Tires, Brakes and Suspension

I finished a set for my 380 SL. It seems that RAL 9700 is not available anywhere in Finland so I have been using Astral Silver 735. I believe the later models use Tital Silver on alloy wheels.

The clearcoat seems to darken the colour so this time I chose even brighter colour from Motip's wheel lacquer range, no colour code available unfortunately.

The rims I bought in Germany had several coats already so I decided to grind and sand the surface whereas blasting might have revealed some cavities etc. They had no corrosion nor any oxidation at all.

Rims will be used for summer driving only plus the car will have our "H-plates" in two weeks and it will reduce the driving time down to 30 days per year.

Starting condition:



With primer:



Ready:















Kari Pykäläinen

1971 6.3 #5581
1980 6.9 #7201
1981 380 SL
1987 560 SEC
1996 C180 A
1998 ML 320
1995 Tahoe 350cid
1980 Stingray SV175 boat

Right.

So, if you repaint your bundts use RAL 9700, that is the ONE and ONLY original colour.
All the other colours are to brilliant comparing to the "originals" new in the box. That means almost all will have the wrong colour.

Hi Paul,

My German isn't that great, but do I get the message correct that :

9700 = original factory finish
9735 = recommended repair/refinishing paint?

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116.036
116.036
116.024
140.051
107.044

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So, for those who understand German:

Aus der 123er Database:
Zitat Lackfragen
Immer wieder wird nach dem Farbton der Fuchsfelgen gefragt und immer wieder gibt es verschiedene Antworten von Astralsilber bis hin zu selbstgemnixten Rezepturen. Folgen wir in diesem Falle einfach der WIS und somit den Angaben von MB/DC: WIS Typ W123 AH98.00-P-9410-05A Hinweis zum Lackieren der MB-Leichtmetall-Scheibenräder:

MB-Leichtmetall-Scheibenräder sind serienmäßig mit einer Zweischicht-Metallic-Lackierung in der farbe RAL 9700, silber lackiert.

Für die Reparatur-Lackierung das Verfahren der Karosserie-Lackierung in Zweischicht-Metallic(Farbe RAL 9735,Astralsilber) anwenden.

to add a tad: I assume you did clear coat the silver. I'm told by my paint Pro, that modern clear coats do't yellow with age due to a chemical reaction to sunlight. So far in now eleven years we have not observed a clear coat color change with our Silver Bullet. Thus beyod chips, your new wheel will be there for years.
Back to your wheels: with your inspiration, numerous fans might turn any old Bundts, into a new looking set. That's a big deal to me. What M100 fan need is more of the before and after photos. You fans in Oz know how to work with your Benz autos.

Kai,
Those look great. Well done!
Art

Thanks Dan.

I must say, all my online research and the paint codes at the spray shop all indicate 735 as the correct colour for the older style alloys from 72 till around the mid 80's.

They do LOOK correct, the shade is right i think.



1971 6.3 - #5417 -
(LPG)
1982 230E - W123 (M102)

WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE A PRO JOB with your wheels. Congrats. Did you paint your oil cap? No kidding. Strip it, paint it silver, and lastly clearcoat it. It is a finishing touch. In every vintage photo I have found, it seems impossible to tell if this oil cap was painted or is just aluminum. It seems impossible that Benz would have just clear coated it. Oil caps receive a whole bunch of oil from hands. I'm going on my Pros memory. He worked on 6.3 when he was a rookie mechanic in 1970.
On the exact paint code numbers: To me it looks just like your astral silver choice, but the exact color code is highly probable to be Paul's code. (If Paul says so, it's 99.9999% so. Me? Ah, I work in generalities. I can't recall what happened five minutes ago.
I have sets purchased new in their original boxes. I just can't tell because no astra silver of today looks like it did when it was new. Astral silver took on a yellow tint from some sort of sun effect on the clear coat (or so says our paint pro)

Astral Silver is the wrong colour [8D] because to clear.
You should have asked for code MB 9700, which is the factorycolour.

Done![:)]

Before:



Mid Way - stripped using fine Garnet:



Finished. Primer, 735 Astral Silver, and clear-coated:







1971 6.3 - #5417 -
(LPG)
1982 230E - W123 (M102)

Hey!! How come you guys got the sam car in your posts??? who's cheatin??? [:p]

6.9, you're dee-vine.......

I'll bet if you supply them with a bag of walnut shell media, they'll use it. It's just like changing the garnet when it becomes dirty. If not, water-based chemical stripper should provide no problems.

quote:

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Originally posted by Kai McRae

I spoke to out local stonemason guys to strip them who will do so for $20 AU per wheel. Problem is they only use garnet, which is obviously not an option.

