sponge squeezing water down over the working area at all times. Obviously don't rub too hard or for too long or you will rub through the paint or lacquer. Once all the staining has gone, then apply the G3 rubbing compound as above. This will bring the shine back.

The above steps have never failed to work for me.

There have been some new paint specifications so hopefully someone else will confirm that this won't harm your particular spec. But at the end of the day if your only option is to re-spray it then you have nothing to lose by trying this first.

BTW it will take about half an hour.

This is a good starter, however this chemical goes into the paint and when my colleague tried to rub it out it appeared to be all the way through the paint.

 

[MIW615]

This is a good starter, however this chemical goes into the paint and when my colleague tried to rub it out it appeared to be all the way through the paint.

All the reason for getting the car to a paintshop straight away - If paintwork is required they will only have to paint the door and blend through the front wing and rear door - I would estimate £200 - £300

 

[Johnowat]

Hi

I would just to say thanks to everyone who replied on this topic, the mark has come out with some specialist polish that my mate had, however, my door now looks cleaner than the whole car Contacted the merc man for a replacement lens so just waiting for a price.

Thanks again

Johno