The perfect finish for a classic Mercedes-Benz.

An Axalta Coating Systems Brand The perfect finish for a classic Mercedes-Benz.

Content.

History: Factory finishes since 1945. 4 History: Factory finishes since 1980. 5 The development of automotive refinishing. 6-7 Refinishing classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles. 8 Does original paint work have to be refinished with new 9 paint systems? The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center – committed to lifelong 10-13 service. Repair of genuine vintage cars. 14 Consult an expert! 15

The officially recommended refinishing process: 16-19

Substrate preparation. Putty application and preparation of the paint application. Filler application. Topcoat application.

2 Preface.

What would a car be without its paintwork?

Protection against corrosion in one thing: increasing the technical and environmental and weathering - this might sum value of their vehicle by requirements. up the benefits of our products. maintaining its original con- Yet our ambition is to do more dition as far as possible. This Looking back on more than than protect cherished vehicles is why you are well advised sixty years of tradition, we and maintain their value. We to contact a Mercedes-Benz feel privileged to share this want to be instrumental in pre- Classic partner in your vicinity passion for fine automobiles serving a culture and a way in order to ensure a perfect with you. of life in conjunction with like- repair using original Mercedes- minded enthusiasts. For more Benz parts. Cordially yours, than half a century our compa- ny has developed high-quality To live up to our responsibility automotive paints responding to as a paint manufacturer, we steadily changing market needs. have joined the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in preparing Nowadays, the proud owners this refinishing recommenda- of a classic Mercedes-Benz tion that ensures maximum Olaf Adamek car are mainly interested originality while meeting today’s Standox Brand Manager

3 History. Factory finishes from 1945 until today.

drying in a combined spray booth and low bake oven enabled the refinisher to save a lot of time with the new paint system, so that these booths soon became an economic necessity for bodyshops.

Between 1972 and 1975, the 2K acrylic polyurethane tech- nology (acrylic base and poly- After World War II, alkyd in automotive refinishing up isocyanate hardener) almost resins became almost ubiqui- until today. Soon after their completely pushed acrylic tous in Europe, given that they introduction, they dominated resin paints out of the market. allowed the then state of the art the paints market in the field of These 2K systems for the top- alkyd melamine resin baking refinishing too. coat layer were characterised coating process to be per- by a much higher chemical formed on the assembly line. New materials for paints. and physical resistance. The Primer and filler were applied From 1963, polyester was the paints dried quicker and allo- in a high-pressure spraying new material available to the wed dust inclusions and sag- procedure, even though indi- paints industry. Polyester beca- ging to be polished out. From vidual manufacturers already me indispensable particularly the early 1970‘s, the paint dipped their bodies-in-white by as a basis for stoppers, while manufacturers also developed the late 1950‘s. Nitrocellulose nitrocellulose and synthetic a primer filler that protected paint was used only for very resin stoppers became less against corrosion to make spe- expensive luxury sedans important. The ingredients of cial corrosion protection paints until 1963/64 in spite of the topcoats changed, too. Alkyd superfluous. increased care required for resin paints were now mixed this kind of finish. Alkyd resins with isocyanates that accelera- In the 1980‘s and 1990‘s, are so chemically flexible and ted drying even at room tem- paint finishing remained one exhibit such a high quality that peratures compared to alkyd of the most time-consuming they have played a major role melamine resin paints. Forced processes in automotive pro-

The vehicle coating process.

De-greasing Rinsing Phosphatising Rinsing Electro-dip coating Rinsing ED baking ovenSeam sealingUnderbody protectionFiller applicationFiller baking (ED) oven

4 reduced, because these substances are blamed for causing summer smog and other nuisances. 2K acrylic paints were developed further into low-solvent high-solids, i.e. paints with a lower solvent content and a higher share of solid particles. The mid-eighties also saw the launch of the first waterborne paints, which have since become the standard type of paint both in OEM coating and refinishing. duction. Today, electrostatic Since the mid-1980‘s, OEM rotating atomisers have been coating has become almost used in OEM coating to apply fully automated and is today the filler and the topcoat to the largely performed by robots. prepared car body. Only small areas remain to be painted manually: interior parts This saves a lot of material, like the engine compartment because now 90 percent and the trunk, hood and doors of the paint used is actually are sprayed with the gun first. applied to where it belongs, on the automotive body. In the 1980‘s, a number of hazardous paint ingredients were replaced as paint manufacturers increased their environmental awareness. In addition, the share of organic solvents in the paints was