I can get them powdercoated for about $25-30 a wheel at a local place. So it's cheap as chips to do them.

Problem is stripping them, nowhere round here uses walnut or plastic beads. i am trying to avoid chemical stripper to prevent problems with the paint taking

1971 6.3 - #5417 -
(LPG)
1982 230E - W123 (M102)

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I spoke to out local stonemason guys to strip them who will do so for $20 AU per wheel. Problem is they only use garnet, which is obviously not an option.

I can get them powdercoated for about $25-30 a wheel at a local place. So it's cheap as chips to do them.

Problem is stripping them, nowhere round here uses walnut or plastic beads. i am trying to avoid chemical stripper to prevent problems with the paint taking

1971 6.3 - #5417 -
(LPG)
1982 230E - W123 (M102)

Kai.how much have you been quoted to do yours?

...There are old cars,and then there are Classics..(Mercedes Benz Ad. 1999)

No loss of definition. The powder coating is not that thick. Final sheen is the only real difference: wet paint applications are a higher gloss (if desired) with depth. Many German and Italian classic wheels are just factory clear-coated, giving an entirely different "raw metal" appearance under the paint finish, sometimes with factory decals (like Campagnolo) applied to the surface. Powder coating also seems to cut down on the natural electrolytic process that eventually occurs when the clear coat wears off on hub-centric (as all good wheels should be) mounting surfaces and corrodes with the cast iron rotor and steel hub. Powder looks great, is long-lasting, and is low maintenance, if not the original finish.

quote:

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Originally posted by Kai McRae

thanks for the details.

Did you lose some surface definition with the powder coating process? i.e. did the depth of the powder coating reduce the "sharpness" of all the ribs, grooves etc?

Ta

Kai

1971 6.3 - #5417 -
(LPG)
1982 230E - W123 (M102)

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thanks for the details.

Did you lose some surface definition with the powder coating process? i.e. did the depth of the powder coating reduce the "sharpness" of all the ribs, grooves etc?

Ta

Kai

1971 6.3 - #5417 -
(LPG)
1982 230E - W123 (M102)

I have done a lot of alloy wheel (elektron, aluminum, magnesium) refinishing for my various classic cars, usually Italian. Notably, the color I prefer is actually M-B silver for the final finish, as well as the M-B metal valve stems. I have found that powder coating is the most economical, durable, and practical route. I used to pay about US$45 a wheel in quantity (8-10 wheels at a time). It is virtually impossible to replicate the surface hardness of the elaborate factory finishes applied at ATS, BBS, Ronal, OZ, Campagnolo, Cromodora, Fondmetal, etc. Powder coating looks the same and is very durable. Make sure that you use adhesive balancing weights. The steel weights damage finishes by cutting into the surface and can start finish deterioration at that mounting point. Even brake dust can work into the finish at that point. It is hard to believe that many manufacturers, including M-B, used them on alloys when new. Most industrial powder coating facilities will offer a wide selection of colors. Most can also remove the previous finish by media blasting in-house. Wheels must be completely clean of the old finish and oil-free, so use gloves and plastic bags if you have them media blasted elsewhere. Walnut shell media does not eat into delicate wheel surfaces and has been the "trick" touch for years. If you suspect porosity or corrosion might exist (evidenced by bubbling under the existing coating), refinishing by painting is the only alternative. I recall dissassembling an expensive set of elektron Ferrari knock-off wheels for a Daytona only to find invisible corrosion damage under the stainless beauty ring pressed around the splines. In that case, the wheel repair facility welded elektron (VERY tricky as it catches fire!) into the gaps and refinished the wheel by painting with Dupont Imron, which I recall is also hazardous. Expensive but the wheels were worth thousands at the time.

Kai, I have not refinished a Bundt but it should be a reasonable at home project. Curb rash could be buffed out. Then all is left is a primer, the silver paint, and the clear coat. If you have a auto paint gun what you also need is a dust proof room and a water prevention system. Eastman sells the whole system; all the paint eqipment and all the various sanding compounds and buffer wheels.
With the above equipment, I'd bet your sets, could look like a Pro refinished them. By the time you do the 10 wheels, you will be a Pro.

Anyone got any good tips for refinishing bundt style wheels. DIY or pro?

this link has some good info

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?s=0941c390af26e7fca3ce7dc95996117f&t=159995

i am thinking of doing all 10 of mine soon. probably DIY - i dont need concourse level finish. particularly x 10! strip with walnut media? suggestions?

Ta



1971 6.3 - #5417 -
(LPG)
1982 230E - W123 (M102)