Paint question. Pearl or regular?

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imported_guapsnaman

New member
Hey guys, my friend asked me to post this for him since he is not part of the Autopia community.



He is about to paint his car and wanted to know the differences between pearl paint and the regulay paint.



He was thinking that pearl paint is better because it is more expensive than the regualr one but I dont think this is the case.



Can someone help me out over here?
 
Generally speaking (somewhat over-simplified), the pearl colors have an extra step, the addition of the "pearlescent" material that gives them their special look. That's why they cost more. It's not like they're "better or worse", they just have more stuff/steps and that adds to the cost.



Note that they are a little harder to get right and that touch-ups/repairs do NOT usually go well. So much so that *I* wouldn't want a pearl, myself. We've had pearl white Audis in the family, and they only looked nice until they'd been repaired. Even stone chip touch-ups looked awful to me, enough so that *I* usually thought it better to NOT repair them.



Same old thing: more expensive doesn't always mean better.
 
Accumulator said:
Generally speaking (somewhat over-simplified), the pearl colors have an extra step, the addition of the "pearlescent" material that gives them their special look. That's why they cost more. It's not like they're "better or worse", they just have more stuff/steps and that adds to the cost.



Note that they are a little harder to get right and that touch-ups/repairs do NOT usually go well. So much so that *I* wouldn't want a pearl, myself. We've had pearl white Audis in the family, and they only looked nice until they'd been repaired. Even stone chip touch-ups looked awful to me, enough so that *I* usually thought it better to NOT repair them.



Same old thing: more expensive doesn't always mean better.
Click to expand...



I currently have Black Pearl Paint and I concur with Accumulator, they're a pain in the but when it comes time to touch them up or repaint. I've seen a few other cars with the same color which have repairs, the repairs are always obvious IMO. They do look nice though when new and shiny.;)
 
MBZ 500E- Not to thread-jack, but you just reminded me- my last Benz ('86 560 SEC redone by AMGNA) was pearl black. That's ONE pearl color that they can match pretty well (all the AMG bodykit parts matched OK, though *I* bought it for the mechanicals ;) ).
 
Accumulator said:
MBZ 500E- Not to thread-jack, but you just reminded me- my last Benz ('86 560 SEC redone by AMGNA) was pearl black. That's ONE pearl color that they can match pretty well (all the AMG bodykit parts matched OK, though *I* bought it for the mechanicals ;) ).
Click to expand...



Big question is WHY DID YOU GET RID OF IT!!! That is a rare and very beautiful car which I would love to own. Can you tell I have a soft spot for 560SEC's:o Would love to see pics if you have any?



Black pearl isn't hard to paint match when you're talking about panels that have creases between them like the lower cladding and body kits. The problems I've seen include too much blue/green metal flake or too little silver flake which gives the car a green or black hue respectively. I've also noticed that the flake sizes don't always match and aftermarket paint jobs have smaller flakes giving it a finer metallic look. Again neither of these are really noticeable on broken panels because lighting doesn't hit them the same way........so I guess there are exceptions.;)
 
I've actually had really good luck touching mine up (knock on wood) I think it probably has a lot to do with the base color...
 
MBZ 500E said:
Big question is WHY DID YOU GET RID OF IT!!! That is a rare and very beautiful car which I would love to own. Can you tell I have a soft spot for 560SEC's:o Would love to see pics if you have any?
Click to expand...



I guess it's OK to sorta take over this thread, as guapsnaman seems to have gotten his Q answered :o



I couldn't get reliable mechanical work done locall at that time, this was before I found my current mechanics. Heh heh, took two months to get the speedo properly calibrated when I put in some 4.10s. The local guys would just say stuff like "those aren't stock heads, there're too many valves.. :confused: ", etc. Then some [individual] keyed it, THEN I realized I'd have to further upgrade the brakes for track use (had a white-knuckle moment at Mid-Ohio :eek: ). Then the stereo had a major melt-down and the tranny started slipping...*THEN* I had a HUGE falling out with the owner of the local dealership (only Benz, Jag, and Porsche franchise in town) when their shoddy work literally endangered my wife. So we sold off all the Porsches and Benzes in the family (and my dad even sold his Jag) and we all switched to Audis.



Now I sorta wish I'd just mothballed it, but that's how it goes.



Yeah, Accumulatorette and I loved those things. She called hers "Jeeves" after the valet-like seatbelt extender :D She had a stock '88 and taught some guys in MUCH "faster" cars a thing or two on the track :D If I *EVER* :rolleyes: get to posting some pics, I'll be sure to see if I have any of the SEC's. Somewhere we oughta have pics of them at Mid-Ohio.
 
Way off topic now......



I can relate to the poor service issue. I had a 190E years ago when I lived in Upstate NY, the dealer always felt the need to screw me when I went in for service. I had to have the sunroof cable replaced 3 times (at my expense) and two valve jobs (one at their expense) which left me with a very sour taste. CA is the exact oposite, there are so many good service shops you have a tough time choosing which one to go to. I've also started doing a lot of my own work now since I've found helpful friends.....which makes a big difference.



Sad that the dealers service was the reason the SEC's had to go, you know it's a collectable right? Even more off topic I saw a Euro 560SEL AMG on a Mustang Dyno last year that was pushing 340HP at the rear wheels :shocked and the car was in rough shape. If you add 20% to that for MB's drivetrain loss you get 408Hp at the crank, what a beast!!!:cool:
 
Yeah, now that (original) AMG cars are older they're getting sorta rough, people can afford to BUY them who might not take the best CARE of them.



You ARE lucky to have good shops available. The dealer that bought my Benzes and Porsche (Isringhausen Imports in IL, great people, BTW) had the AMG all sorted in less than a week and the next owner put over 75K :eek: miles on it with no "unscheduled" work! I spoke with him a few times and he really loved and cherished the car; as I recall, he only sold it when he got a new Bentley.



I don't doubt the dyno numbers on that SEL, mine was a real beast too. "Traction challenged" heh heh. Upscale German version of my old Plymouth Road Runners.
 
My car is a pearl white. I like the appearance of it, but the cost of repairs is much higher due to the complex paint.

It is also harder to touch up small chips, since the pearl and the base color must be blended to just the right shade in order to match the paint color.

Some people may think the pearl colors are "better", but I think the difficulties of the paint outweigh the benefits.
 
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