I got this old Merc about 3 Months ago for $1020, I've never washed the car so far, we did a 1200k road trip etc, work and back, still looks fairly clean, also its only been in the garage for a week while my BMW is converted to manual, so its usually outside in the weather, tomorrow I'm going to give it a good wash and polish etc, Only thing I had to fix on this car is the Heater blower fan, but all I had to do was disassemble it and lubricate the bearings, its been working fine ever since. So this is the before photo, i'll post the after one tomorrow. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/839/imag0107ee.jpg/
motorboy2011,
Aug 11, 7:56am
I think I notice more mismatched silver car panels than any other on the roads
969pnz,
Aug 11, 8:35am
Possibly because there are so many silver vehicles on the road!
thewomble1,
Aug 11, 8:37am
Can not work out why the convert BMW is left outside.
gammelvind,
Aug 11, 8:39am
No it is because silver can be a very hard colour to match and spray. Lots of technical issues.
gunhand,
Aug 11, 8:42am
Yep, or they just for whatever reason wont blend.
motorboy2011,
Aug 11, 8:48am
Thats what I guessed. Lady at work bought a silver car, the bumpers and sideskirts were obviously repainted (or added later), awful color match. not that she could see it even when told
grangies,
Aug 11, 8:52am
Many cars in silver and other light metallics come off the factory floor with slightly different coloured bumpers and other plastic components.
gunhand,
Aug 11, 8:55am
Slighty!SLIGHTLY!more like atrocious I would say.
gammelvind,
Aug 11, 8:59am
Part of the problem is that the factories use a electrostatic paint process, this makes the paint reach all parts of the vehicle. The other thing that happens is that the metallic particles in the paint stand up on end, looks great, nice and glittery just as we all like. Then we ding it and the poor painter struggles to match the finish, with the metals going any which way but up.
gunhand,
Aug 11, 9:02am
Ive heard that excuse before LOL, but how come the japs on 99% of there cars seem to get it right!I think the prob is getting them done at different factories and different batches is the prob. And many blame plastic bumpers but when I do resprays on cars with them they are not a different shade than the rest of the car.
gammelvind,
Aug 11, 9:06am
Agreed when it comes to the bumpers etc. That is usually because they are done elsewere, and in some cases I have heard with a different paint brand. What I really was referingto was body panel repairs and trying to match them.
gunhand,
Aug 11, 9:09am
Ok, fair nuff to.Its amazing though what the unknowing public will except as a repair. They just dont look or see it it seems.But I guess if you are a builder you notice things I wouldnt.
gammelvind,
Aug 11, 9:17am
Couldn't agree more, was at a client last year, next door was the local Holden dealership. There were 5 new comadores there 3 silver 2 gold, they may as well have swapped the bumpers over between the cars the match was that bad. Some poor buga forks out lots of hard earned cash for such a crap finish. I sure agree with you the japs know how to sort this with the exception of Suzuki.
grangies,
Aug 11, 9:22am
I reckon it is down to the very minimum amount of color applied to cheap vehicles in the factory.
The undercoat on the sheet-metal is usually a different colour to the plastic components and those sparkly light golds, blue and silvers etc have lower opacity in any colour system due to the very nature of being high sparkle.
The cars cost bugger all in the first place, so their paint jobs are done on the borderline of the least material usage possible. And the results are uneven coverage.
Think of glittery vs fine nail polish of the same shade for example. The fine colour will cover almost instantly, but the glittery wont.
grangies,
Aug 11, 9:28am
Nice and tidy looking old Merc by the way.
vtecintegra,
Aug 11, 9:42am
Yes its a very forgiving colour in that regard, at least until a bird shits all over it.
Silver and white may be boring but they're also practical
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