I have heard and have seen some SLK interiors peeling.

I do not have any peeling and hope not to.

I only use a soft towel to clean interior.

What causes the peeling?

Would cleaners of some sort be the cause?

No peeling caused by top layer (paint) separating from console. there is no cleaners or anything that can contribute\prevent peeling. It just after some time paint starts to separate form the parts.

 

So the dash and console is a painted surface???? Hmmm
Wonder if heat could be a factor to the peeling.

I will just stay with my "no touch" policy and clean very carefully with soft cloth.

Thanks.

 

I don't think it is as much a "peeling" problem for most of us, as a vulnerability to being knocked off or scratched when bumped. Because the SLK comes with several interior color packages in which the hard plastic parts are "painted" to match the upholstery, ALL of the molded parts are molded of a black plastic material, which appears to be that of the upper dashtop material, then painted with either a charcoal grey (for the single color interiors) or a light cream, red, or blue, for the more colorful versions. Like most plastics, they don't take and hold (politically correct in Germany) mostly water based paint too well, so that if the paint is gouged or abraded, the black plastic shows through. The light colors reveal this worst, but you can also see where the charcoal grey is knocked off, just not as badly.

We would all have been better served by the use of solidly colored plastics, as most cars have these days, or an interior style that did not require painted plastics to match the rest of the interior, such as leather covered consoles and 'bump" pads in vulnerable locations.

The latest version of the R-171 seems to have a more durable choice of interior materials for the similar parts (although the first R-171s used a rather "creepy" material for the dash.) Why they seem to have lost their memory of the durable plastics used back in the '70s is a mystery.

 

Our 98 Mustang is the same, painted panels, after years of keys, seatbelts, and general wear the paint chips off in spots and has to be re-dyed. I've touched up the areas on both the SLK and Mustang and it looks as good as new. The only real problem area are the door grab handles. Does anyone know what theses sell for new?

 

No peeling caused by top layer (paint) separating from console. there is no cleaners or anything that can contribute\prevent peeling. It just after some time paint starts to separate form the parts.

I think it could be a case of poor surface preparation - The makers of the same product in Aust stress cleanliness when applying (cleaner then alcohol)

By the way, 3 members have ordered a litre each of Salsa red/Anthracite and Siam beige (not to be confused with Sienna beige which is less creamy)

We have agreed to post contact details when it has been sent to the USA so that other members can get some.

Oberoi

 

HMMM ???? Leather covered consol to match my seats....Hmmmm
might be worth looking into for the future instead of painting it.

I can't see replacing a problem with a problem solution... ie paint.

Leather may not look that bad with my interior.

 

Leather may not look that bad with my interior.

Leather or Carbon Fiber is my plan as well.

 

i need some of this red paint... can you help.

 

There are 2 different reds -SCARLET and CRIMSON

Go onto Mercedes-Benz Club Russia | Mercedes-Benz / VIN to get your colour(you need your VIN)

Then order from alan@viponds.com.au

Oberoi

 

I think it could be a case of poor surface preparation - The makers of the same product in Aust stress cleanliness when applying (cleaner then alcohol)

Personally I think it is another case of the damn tree huggers causing damage to the automobile manufacturing process. Whine you can't use those chemicals they are bad for the environment, boo hoo you big meany. If you don't stop we will make a rucus. Auto company - uhhh the water based products suck and don't hold up. Tree Huggers - we don't care use the crap or we will say you don't like children and are trying to posion them all.

 

I don't think that is the case since, in Germany, the use of VOCs is still permitted in paints.

 

Holy crap ! - what brought that on? -- sorry if you're having a bad day !!

 

Ordered my interior paint from Vipons and will be posting before and after pix

 

I manually peeled the dark gray paint off the center console on my 2000 slk230 and the plain black plastic is very even and actually looks pretty good. It was a tedious job...I quit after the console.
Is there a better/quicker way to peel off this rubber-like paint than the manual rubbing method I used?

 

I am eating my own words, but is there an easier way to get the center console paint off???

 

ITS NOT PAINT, its a rubberized coating used on a lot of German cars. I've seen it in BMW's and its all over my brothers 04' Audi A4. Its very prone to abrasion. So here are a few remedies..

1. Get it all off, black on anything looks good

2. Get it all off, and use "Dupli-Color" Vinyl and fabric spray to match your interior.

3. Get it all off and use Plastic-Dip spray (Available in other colors) (Black is available at Home Depot) This will get you that rubbery feel again.

 

O.k. I've gone through a good number of products to find one that is safe on plastics. The best one I have found is a Graffiti stripper that I got at Walmart. I only found it at one Walmart btw, since they have really been reducing their stock lately. I can't tell you the name of it right now, but it comes in a white spray bottle and has "graffitti" on the front.

I stripped it down to the plastic, rubbed it in alcohol and have been applying my Plasti-Dip spray, which you can buy at Home Depot. I can honestly say it looks top notch, and gives that same rubbery feel again. If need be it should be easy to touch up. Fortunately for me my 320's interior is black to going from Anthracite to full black is a very welcome look.

 

I just finished redoing the interior of my 98 SLK. Not only was the grey rubberized paint coming off ( I did repaint w/Viponds ), but the ABS plastic MB uses was breaking off. I had to completely replace the center console ( where the radio is ) and re-glue/epoxy all the other ABS interior parts.
I noticed that the new center console from MB did NOT have a thick rubber paint coat nor was the entire piece dipped in the paint.
I believe that MB engineers only considered the weather in Bavaria when choosing the interior finish ( warm summer day of about 78 F ). The worst cases of paint peeling seem to be in hot areas, southern US and Australia.
After considering many options I repainted with truck bed liner from Wallyworld. It's thick, flat black and should never wear off.

 

I agree that the peeling problem is due, at least in part, to temperature. My SLK is 10 years old with no interior peeling. I live in Alaska - high temperatures of 60 degrees F this summer. When I get where I'm going, I put the top up, not leave it to sit and bake in the sun until I come back (oh, if we only had some sun this summer). And, most importantly, the car has been garage kept all its life. I'm guessing the problem is more prevalent in places like California and Florida.

--Larry