Need help repairing/restoring the paint on my '92 190e 2.6

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eggylisk

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Hey guys . New member here and I'm not sure if this is the right place to be asking for help x]

So I have a '92 mercedes 190e. I've been trying to correct the paint and so far nothing has worked.

The previous owner took the car to those...wait for it...automated car washes! oooh the horror!

I've tried using

meguiar's scratch x 2.0...nothing

Last sunday (Feb 27) I worked on it again using meguiar's ultimate compound using a terry cloth(only worked on the hood) after claying the whole car, and topped off with NXT 2.0 wax.

The next day, I checked it under the sun and nothing has really changed:bash:

Here are the pics
(The pics wouldnt show for some reason so i just put the url)
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
 
eggylisk said:
Hey guys . New member here and I'm not sure if this is the right place to be asking for help x]

So I have a '92 mercedes 190e. I've been trying to correct the paint and so far nothing has worked.

The previous owner took the car to those...wait for it...automated car washes! oooh the horror!

I've tried using

meguiar's scratch x 2.0...nothing

Last sunday (Feb 27) I worked on it again using meguiar's ultimate compound using a terry cloth(only worked on the hood) after claying the whole car, and topped off with NXT 2.0 wax.

The next day, I checked it under the sun and nothing has really changed:bash:

Here are the pics
(The pics wouldnt show for some reason so i just put the url)
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
Click to expand...

Have you considered using a DA?

Used a terry cloth on paint w/ polish?:nomore: Use a faom applicator pad if you can.

Sounds like ur still in noob stage maybe ask what you are trying to work on (daily driver/weekend warrior) and what your expectations are

Definately do some browsing on the site to see what others have used to get successful turnarounds

Good luck man

Also:

Give us more of your prep work on car

Did you follow the compound with a polish (meg ult polish/ m205, etc.)

If you are getting supplies thru a local dealer you def need pick up some microfibers and applicator pads

how long did you work product into surface?

you can develop marring in paint with improper technique!

Keep practicing and asking questions I am sure this community will get you there!!!

:welcome:
 
Welcome to the AG forum and this is the best place to get your questions answered.

I'm by no means an expert, I just take care of my own cars but I would say if you want to do it right you need to invest in a dual action polisher such as the Flex or PC, some LC foam pads and either the Wolfgang TSR 3.0, Megs 105 & 205 or some of the Menzerna products. You'll get far better results than doing it by hand. Good luck..!!!
 
Donnym said:
Welcome to the AG forum and this is the best place to get your questions answered.

I'm by no means an expert, I just take care of my own cars but I would say if you want to do it right you need to invest in a dual action polisher such as the Flex or PC, some LC foam pads and either the Wolfgang TSR 3.0, Megs 105 & 205 or some of the Menzerna products. You'll get far better results than doing it by hand. Good luck..!!!
Click to expand...

This is a nice method if OP has a budget in mind of this magnitude seeing the products used already.

But, go with a DA (GG, PC 7424xp, Meg) and some flat pads. Many argue a 5" backing plate and 5.5 pads for correction, but its preference. The site does a nice job explaining which color pads, aggressive products, needed to get the results you want!:props:
 
I think the paint is past the point of no return, at least you're not going to be able to restore it to new condition.

I see what looks like the beginning of clear coat failure in the places the paint looks whitish.

I see what looks like cracking in the paint, not sure what else to call it but where you see "lines" all running the same direction, these don't look like scratches but lines "throughout" the clear layer, that means you can't simply buff more and more to remove them.

Machine polishing is the way to go but from experience, that paint looks like it's past the point of no return, or getting very close to it, at least from what I can see in the pictures.

Warning
When I clicked to your Imageshak account, something tried to take over my browser?

:)
 
Here you go, I downloaded 3 pictures, then uploaded them into your gallery here and now have inserted them so they're easy to see...

See where the paint is whitish by the windshield washer squirters? That's probably the accumulated effect of windshield washer fluid staining and drying out the clear layer of paint and nothing is going to undo the damage. Perhaps some regular waxing in this area back in the 1990's could have helped prevent the chemicals from causing damage.

beginningccf.jpg




In this picture, it looks like the paint has crosshatch scratches or cracks, nothing is going to fix this...
cracksinpaint1.jpg



See the scratch pattern all runs in the same direction, I've seen this before and it's not topical, that is restricted to just the surface, it's also throughout the layer, thus nothing is going to remove these types of cracks or scratches, whatever they are...
cracksinpaint2.jpg



Wash it, clay it, polish and wax it to the best of your ability and that's about all you can do at this point in time...


:)
 
A lot of those scratches are way too deep to polish out. The paint simply isn't thick enough, so don't even bother with the deep ones. The hood needs to be repainted, period. Like Mike said, those white patches are the beginning of clear coat failure. Eventually, the clear coat there will flake off. It is almost impossible to match metallic paint, even by spraying an entire panel, it might not quite match the surrounding panels, but it can be very close in appearance. The way to make it look best for the least money is to machine polish the vertical panels where the scratches aren't so deep, and then repaint the horizontal surfaces like the hood, roof, and decklid. I say all of the horizontal, because if one horizontal surface is starting to show clearcoat failure (unless it's a spoiler or something that gets a lot of exposure to the elements), then the rest of the horizontal surfaces will fail shortly after. You could just repaint the hood, and polish the rest of the car and keep it waxed and hope for the best, however.
 
Trumbo_S10 said:
Have you considered using a DA?

Used a terry cloth on paint w/ polish?:nomore: Use a faom applicator pad if you can.

Sounds like ur still in noob stage maybe ask what you are trying to work on (daily driver/weekend warrior) and what your expectations are

Definately do some browsing on the site to see what others have used to get successful turnarounds

Good luck man

Also:

Give us more of your prep work on car

Did you follow the compound with a polish (meg ult polish/ m205, etc.)

If you are getting supplies thru a local dealer you def need pick up some microfibers and applicator pads

how long did you work product into surface?

you can develop marring in paint with improper technique!

Keep practicing and asking questions I am sure this community will get you there!!!

:welcome:
Click to expand...


I used a terry cloth because i've used the foam applicator before and nothing happened. Figured I'd go harder with the terry cloth and see if i get results out of that, still nothing. So I guess it really IS past the point of no return. Its my daily aand I worked the product on the surface a good amount,

I taped off sections to make sure I worked on them thoroughly. After I compounded I waxed it and the rest of the car because it was getting late and I had school the next day.

A DA would be nice but I do not have a job and can't afford one at the moment u_u but i'm working on it. College sucks x]

@Mike uh I don't know what happened there when you said imageshack tried to take over your browser. I don't have an account there and just uploaded straight from their website

Thanks for all the input guys!
 
eggylisk said:
@Mike uh I don't know what happened there when you said imageshack tried to take over your browser. I don't have an account there and just uploaded straight from their website

Thanks for all the input guys!
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm not sure either, I shut down all my open browsers to avoid any problems.

Keep what's left of the paint waxed and washed and hope for the best...

:dblthumb2:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Yeah I'm not sure either, I shut down all my open browsers to avoid any problems.

Keep what's left of the paint waxed and washed and hope for the best...

:dblthumb2:
Click to expand...

Yea.. i'll just maintain it and hope for the best while waiting for the money to repaint it

anyway, here's the car in all of its glory, haha
 
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