I used to mask them but after noting that a lot of them had been painted over previously with no ill effect I stopped bothering. I had a guy today trying to tell me Mercedes sensors are sensitive to having extra layers of paint and they mustn't be painted over, I reckon he's full of it.
gunhand,
May 24, 9:22am
Paint them anyway, then jump in pull the cap, bennie, sombrero, stetson, top hat, hoody, fascinator or whatever you may wear over your eyes and back up and see what happens. You will have the answer one way or the other.
bigfatmat1,
May 24, 9:24am
you can buy them pre painted. Maybe if you used a lead or metal paint then you would have problems. Maybe he is talking about the merc laser sensors for brake assist and suspension assist.
rob_man,
May 24, 9:31am
These look just the same as any other run of the mill sensors, colour keyed to the car. I'll be taking the bumper off to paint it anyway so it's no trouble to pop them out. Just curious about what other repairers and painters like GH and Co are doing with them.
rob_man,
May 24, 9:32am
Are you painting over them!
gunhand,
May 24, 9:36am
Never had the pleasure yet. but if they had paint on them you have to wonder if more would be a problem. Something to think about though.
rob_man,
May 24, 9:42am
I've come across plenty of them in Jappies and Aussie cars as well as Eurotrash, the last ones were on a Commodore and had been painted over already so I just scotched them along with the rest of it, no problems.
flashgordon_nz,
May 24, 9:51am
now, if i remember correctly, selling/fitting the aftermarket kits a few years back. there were specific painting instructions, detailing how thick the paint could be applied to the sensors.
smac,
May 24, 10:02am
Ha.thought this thread was about covering the parking nazi sensors.
lookoutas,
May 25, 6:37am
True - They can only have X microns of paint on them.
bae13,
May 25, 8:16am
you need to make sure the centre can move still, the sensors 'click if you put you finger on them lightly, when you paint them you restrict this slight movement
rob_man,
May 25, 8:33am
I popped them out anyway, god I hate taking bumpers off Eurotrash. There's a pile of parts the size of the car lying on the floor.
saxman99,
May 25, 9:18am
Surely a reputable company/tradesman would just do what the customer asked for, no matter how silly/unnecessary/incorrect/mi- s-informed or just plain dumb it might be!
If it's gonna cost extra to do it their way then I guess one would point that out and see if the silly customer is happy to pay it.
marcos1,
May 25, 9:27am
x1
Nope.a few of us actually work to a standard.
tigra,
May 26, 12:40am
I recently bought a Merc CLK3.2 coupe which appears to have had some touchup paintwork along the front to tidy up stone chips. Looks like the sensors were painted over and they still work fine.
lookoutas,
May 26, 1:10am
But do they work 'as fine'! And you cant answer that.
Paint them again and they might work 'less fine'
unbeatabull,
May 26, 5:52am
I have dealt with cars that have had poor parking sensors/sensitivity not very high, then discovered its just been in a crash and has been resprayed.
Then there are others that I've never had a problem with.
I guess it comes down to how much paint, what type of paint and if they come already painted. Most sensors I've dealt with don't come painted, but they come as "Paint once only".
bae13,
May 26, 9:06am
so if the customer said remove the rear brake pads because they are squeaking, do you think we should do it! most owners know F all about cars, And dont get me started on back yarders,Face the facts, people in the trade are qualified to do this for a reason, cars cannot be fixed like they could 15-20 years ago. I listen to my customers complaint and advise on the best repair for safety and if there is a few options in that i will advise the most economic way. if they dont like my profesional opinion, they can go elsewhere
carclan,
May 26, 5:11pm
I had fitted a genuine parking sensor kit to my BA Fairmont, the sensors came in two parts to enable painting. I fitted aftermarket parts to our Mondeo and painted them twice and have had no problem.
lookoutas,
May 26, 8:45pm
This has got nothing to do with what customers want. The OPQ was if they can be painted successfully. As I explained above - there is a specified paint thickness of X microns, Which means - "I can't remember how thick" Google might help, but I can't be arsed looking. As the paint thickness increases, then the efficacy decreases. Now that's pretty bloody simple.
tigra,
May 27, 3:01am
Yeah I can't answer that as you say, but they seem to work down to small tolerances on a sliding scale. Light goes into orange segment at about 12 inches and into the red at about 3"with appropriate warning sounds
doctor_evil99,
May 27, 11:46am
you can buy them colur coded at www.dealextreme.com cheap enough. last set cost me $18 incl postage.
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