Sanding Cleaning Waterborne basecoatInterim basecoatapplication Qualitydryer check Clearcoat applicationClearcoat bakingQuality oven check To assembly infrared/hot air

5 The development of automotive refinishing.

to combine with the baking enamels used in OEM coating. Until the late 1960‘s, nitro- combination paints were used by bodyshops that did not have a combined spraybooth and oven or “combi-oven”. An alternative to this was the 8°C refinishing paint, which was particularly suitable for the multi-layer coatings that were popular in the 1950‘s becase it dried quickly so that it could be recoated soon. They were applied in spray booths Automotive refinishing has damage required all the paint where fresh air was filtered, been performed ever since to be removed, given that it heated and supplied vertically. the emergence of the automo- was impossible to match and Gradually, alkyd melamine bile. And it has been a great apply colors only on part of a resin paints conquered the challenge for the refinisher panel. The only answer was refinishing market, too. right from the beginning. After a complete repaint. all, any damage needs to be In the late 1960‘s a fundamen- invisible after the repair. A par- After the introduction of the tal change came up in the field ticular difficulty was caused by nitro-combination paint, refi- of undercoat materials. 2K paints based on wood oil. Any nishers tended to use these epoxide materials were used products as they were easy increasingly as primers, primer-

6 surfacers and fillers, first in the and the people applying the commercial vehicle segment product. and later on in automotive refinishing. Due to the poor opacity of certain pigments and the Whilst 70‘s OEM coats com- development of new effects, prised four layers - zinc many refinishing jobs required phosphate, primer, filler and as many as three coats in the topcoat. Refinishers usually 1980‘s. A tinted filler, basecoat applied a three-coat structure and (tinted) clearcoat needed consisting of a primer contai- to be coordinated precisely, Today, refinishers can choose ning phosphoric acid, a filler resulting in a highly complex among a wide range of and a topcoat. process. low-solvent products with a high solid content, including In order to emulate the con- In the mid-1980‘s, pearlescent the waterborne Standohyd stantly growing number of paints were introduced in the Plus and Standoblue Base­ colours for refinishing purposes, market and used in OEM coats. the paints industry developed coating. At least with regard to mixing systems. Current auto- automotive shades, the 1980‘s motive refinishing is characteri- and 1990‘s were decades sed by environment- and user- which saw a rapid increase friendly systems allowing for in the number of shades and reduced stock keeping while effects used in automotive coa- offering a higher yield and ting. This trend has continued ensuring improved safety with to date. regard to the environment

Expertise and craftsmanship are key to an excellent refinish.

7 Refinishing classic Mercedes- Benz vehicles.

Classic vehicles with the legen- The older the paint on a vehi- This is why the Mercedes-Benz dary star on the bonnet are cle, the simpler its structure. Classic Center in Fellbach and recognised as genuine works As a general rule, an original Standox have jointly prepared of art nowadays, but in con- vintage paint coat consists of a a manual for refinishers. The trast to precious paintings, they single layer of so-called nitro- refinishing process described require regular, careful and cellulose paint. Auto makers here defines the standard in particular professional care have long stopped using these for high-quality vintage car or restoration. This is the only paints. In the 1960‘s, they were refinishing as recommended way to maintain their value replaced by paints on acrylic by the Mercedes-Benz Classic or even increase it over the bases with a higher gloss Center. decades. retention and solvent content. These paints have meanwhile The most striking feature of been replaced by waterborne vintage cars is of course their products. body. It needs to be restored and maintained using state of the art methods so the owners can enjoy their vehicles for a long time to come.

