I'd appreciate input/advice on how best to proceed.

I'll try and keep it brief but would like to outline the position. I bought a 1994 Imperial Red (582) Mercedes SL500 last year, unused 10 years. I've done a lot to it with new suspension and a full underbody restoration.

I had planned on taking the car to a body shop for re painting when it is back up and running (still quite stripped down) but having not had the car in use, I would prefer to avoid the cost of total respraying just now. To my astonishment the paint has come up fabulously well with copious wet sanding and machine polishing. Seems it is in single stage 2k. Problem is it requires new front fenders/wings. 

Bottom line, How best to try and match the new front fenders/wings and in what type of paint? I thought the car was maybe originally 2k single stage but it looks like it must have been painted in 2k maybe 20 years ago. This has obviously let me cut the paint back and polish it up.

In the UK 2k is banned for use on passenger vehicles but I think you can still get it. Even if I do, of course it won't be likely to match too well. I have had some cellulose mixed in rattle cans and a tin (for my DIY use on unimportant areas) . It's colour is close-ish but fenders/wing will look well out.

What would be a preferred route in matching/blending and it what types of paint? It would be fantastic if someone was able to match the new fenders/wings really well. Many thanks.

Silver50 wrote:Problem is it requires new front fenders/wings.

Oh, you mean "guards'?

Silver50 wrote:In the UK 2k is banned for use on passenger vehicles

That's not quite how I understand it, which is that its use is banned in other than properly equipped shops with a full paint booth. It's still readily available but sale is limited to professionals; not allowed to amateurs. Some distributors might sell it to you but you only need one nosey neighbour to dob you in and you're in serious strife.

Best I could suggest is to buff up the rest of the body as best you can and then take the new guards together with the bonnet to a paint shop and get them to spray the guards to match. Edge to edge might not be 100% perfect but if they can colour match it shouldn't stand out.

Trying to paint the guards yourself in acrylic is unlikely to work, even if you get the paint professionally mixed and matched, mainly because acrylic lays down differently to 2K and that alone will make it look different.

^^^^^^ This!
Keep in mind that a good pro shop has the tints, and experience to get a decent color match, even if the "factory" mix is not the right color/shade. A painter with a good eye can cobble up a paint mix with what he has available, to match the paint, even if the older pigments that it was made with, aren't available any more.

Thanks for replies.

As I understand it in the UK vehicle painting in 2k is only ok now for farm/commercial vehicles. I therefore doubt my bodyshop will deal with 2k. Might be wrong, but I expect his paint supplier (who are trade only) may also not be so likely to get involved with 2k for him.

I still have a small section of an old front "guard" It is a pity I haven't got a bigger area of old panel though.

My bodyshop guy did say he'd try to get a good match for me but he wasn't aware the existing is 2k. I have only recently realised. He does a good deal for me in his busy shop so I don't want to make too much of a PITA of myself prior to what might be a smallish job.

I'm hoping to understand what the circumstances normally are nowadays if a car is 2k but needs a panel matched, now that 2k is normally "out" to use. i.e. Can a panel still match and look ok in a different paint type. Is cellulose base coat the norm these days, can a 2k panel be blended?