why is my sterling 3 differnt shades???

[n2motorsports]

my paint is horrid, the quarter panel, fender, and door seem to be 3 different shades of silver.  anyone else have this problem, i notice it in red cars as well.

will a good polish and wax cure this?

[318kid]

Ya my problem is kinda like that except mine has a bunch of thin scratches. I tried waxing it but it didn't work. I'd have to see how your paint is before I can actually tell you so post up some pics.

[strad]

And you're sure it hasn't been in at least two accidents?

I have this problem, but that's because my car has been repainted as a result of accidents.  Nothing short of a complete respray will fix it.

[D. Clay]

Painting the complete side of the car helps a lot. Red and silver are two of the most difficult colors to match. Red starts to fade instantly. Silver's "color" is an interaction with the metal flake, mica, or whatever you choose to call it. Even a difference in air pressure can make it lay differently. Clear coats also have a texture. German cars are sometimes painted with a clear that has a lot of orange peel and are then color sanded and buffed on the flat surfaces and the upper part of the sides. The lower part is left with the orange peel. Sometimes you can tell these cars have been repainted if the clear is slick on all parts of the panel on one side and not the other.]
A complete paint is expensive and a lot of times exceeds the value of an E30.

[ducatipaso]

Red and silver are two of the most difficult colors to match. Red starts to fade instantly.

ask me sometime why my cabrio is 3 shades of red.

it's subtle, but really stands out when I'm under high-discharge lights like in a parking lot at a G2G

[D. Clay]

A cabrio can be easy to repaint if you R&R the trim yourself. An unbroken film of paint that goes under the trim looks much better than taped off pieces which are never perfect. Remove the grille, taillight, door handle and side trim. Go ahead and buy the side trim clips for reinstall as you can't get them off without breaking a bunch. With the door upholstery removed you can see the clips that hold the upper door trim. Just raise it up as far as it will go without removing it. When you sand and paint you will end up with an unbroken film of paint that goes under the molding. Push it back down afterwards. I'm not sure about the quarter and upper deck trim on the cabrio ot the vent glass. A neat trick is to remove the lockstrip on the windshield gasket and lay it out somewhere in the exact shape it came off. This makes it easier to get back on. There's a tool you can get on BavAuto and a lot of other places that makes reinstall so easy it's worth $18. With the lockstrip out the gasket will flex enough to allow you to put a piece of cord under it. This will hold it up enough to sand under the gasket and allow a film of paint that goes under the gasket. A blend on the windshield pillar is not very noticeable.
I prepped my coupe and got it painted diamondschwarz, clear coat, color sanded and buffed on the upper surfaces for $1500. The paint alone was about $500. The discount places would have done it for $900 using good paint. The big drawback was the car  being out of commission for a month. I'm old and slow. One side of a cabrio could be done in a week.

[n2motorsports]

so i take it, a polish will not do anything for it?

man, i should have posted this prior to buying the porter cable polisher

[D. Clay]

so i take it, a polish will not do anything for it?

man, i should have posted this prior to buying the porter cable polisher

A polish will usually make it look OK for six months to a year. Then the older paint will appear different than the newer again. You can always use that buffer. It's first class. If a polish works it's the easiest solution.

[ducatipaso]

A cabrio can be easy to repaint if you R&R the trim yourself. An unbroken film of paint that goes under the trim looks much better than taped off pieces which are never perfect. Remove the grille, taillight, door handle and side trim. Go ahead and buy the side trim clips for reinstall as you can't get them off without breaking a bunch. With the door upholstery removed you can see the clips that hold the upper door trim. Just raise it up as far as it will go without removing it. When you sand and paint you will end up with an unbroken film of paint that goes under the molding. Push it back down afterwards. I'm not sure about the quarter and upper deck trim on the cabrio ot the vent glass. A neat trick is to remove the lockstrip on the windshield gasket and lay it out somewhere in the exact shape it came off. This makes it easier to get back on. There's a tool you can get on BavAuto and a lot of other places that makes reinstall so easy it's worth $18. With the lockstrip out the gasket will flex enough to allow you to put a piece of cord under it. This will hold it up enough to sand under the gasket and allow a film of paint that goes under the gasket. A blend on the windshield pillar is not very noticeable.
I prepped my coupe and got it painted diamondschwarz, clear coat, color sanded and buffed on the upper surfaces for $1500. The paint alone was about $500. The discount places would have done it for $900 using good paint. The big drawback was the car  being out of commission for a month. I'm old and slow. One side of a cabrio could be done in a week.

I know all about prepping for paint... ask me about my W123 sometime... talk about a trim nightmare :eek:

The cabrio is next on the list.