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.