Time for the body shop

[adamb]

After 9 years of ownership it is time for the 6,9 to go to the body shop for a complete respray. The old paint is in a bad state and there is rust on rear wheel arches and a dent in the rear panel after a crash 2 years ago. I'm really excited about this event, it's going to cost me a fair amount but the satisfaction is worth it. The new colour will not be a Mercedes original but something custom that I want for myself. Will keep the forum posted as work progresses.

I've stripped the car of chrome, plastic and rubber leaving the shop to do the rest. After the outside I am doing work on the inside to including replacing the headlining and all carpets that are showing wear. The black leather interior is okay but with time I may choose to re-leather the whole lot.

[Mforcer]

Very exciting.

It also goes to show how good the cars look even without the chrome

[oscar]

Looks like a w126

All the best with it Adam and good on you for choosing a colour you want.  So Milan Brown wasn't an option 
I like white, some people hate it, but I'm looking forward to seeing what you've chosen.   If I had to guess what the mystery colour would be I'd say a fine flake metallic black with a slight green tint. 

[TJ 450]

It's good to hear that the enthusiasm is alive and well.

I bet it will be very rewarding having the car resprayed. There seems to have been quite a number of paint jobs/restorations completed over the last little while.

It's all about preserving the 116 for the future, and massive respect to all you guys for doing it.

Tim

[thysonsacclaim]

I'm sure the process will be very rewarding when you are finished. Nothing prettier than a freshly painted car with a brand new interior. Can't wait to see the pictures when you've completed the job!


Adam

[jbrasile]

adamb,

Congratulations, I am sure you will be very pleased with the results. Our cars are extremely rewarding to work on and they respond very well to these types of projects.

One suggestion though and this is my personal opinion, keep the color original. Your car is DB737 right? Same as the 1980 450SEL that I have in LA, it is a nice shade of white that goes very well with any color interior.

I say that because to do a correct color change you have to disassemble the car completely removing the engine, suspension, all of the interior, etc Not only is that pretty expensive, but you also risk damaging things that are sometimes NLA. Also I always feel better having a car whose data plate matches the paint, again this is my opinion.

White is "THE COLOR" right now for luxury, sports and exotics  all over the world, so you will end up with an original 6.9 that will at the same time be current with the  market for cars of its caliber.

Tks,

Joe

[adamb]

Thanks for all your responses.

Joe, white is practical and looks good in hot countries. It's not a great colour in wet cold England where dirt from the road quickly makes the car look awful. White is also not a good colour to contrast with acres of chrome with which the 116 is bestowed.

I acknowledge the current obsession with white. It seems to have started in part in London to where rich Arabs bring their exotica from the scorching Middle East. Out there white and silver are the only practical colours. The city is now flooded with white Range Rovers, Audi TTs, Bentley Continentals and other future car auction debris. Secondhand buyers are more pragmatic and white cars depreciate at an even more alarming rate.

For my 6.9 it's time for a change. It'll be a personal choice and not an MB original colour code..... but but but I really wanted Magnetic Blue at one point. I now have a parts car in that colour. It looks good for a rust bucket.  Other favourites are Ikon Gold and Milan Brown (Oscar is right).... So many colours so little opportunity to try them all.

[s class]

Ikon Gold and Blue Magnetite both look stunning with a black interior.  Milan brown will not work with a black interior. 

[jbrasile]

Got it Adam,

Well.... I am a little partial to Ikon Gold, hehehe.... and yes it does look great with a black interior.

Anthracite is also a great color as is the Magnetite Blue you mentioned.

Tks,

Joe

[ponton]

Keep us update with pictures!  I will hopefully be returning my 126 back to silver blue metallic this summer from maaco silver.

[Type17]

Good luck with the work, always exciting to see a freshly painted car after a colour-change.

I presume you know of this site, but just on the off-chance that you didn't, and want to compare various MB colours: www.astralsilber.de

[adamb]

Yes, I've seen that site before but it is still a very useful link. Presumably colours change with monitor brightness but it's still a decent indicator.

[Type17]

Tip: A good technique to overcome the vagaries of different monitors and different photographic lighting conditions is to type the paint code and name in German, eg: "904 Dunkelblau", into Google image search and get an idea of the "average" colour from looking at loads of cars in various conditions and ruling out anything that looks too dark, too light, or wildly off-colour.

[gf]

Wow adam! was it a lot of work getting all those bits off? anyone heard that youre not supposed to polish a car for 6 months after a respray? not sure where i heard this one or if its even true? and are you going to rechrome all the shiny bits? i love following these photo posts of car progress. makes me think about this stuff whenever i got spare cash floating around

[adamb]

Wow adam! was it a lot of work getting all those bits off? anyone heard that youre not supposed to polish a car for 6 months after a respray? not sure where i heard this one or if its even true? and are you going to rechrome all the shiny bits? i love following these photo posts of car progress. makes me think about this stuff whenever i got spare cash floating around

It took a lot of evenings but that's because I tend to work long hours. I got an occasional window between 8:30pm and 10pm when it's not too freezing. The most important thing was patience. Reassembly will take a while.

I think you are not supposed to polish or cover the car in the first few months.