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Galvanising of Mercedes Cars

51K views 61 replies 34 participants last post by  hawk20 
#1 ·
GALVANISING OF MERCEDES CARS.

It is often asked, when did Mercedes start galvanising the steel panels of their cars. Some threads refer to Mercedes and BMW beginning galvanising in 2004. I now have -from an unimpeachable source- the detailed picture concerning Mercedes.

I set out the picture –model by model- below. I hope moderators/administrators will consider making this a sticky for a while as it is of general interest, not widely available, and because new threads are posted so often now that threads disappear from the front page in the twinkling of an eye.

C CLASS -203 series- saloon and estates: -

All steel panels were galvanised from Quarter 2 2003 production onwards.
During the previous six months (Q4 2002 + Q1 2003) the process was
gradually introduced on the production line and therefore some vehicles
were galvanised during this lead-up period, but not all.

E CLASS -211 series- saloon and estates: -

All steel panels were galvanised from Quarter 1, 2003, production onwards.
During the previous quarter (Q4, 2002) the process was gradually introduced
on the production line and therefore some vehicles were galvanised during
this lead-up period, but not all.

CLK CLASS – 209 series

All steel panels were galvanised from Quarter 2 2003 production onwards.
During the previous six months (Q4 2002 + Q1 2003) the process was
gradually introduced on the production line and therefore some vehicles
were galvanised during this lead-up period, but not all.

SL CLASS –R230 series

This is not so easy to be specific because the change-over period
continued right through into Q3 2004. So although many SLs were galvanised in early 2004 it is not till the end of the third quarter of 2004 that one can say that all were galvanised.

S CLASS –220series and CL class 215 series.

The S class and CL class are built of a combination of aluminium and steel. For the
aluminium components there is, of course, no galvanising process.

All steel panels were galvanised from Quarter 1 2003 production onwards.
During the previous quarter (Q4 2002) the process was gradually introduced
on the production line and therefore some vehicles were galvanised during
this lead-up period, but not all.

I hope members find this helpful.
 
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#28 ·
i can vouch

i just bought an 88 300E with just about all the paint gone from the harsh new mexico sun, so I know for sure that the body is galvanized uner the paint. Actually debating on weather to repaint it or to just chip off the remaining paint and have a flat, silver benz, lol
 
#29 ·
I just bought my first Mercedes, a 1990 300E, burgundy with tan interior. Love the colors. Overall condition of the body is good with the normal chips and parking lot dings you'd expect on a 17 year old car.

I buffed it out with a electric buffer and compound (the red stuff). I was amazed at how hard the clear coat is, very hard to buff out the scratches.

On another note. Porsche started fully galvanizing the 911 in 1978.
 
#30 · (Edited)
hawk20 said:
Fortunately in the UK, Mercedes give us a thirty year rust guarantee. Something no other maker will do. I don't know the position in the US. Someone care to fill us in??

While MB offers a 30 year rustout warranty in the UK, we in Canada have a 5 year rustout warranty for the exact same car. But back to the galvanising of body panels, does anyone know if there is any galvanising on the B class which is selling well in Canada? Derek
 
#31 ·
I was going to ask the same thing: what is the galvanizing story on the B-Class, 2008 model year?

FWIW my about-to-retire at 362,000 km 1988 Peugeot 405 is nearly all galvanized (no rust despite many harsh Interior BC winters), and on a Peugeot factory tour in 1986 I saw 505 body shells in production with rear fenders and lower panels all galvanized.
 
#34 ·
I have since read the exact same thing in the CDN dealer information package when the B-Class first came out in 2005. So yeah it is totally galvanised according to this info.

My new B 200 will - for the time being at least - be living outside within 100 m of the Pacific Ocean, so I hope the anti-rust treatment is OK. My 67% galvanised Peugeot 405 has held up very well over the last 19 years.

I may try to re-arrange the interior of my garage to get three cars in there: my 404 C, my smart and the B 200. It is possible but I need to redesign the storage area.

Your photos of the hood look worrying, are those rust stains coming out of the holes, or is it something else?
 
