Abrasion

[Hans47]

Hi, while backing out of my driveawy I ran into a pickup truck parked across the street and not in the plane of vision of my rearview mirror. The damage to my car was minimal - scratches. The worst one was on the corner of the body. The body shop did not recommend repainting the damaged body paint since the car is a 1988 Mercedes 420 SEL and an exact match would be impossible.



The body shop recommended buffing and touch-up paint for a very small chip. The most noticeable mark is a dull/hazy abrasion about three inches long on the rounded right rear corner of the body (no dents). Thinner was applied and then the body shop applied rubbing compound with an orbital waxer. This brought back the shine and at home I applied a few coats of Klasse All-in-One with my PC but the abrasions can still be seen from a certain angle (sort of looks like grooves after sanding). Is this the best result that I can expect or could someone recommend another process that might improve upon it? Is there another wax that will do a better job of filling? A photo is attached. Thanks.

[-KGB-]

Wet sand, rotary buff, seal be happy again.

[Hans47]

Could you please describe the wet sanding process since I have never done it before? Is it a simple job for a weekend warrior? i.e...What type of sand paper? Do I spray water on the scratch? Do I lightly sand? etc. Thank you.



P.S. The photo is before I applied the thinner and buffed it so the white color is completely gone and I restored the shiny gray finish. Probably should have uploaded a more current photo.

[imported_cj99si]

Do you have a rotary buffer? If so I dont think you will need to wetsand. If you do get your self some 1500/2000 grit sand paper(with water) lighty sand with 1500 finishing with 2000. keep checking your progress so you dont go to deep. then use a polish a few coats of wax and you should be all set. Its not that tough you should definatly be able to handle it. Good luck

[Accumulator]

Having had W126 Benzes of that vintage (`86 and `88) and having done one (`87) for a friend two weeks ago, I`d take this a little slow and easy. Is that a) metallic paint (can`t quite tell from the pic, is it Astral Silver?), and b) the original `88 Benz paint? This matters because MB had only recently switched to b/c paint a few years before that and their clear was quite thin, much thinner than on "normal" b/c paints like we have today. They didn`t start using normal-thickness clearcoats until a while after that.



If it`s real "catch your nail" depth, this paint can`t be worked enough to get it all out.



I *might* try 3000 (Meguiar`s Unigrit, not 3M). Most people find 3000 scratches a lot easier to buff out by hand anyhow. But I`d sure inspect after *every* pass with the paper as most people can`t imagine how thin that layer of clear is. Remember that it`s not a matter of cutting through the clear, it has to be of a certain thickness to provide UV protection and not fail prematurely.



A good shop could blend/tint the paint to where it could be decently spotted in. Maybe not perfect, but close. I`d be looking to have it done that way if it were mine.