8 Restoring a classic with modern paint systems?

Before refinishing a vintage vehicle has had several total Finding the right shade. car, the owner has to decide resprays or refinishes, it is Determining the right shade jointly with the refinishing also advisable to remove all is a particular challenge in vin- expert whether it is to be a layers by sanding or stripping. tage car refinishing. After all, renewal, a partial refinish Otherwise, corrosion under the there are more than 50,000 or a complete respray. If the paint may go unnoticed. OEM coatings worldwide, and owner desires a renewal or a another 600 are added each partial refinish, the refinisher Only modern paint systems are year. Moreover, the paint first has to determine the kind permissible today. changes over the years due to of paint that the vehicle is environmental influences. finished with. Rubbing the Nowadays, modern automotive surface briefly with a cloth coatings comprise up to six Younger vintage and classic soaked in cellulose thinner layers. In recent years, the cars display the code of the makes things clear: the colour focus in development and vehicle as a combination of of a nitrocellulose paint or a application was on reducing numbers and/or letters on the thermoplastic acrylate paint the solvent content. January type label. (TPA) comes off very strongly 1, 2007 saw the coming into in the process and becomes a force of the new EU solvent In case of older cars with little tacky. directive that defines stricter traces of the original coating, limits for the emission of sol- only an analysis using the TPA paintcoats are very soft. vents into the environment. colour and effect measuring Refinishing with a very hard Now refinishers are obliged spectrophotometer will give two-component acrylic paint to use only those materials reliable information. is not possible, as there would that comply with the new be tension between the two regulations. layers of paint. This is why the old paint coat must be remo- Standox offers a state of the ved down to the bare metal. art waterbased refinishing Determination of the shade system, Standoblue, as well as with the Genius iQ colour Synthetic resin paints that an accurate colour and effect and effect spectrophoto- were common until the 1980‘s measuring device, Genius iQ. meter cannot be coated with modern This combination allows the acrylic paints as they release reproduction of original shades solvent for a long time. Here, with modern pigments, which are too, the old paint coat should often much more light-fast and be removed completely. If a -stable than the old pigments.

9 The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center – Life-long service.

All customers of the Classic Center benefit from the latter’s direct access to all the relevant resources of the company.

This includes not only the comprehensive documentation in the Corporate Archives but also the facilities in Research and Development, the plants’ expertise in prototype manuf- acture and the latest technical possibilities for reproducing true-to-the-original parts.

These factors contribute Ever since its foundation on played in the Mercedes-Benz towards retaining the origina- May 19, 1993, the Mercedes- Museum. The staff’s unique lity and historically authentic Benz Classic Center in Fellbach technical and historical experti- engineering of classic cars – near Stuttgart has been the se is also made available to all the prime guarantor being the port of call for owners of classic customers of the brand who workshop of the Mercedes- vehicles from the Daimler, wish to retain their Mercedes- Benz Classic Center. Benz, Mercedes and Mercedes- Benz cars in their original Benz brands – on a global condition. scale.

The workshop of the Mercedes- Benz Classic Center not only looks after the historical and more recent automobiles dis-

Quality, safety and originality are accorded top priority in the workshop of the Mercedes- Benz Classic Center.

10 This is where classic cars from the Daimler, Benz, Mercedes and Mercedes-Benz brands are restored, repaired and serviced, always on the basis of a precise diagnosis and cost estimate. These services are, partial restorations, however. without exception, available to It also repairs individual com- all models of the brands built ponents and rebuilds engines, since 1886. In addition, the transmissions, axles, steering workshop specializes in the systems and other assemblies if pre-war supercharged models, these are no longer available the 600 and all models from from the stocks of over 40,000 Your classic is given the same the 300 series including the different genuine Mercedes- devotion and expert care by 300 SL Gullwing. Benz parts. highly qualified staff as the museum’s dream cars. The customers’ classic cars are handled with the same devo- tion and expertise by highly qualified staff as the museum’s dream cars with which they rub tire shoulders in the work- shop.

After restoration at the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, a Daimler, Benz, Mercedes or Mercedes-Benz always remains an original. The Center’s workshop not only engages in complete or

11 experts in Fellbach at all times. The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center nevertheless remains the primary port of call for complete and partial restora- tions.