#35 ·
B Class Product Information excerpt

From the CDN B-Class Product Infomation publication:

Corrosion Protection: fully galvanized, partly double-coated body panels

Mercedes-Benz has developed an effective package of measures for long-term anti-corrosion protection. This is based on fully galvanized body panels, some of which have an additional organic coating on both sides depending on their location, e.g.on the doors or on the front, side and rear longitudinal members. This coating also contains rust-inhibiting zinc pigments. Mercedes-Benz also protects the most vulnerable structural areas of the bodywork with a cavity-fill preserving agent, for example on the front side members, the upper side member plane, the door sills and the rear wheel fenders. The Mercedes-Benz experts also weather-seal the welding seams in order to prevent the onset of corrosion. The seam sealing benefits not only the hood, doors, tailgate, rear wheel fenders and flap over the fuel filler cap, but also a large proportion of the welded points in the floor structure of the new B-Class, including the spare tire and battery recesses.
 
#36 · (Edited)
MikeT. said:
I have since read the exact same thing in the CDN dealer information package when the B-Class first came out in 2005. So yeah it is totally galvanised according to this info.

My new B 200 will - for the time being at least - be living outside within 100 m of the Pacific Ocean, so I hope the anti-rust treatment is OK. My 67% galvanised Peugeot 405 has held up very well over the last 19 years.

I may try to re-arrange the interior of my garage to get three cars in there: my 404 C, my smart and the B 200. It is possible but I need to redesign the storage area.

Your photos of the hood look worrying, are those rust stains coming out of the holes, or is it something else?

Hi Mike,

Thanks so much for the info page on galvanizing. I can sleep a little better because of that page. That hood posting is very accurate, unfortunately, and what you see in the holes is body cavity wax that I applied from a spray and a brush. When I raised the hood(bonnet), water poured down onto the headlight from the hood. I knew water was trapped somewhere up there. A terrible design flaw from Mercedes and the dealer admits it. The galvanizing will help but in the end, the rust will win. No hood insulator doesn't help. Splashup marks are easily seen under the hood. I'm still not sure where the water comes from, I removed the black plastic strip on the top of the hood near the wipers and there are large holes that should have had grommets installed. The right wheel well also has a small gap that could easily let water splash up. I've sealed all those places. I think I did the right thing with that posting and I hope others will follow my lead.
Cheers, Derek:eclipsee_steering:
 
#40 · (Edited)
Quote from MTI above??

So, let me get this straight.....cavity wax is applied, and then the primer, and then the color and clear.
What's wrong with that statement!!! I'd like to see that MB document.

The B class is covered with 2 coats of cavity wax in about 50 visible places.(MB states)
The hood is completely done twice, yet on inspecting this hood, I can't see or feel any cavity wax. Just smooth red paint. I don't get it??? Anyone know how this process works???
 
#44 ·
I've used it in the doors and tailgate. All seams that I could get at including the hood.
The underbody is well coated from the factory and seems to have been heavily applied with a brush.
I removed the inner wheel wells(front & rear) and applied it to all accessible metal surfaces and aluminum parts.
The salt we have here is very corrosive for practically 6 months a year.
I'd like to keep the B as pristine as possible for as long as possible.
 
#45 ·
They are using the same salt down here in the USA, even in Missouri. I read a article on it and they call it salt on steriods. It is way stronger then the stuff they use to use. I wash my cars 2X a week at a upscale car wash that does the bottom blast to clean the undercarriage, just to try and keep most of it off.
 
#50 · (Edited)
I recently sold my old ford falcon (1994) and swapped one of the pannels over (after my dad had done some supermarket post-panel readjustments to it) and noticed that it was galvanised, it's odd that merc didnt take up doing it until recently and ford oz had been doing it all that time ago. It's a really good thing as far as i can tell as there was no rust on the thing anywhere and earlier models copped it pretty bad.
 
#52 ·
God, I hope so, after going on the MBowners forum and reading the littany of 98-2003 rust problems. I notice that MB don't say anything in their brochure or website or handbook. It never occurred to me that the car wasn't galvanized when I bought it. (my 97 pontiracket was and is still rust free)

Anyone know for sure, and if so why is the warranty so short.

K
 
#53 ·
My question is if it`s possible to find out if my car is galvanized. Is it some code i can look for? I do have a 2004 E320 CDI with nano-paint, which is symbolized whit an "C" in the paint-code. I guess there is some way to find out if my car is galvanized, I just don`t know how.

Anybody??
 
#54 ·
The answer to your query and others on recent cars is in the original posting in that all cars produced from beginning 2003 onwards are fully galvanised (all steel panels but obviously not the aluminium panels or plastic bumpers etc). In the UK they now give a 30 year rust warranty.

Even the A class is fully galvanised on all steel panels.
 

