280sel finally arrives

[Paul S]

Hello Mercedes people.
After a nine month search I have purchased a 1980 280 sel from John Conroy in Brisbane . The car has done about 240000km and has been repainted so looks great.
It is having a few teething problems getting its blue slip in Sydney.
On some side issues...
1/ Could anyone recommend someone to 'Foam up' the slightly sagging front door trims (including reattaching of the drivers door trim)?
2/ What are people using for the maintenance of the brightwork/chromework? I have heard of autosol Metal clean. Is this good?
3/ similar question for maintenance of the internal wood panelling.
4/The front bumper has a little rust behind one of the rubbers. How should I repair this?
Thanks for your help.
Paul

[pastelgrey300D]

Hi Paul and congrats on the purchase!

Re: The door trims, not sure what you mean, would you be able to post some pics up?

For chrome trim and brightwork I use meguiars all metal polish, you can get it at most auto parts stores. Be very careful with other metal polishes as they can be abrasive - over time this will wear through the chrome or the very thin layer of anodising on alloy trim parts. I prefer the meguiars all metal polish as it is non abrasive and the water beads after.

Internal wood I've used plexus to clean/polish - but to remove light scratches you can use meguiars plast-x plastic polish.

How bad is the rust on the bumper? If it is just light surface rust with no chrome starting to flake off you can polish with 0000 super fine grade steel wool soaked in WD40. This will remove the surface rust - then wash down with soapy water, wipe over with a rag soaked in methylated spirits and then apply meguiars all metal polish.

[Paul S]

I love the Meguiars range and I love the sound of beading after washing.
I will post some photos of the door trims soon so you can assess but my understanding is that there is foam??? between the door trim and door that slowly comes out as the door opens and closes over the course of time and this make the trim less volumised.
Also the thing that makes the door remain open at regulated levels is worn .Have you dealt with that?

[Giles]

Are you referring to the door check straps.

image.jpg

If so I have two that may suit, about to Ebay them as I don't have a W116 any longer.

My remedy for dull bright work is Autosol in conjunction with 0000 Super Fine Steel Wool, sounds random but with some elbow grease and flannelette cloth it works a treat.



Giles

[Paul S]

Hello Giles ,
I will have a look at the car tomorrow and see if it is the door check straps .
about how much are you selling them for?
Paul

[bahnstormer109]

I think Paul means the foam padding inside the front door upholstery that on W116's turns to dust and then the door upholstery gets a bit baggy and loose instead of being padded.

I know the previous owner of this car and borrowed it a couple of times while my daily driver was getting fixed and drove it a fair bit. It was a good original car that has had a decent resto done on it in the past couple of years. A lot of money has been spent on it and it would be one of the best W116's around.

I hope you look after it.

IMG_0234sml.jpg

[Paul S]

Guys
I am going to find out why I am not given permission to open your jpegs.
Mr bahnstormer .I imagine you are talking about V K. Thank you so much for this information.i have some receipts of the work he did and know he has spent time and money on the car .I bought it for this reason and am going to enjoy keeping it original and in good condition. Do you know who did the respray? It seems such a lovely job .
Paul

[Paul S]

And suddenly I can see the photos. Yes that is my car now living in Sydney looking splendid (to me) and yes you are correct I am talking about the foam that turns to dust over the course of time. I want to repad the foam on door trims.
Giles .What do you feel is a reasonable price for the door things?
Paul

[Giles]

I have two check straps you can have for $30- plus post which will be $15-.

Regards,

Giles

[bahnstormer109]

Hi Paul the repaint was done by MBQ here in Brisbane, they are the MB official panel shop.

[bahnstormer109]

image.jpg

The original material that padded the interior front door panels was similar to this. It has a coarse open texture to allow the air to circulate from the vents from the dash to the doors. The rear doors have a more conventional foam that doesn't tend to deteriorate. It always seems to be the front doors that disintegrate on the w116. I re-padded my old 280SEL myself years ago and it wasn't difficult.

[Paul S]

Giles
That is fine and I can pay via paypal.
what information do you need?
Paul

[Giles]

Giles
That is fine and I can pay via paypal.
what information do you need?
Paul

Can you email me gilesya@bigpond.com and let me know what your Paypal email, delivery address is and I'll send you an invoice.

Cheers,

Giles