Since February 2006, owners of classic Mercedes-Benz cars in the USA have had their own port of call for service. In close cooperation with Mercedes-Benz USA, the first US Classic Center was ope- Owners of classic Mercedes- an extended range of ser- ned in Irvine, California, in Benz cars do not always vices is offered. These outlets February 2006. This ensures have to take their vehicles employ specialists with the life-long service for Mercedes- to Fellbach. They can turn relevant expertise and skills Benz classics in the USA as to over 500 Mercedes-Benz and operate the facilities well. sales and service outlets as required for a classic-car well as authorized partners in workshop. They are able to Another service rendered by Germany to obtain support provide competent advice the Mercedes-Benz Classic in procuring replacement parts in all questions relating to Center is the compilation of and literature. engineering, care, repair and expert reports on the originali- originality, and closely coor- ty of a classic car, including The same applies to classic- dinate their activities with the a description of its condition car partners in France, Belgium and Switzerland. At 19 of these outlets in Germany,

From April through to October, eleven historical Mercedes- Benz convertibles can be rented for private outings from the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center.

12 and documentation for all vehicles produced by the com- pany since the invention of the automobile in 1886.

Over and above this, all classic cars are thoroughly checked through before being offered for sale in the showroom of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center. The same applies to the historical convertibles From April through to October, eleven historical Mercedes-Benz included in the Classic Events’ convertibles can be rented for private outings from the Mercedes- pool of rental cars. These Benz Classic Center. cars, which can be rented for private excursions from April through to October, Mercedes-Benz Classic Center E-mail: [email protected] are regularly serviced by the contact data: Internet address: www.mercedes- workshop experts. benz.com/classic-center.com Mercedes-Benz Classic Center contact data: Visitors’ address: Daimler AG Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Classic Center Classic Center 000/R051 Stuttgarter Straße 90 70546 Stuttgart 70736 Fellbach Phone: +49 (0) 711 17 – 84040 Fax: +49 (0) 711 17 – 83456 Opening hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Fellbach near Stuttgart is the port of call for friends and owners of classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles from all over the world.

13 Repair of genuine vintage cars. Consult an expert!

Modern paints are superior to the original paints with regard to mechanical and UV-resistance.

The first automobile, the Benz debated topic among the compatible paint systems have Patent-Motorwagen, was not owners of vintage cars. Does it to be used. Nevertheless, painted. Karl Benz had the make sense and is it permitted classic cars, which are not refi- metal parts protected against to have the Mercedes-Benz nished with expertise or with corrosion with a kind of com- “Ponton” coated with nitrocel- the wrong shade, may lose mon black pitch. In those days, lulose paint as the original? Or considerably in value. Which two basic products were used is it more important that the car is why they should always as paint: oil varnish based looks good, i.e. like new after be refinished by a competent on linseed oil, or, if a special the restoration? As a general bodyshop. quality was required, amber rule, not all original paint varnishes obtained from liquid qualities are available today. amber resins which were very The original oil-based paint is expensive. recommended only for genuine historical rarities or museum Nowadays, the choice of the cars. For all other vehicles, “right” or ideal paint is a hotly modern and environmentally

14 A vintage car should not be performed to the required like the Repanet bodyshops repaired by an amateur – standards. High quality paint which exclusively use the paint no matter how enthusiastic systems must be applied by systems approved by Daimler he is. The health and safety skilled specialists. AG. requirements and the reliable repair of all systems with a Therefore, we recommend that Qualified bodyshops in your relevance to safety can only you always contact an authori- vicinity can be found at be guaranteed by an authori- sed Mercedes-Benz bodyshop www.repanet.com. sed Mercedes-Benz workshop. and/or qualified refinishers Here, the paint finish will be

Modern paints are superior to the original A Daimler, Benz, Mercedes or Mercedes-Benz paints with regard to mechanical and car remains an original even after its restoration UV-resistance. in the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center.

15 www.standox.com

THN COLOUR. THN STANDO.

When it comes to accuracy and matching, Standox offers unique colour competence. As a leading partner to OEMs for over 60 years, we also have the knowhow and advanced products to support bodyshops to deliver the highest quality service. Find out more about how we’ve become Number One for colour at:

www.standox.com/think-colour

An Axalta Coating Systems Brand

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