W124 crash repair – rust repair and repaint
Before my 300TE could be repainted, the rust uncovered in the rear window apertures had to be repaired. The rust was cut out and the area welded – we didn’t use any specific repair panels in my case.
Once all the rust was repaired, the next step was obviously paint. Since the whole car was not being resprayed, just the rear quarters and roof the colour had to be blended in. The goal wasn’t to get my car perfect, but to fix any rust and get it looking really good without the expense of a full respray.
While most of the work is in the preparation, it’s when the colour goes on that the car is really transformed. Seeing how much better it was looking when I visited made a big difference.
The car looks really sleek without the roof racks and rubbing strips on the roof. However, I do plan to put it back to the stock look.
The bumper was painted separately and will go on later. One of the things that attracted me to this car at the time of purchase was the colour – 888 Beryll. Its a great colour and looks so much better without the badly faded roof. By 1990 it was getting rarer for a Mercedes-Benz to be sold in an interesting colour.
I was also impressed with the red XJC parked under the hoist next to my 300TE. I’m a big fan of the XJC, and red is a great colour for one.
