Damage and stress caused to paintwork by external influences - AH98.00-P-8070-02A
Model 124, 126, 129, 140, 163, 164, 166, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 197, 199, 201, 202, 203, 204, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 215, 216, 218, 219, 220, 221, 230, 240, 245, 246, 251, 460, 461, 463
Stress to paint
- Temperature (cold, heat)
- Humidity and UV rays
- Aggressive dirt, e.g. bird lime
- Mechanical effects such as dust, sand, scratches
Paintwork structure
In addition to the effects caused by chemical or biological substances such as sulfurous acid (acid rain), oil soot, road salt, surfactants, tree resin, insects, bird lime and mechanical damage caused by washing brushes and stone chipping, damage can also be caused by moisture and UV radiation from the sun.
The pigmented standard finishes are particularly endangered by the type of damage mentioned last. The fine plastic film of synthetic resin surrounding and protecting the coloring pigment particles is destroyed in the course of time by the effect of UV radiation exposing the coloring pigment. This makes the paint surface dull.
When the pigment protecting synthetic layer is removed by polishing with products containing abrasive agents, even on new vehicles, the pigment weathering process begins even earlier.
The degree of damage depends on the intensity and duration of the UV radiation which cannot be avoided even with the best paints. For this reason, careful care of the paintwork repeated at proper intervals as well as technical maintenance helps preserve the value of the vehicle. With good paintwork care, the gloss of the new paintwork can be maintained significantly longer.
A 16-minute film is available on DVD and VHS cassette under the title "Vehicle paintwork under continuous stress".
In particular, the following subjects are treated:
- Paint damage
- Damage assessment
- Eliminating damage
- Paint care
The film is extremely good for providing assistance with matters concerning diagnosis and advice. It helps you with customer argumentation and is supplementary to the technical information in the "Paintwork and corrosion protection" manual, which should be used in the customer contact area of every Mercedes-Benz service center.