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#56 ·
I am also dealing the MB Canada regarding the corrosion on my 2002 c230. I am curious why nobody has attempted/started a class-action lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz in Canada or other markets due to this alleged manufacturing flaw. I realize much of what we read on the forums comes from unofficial sources, however the only way to get to the bottom of this might be through the discovery process via the courts. If the court action is certified by the courts official company records can be requested via the discovery process and usually made public.

Owners of Hyundai's have so far been successful (CanadianDriver General News Hyundai corrosion lawsuit moves forward) in their lawsuit and will no doubt result in a settlement in the near future. If MB owners act as a block we have alot of power as a group (1000+ owners giving 200 bucks pays for ~$200k in legal costs, or percentage arrangement).

I too an tired of getting the run-around on this, if Mercedes-Benz has done nothing wrong then such a court action will absolve them, however IF they are found to have *knowingly* sold defective vehicles then I believe they should be made to own up to this mistake.

Regards,
Rich...
 
#57 · (Edited)
MB vehicles leave the factory fully protected against weather attack. Nevertheless, how each individual deals with maintenance will determine how effective will the factory built defenses be.

Galvanized steel is prone to attack by chemicals (like street treatment salt and acid and grim rainwater), so it has to be protected by maintaining surfaces cleaned and if possible water resistant (like with waxes and sealants).

This general maintenance should be typical for any finish, since on non-galvanized steel surfaces the protection is just as good, by dipping the metal surfaces into proven corrosion resistant compounds.

Without taking care of your car, expect to have to pay the piper at some time, generally in the somehow distant future. Understand that Aluminum itself protects itself from corrosion with a clear or milky coat which forms over its surface with time. So everything requires cleaning and protection.
My advise is that instead of going jumping through hoops speculating how concerned you should be, get into a car care web store which post a maintenance manual, such as Autobarn, Autogeek, Car Care...

Cheers and enjoy the exercise of maintaining the car and the beauty of the MB ride.

JV :)


PS Note that if you wish new primer or base paint to bond well, an electrostatic gun should be used to apply them, or the surface should be treated as recommended by the paint manufacturer prior to application. As for the clear coating, PPG European Formula Ceramic Clear Coat is the ticket (Superhard protection surfacing product used by MB). Don't allow shysters or discount paint outlets sell you a poor job.
 
#60 ·
MB vehicles leave the factory fully protected against weather attack. Nevertheless, how each individual deals with maintenance will determine how effective will the factory built defenses be.
Joe,
You are certainly correct to say this statement regarding current and most likely post-2003 manufactured by Mercedes-Benz. However there are *allegations* that cars manufactured during a specific time interval were NOT protected properly from corrosion. And by "properly" I mean to the corrosion protection standards/techniques generally used and accepted by other car manufactures of the era. If a vehicle is not properly protected from corrosion at the factory, your car likely suffer from premature corrosion no matter how well it was cared for.

However, to date I have not seen hard evidence to support this allegation, just a lot of people hearing things from service managers and other unnamed sources. It would be helpful if people could post the sources of their information, particularly the statements made on the first post of this thread.

Sadly, I suspect the outcome of this issue for most will simply to avoid the MB brand in the future in favor of other manufacturers. A shame considering the excellent engineering and quality standards MB has generally used in the manufacturing of their vehicles during their long storied history. Right now I'm very torn on this issue myself, as I do love the brand, but their unwillingness to publicly deny or accept (and respond to) these allegations has shaken my faith in MB.

Rich...
 
#59 ·
Well Joe,
As a matter of fact there were rust issues at MB that is why there was a bulletin to check and introduce a wax sealant it applied to 203 and 210 cars and there were specific rannges of VIN #s and approximayely 170,000 vehicles were effected. The MB bulletin is 2005030005 and refers to "premature corrosion".
My 01 E wagon had the SERVICE CAMPAIGN performed and just recently had chunks of metal and paint fall, from between the door seal and the outer lip of both front doors. The MB body shop wanted $1600 and proposed removing the door seals sand blasting the exterior and interior of all the doors, treating them with preservative and repainting. They showed my pictures to the "zone" rep and examined the car. I was not happy with the price, but the final agreement was to have them reduce the estimate to "warranty" pricing $1100 and they would contribute $500. The car is in as we speak, the body shop manager was this rust, is not unusual and has seen some that have been worse and in one case the proposal was to replace the doors. MY 92 S sits right next to it in the garage and only has a slight blemish one one corner of the moon roof.
 
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