Want to paint the car but don't know whether or not to take moldings off or
mask them. The lower door moldings have to come off to fix the rust so I
know I'll have to spring for some new clips there. Are they difficult to
reattach? The roof rails? Do they just pop off similar type clips? and they
appear to be made of metal and go down each side of the windshield. Should
I leave them alone? I ordinarily like to remove as much trim as I can but I
won't if it's too much trouble or expense. Any tips?

If you don't need to paint your car, don't... because no professional
painter will be able to match the factory paint in terms of durability, rust
protection, finish quality... etc.

Every car that has been painted will eventually form a rust somewhere... or
the paint will fade... even those $2000 paint job... I know this from
experience.

Always try polishing before painting... I always managed to bring cruddy
looking car into showroom quality... Some really really cruddy repainted
car... I really have not much luck... marginal looking.

"Tiger" <tiger0002 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote


My answer would be if someone was going to paint my car, I'd expect
them to have the knowledge to know how to do it right. If whoever is
doing it doesn't know the answers to the basic questions you're
asking, I'd find someone who does.

On 2004-09-13 22:14:29 -0700, "Tiger" <tiger0002 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> said:

In my opinion $2000 is a cheap crappy job. I paid $4000 to have my
1968 buick painted(12 years ago), and it still looks good, although it
is a little faded as I have no garage (gasp).

Also for a grade a paint job expect to have to give the car up for at
LEAST a couple of months, anyone that says they can do it faster is
cheating you, or should be charging less. This is due to the labor
involved in dissaembling everything, and the longer drying times of
modern primers and paints (ie no lacquer).

Tigers point is still a good one. Never repaint a factory painted car
when possible...

Marty

"Martin Joseph" <mercedes (AT) barknaturalpet (DOT) com> wrote

Deciding to paint an older car depends on several things. For example, how
much is the car worth now and how much will it be worth after a "good" paint
job. In my opinion a 300D is not worth the price of a $4,000 paint
job...unless you intend to keep it till the wheels drop off. Even then I
wouldn't spend more than $1,000-$1,500 for a paint job. If you look around
you can find a good painter who might be willing to do a "side job" for a
lot less if you prep the car yourself. However, just the materials that go
into the painting portion alone can easily run $500 or more so be prepared,
even if you do all of the initial work yourself. The prep work depends a lot
on whether the paint you are going over is original or if some of it has
been repaired in the past. If you're doing the prep work yourself expect to
spend a lot of time getting everything ready for the paint booth. I used to
do this sort of stuff and it's a longer process (and more expensive) than
most people think. Good luck.

Dan,

There's no question, MB had no end of difficulty with metallic, clearcoat
paint in the late eighties. It is necessary to remove the door handle
covers, door bumper trim, and roof rails. The headlight and turn signals
need to be removed. After almost 18 years, the roof band clips should be
replaced. They snap off, and need to come off to replace a windshield. You
can cheat a little and lift rubber window rubber, cover with tape, and tuck
twine under the rubber to keep it lifted. Don't forget to paint the backs of
the mirrors to match the body, and to paint the gray bumper fairings to
match. P.




"Dan" <dstreb (AT) neo (DOT) rr.com> wrote