I have a dark navy blue Mercedes 1990 300 SEL with blue bumpers (the bumpers seem to be a little lighter blue - not sure if it was done like that one purpose or if the plastic fades at a greater rate).

The paint started to fade 1-1/2 years ago on the hood, roof, and trunk, and now it is at the point where there are large white spots on the horizontal portions throughout the car and have to splurge the extra coin to get the car painted.

I would like advice on getting the car (and perhaps the bumpers and molding too) painted. Do I ask the guy to paint it the original Mercedes blue color? Should I ask him to just match the existing color? What about the bumpers and side molding? Do they paint them the same color or are they purposesly a tad bit lighter? Does anyone know? I was not the original owner so I don't know what the car exaclty looked like when it came out of the factory. How does Mercedes paint them? Enamel? Laquer? 2 coats or 3? Clear coat?

Input would be greatly appreciated.

Just came back from an estimate. Guy said it will cost $950 to do a base coat/clear coat, 4 year warranty.

The brand of paint is Sherwin Williams. Is that good?

That's super cheap. You might want to call your local dealer and ask who they use. Then visit a couple more shops and ask lots of questions.

Matt, on a different note, I noticed you have a 300 SEL and a 420 SEL - what has been your experience with these cars - what are the comparative pros and cons of each. I ask this because I am planning to by a late 80s SEL, and was debating between the 300 and the 420, and you seem to be the best guy to ask!

thanks a ton. (I have a 190E right now).

That's super cheap. You might want to call your local dealer and ask who they use. Then visit a couple more shops and ask lots of questions.

Yep, I agree. It shoud be at least a few grand. I had my door and fender painted last spring due to some minor dents from a derranged person and it was about $800. A well regarded, independent shop did the work -- They used the DuPont product.

Called another body shop, did not go personally, and they said that it would be 3 to 4 thousand and use Du Pont paint.


The main difference between the 300 and 420 is the power. The 300 comes with a straight 6 and the 420 comes with a V-8. The 300 has less acceleration and revs righer. I would rather have the 420, but if you found a really nice 300, in the color that you wanted, with the interior in good shapeand for a fair price, I would say go for it.

Sherwin Williams is definitely the way to go! I've used their paint for years and have had fantastic results! I always use their latex paint, as brush cleanup is much easier than with oil base.

Seriously, if the car is a beater and you intend to keep it until it dies, and you are not expecting a factory quality result, go for the $950. If your car does not fit these criteria, and resale value is a concern, be prepared to dig down deep. I would pay more for a car with faded original paint, than for an otherwise identical car with a second-class repaint job. $950 tells me your painter isn't going to break himself in half prepping the vehicle prior to the paint application.

Replied under your 'Detailing' post :)

I stopped by a paint and body shop in my 300D one day and talked to the guy about a paint job. He quoted $1700. They do some pretty impressive looking work seeing as how I ride by there every day and see some custom paint jobs on rice burners that they have completed. I am not in any rush to paint it though.

on the 500 after the accident it was painted for 800 dollars and was sent make 5 times to get it right but it was well worth it

Just FYI, the guy who quoted $950 was going to "tape" over everything none painted. He was not going to take any of the door jams, light assemblies, etc. off. Most of the expensive paint jobs include taking everything off. The warranty was for 4 years.


I went to another guy personally and he quoted me $2000 and he would take everything off and an unlimited time warranty. The paint he was going to use was from "ICI" a subdidivision from PPG, I was told.

I called the Mercedes dealership and they told me the paint code for the car was "904" which is midnight blue, but there was no code for the bumpers and molding - he thought that meant that the bumpers and molding then would also be midnight blue. The guy who quoted me for $2000 said he doubted that the bumpers would look exactly like the car from the factory (even if it was the same color it would be different paint with a glossier look) , but nonetheless he was going to look it up tomorrow.

Does anyone know if the bumpers should look exactly like the car from the factory (speaking of a 1990 300 SEL midnight blue?)

I think it looks better that way but it's my opion

Matt,

My '91 560SEL is midnight blue as are the bumpers and lower cladding. It's the same color, and yes the color looks a *bit* different due to the surface texture and sheen of metal vs. plastic.

Would you expect then that the EXACT same paint that goes on the metal should go on the bumpers and molding ?

as I understand from my tech, yes, the same paint, but with flex agents/plasticizers added to prevent chips from rocks, grit, bugs, etc.

Would you expect then that the EXACT same paint that goes on the metal should go on the bumpers and molding ?

A good shop would know the answer to that. Take a look at cars they've painted in the past, they should have pictures. I made sure the shop I used had a history painting Mercedes, Porsches, etc.