Fire Opal Red, Paint Issues 

Blistering and Peeling Paintwork/Lacquer 

What Does This Mean? 

This relates to the paint issues encountered by owners of ‘Fire Opal Red’ Mercedes Benz SLK’s the paint/lacquer appears to be blistering and peeling off the metal bodywork.  

NOTE: 

Ensure that the issue is with the paint/lacquer ‘blistering’ and NOT due to corrosion? 

MB have had issues with the paint and lacquer with Fire Opal Red, and it is well documetned in forums and car groups

In some cases, MB have agreed to full resprays (Metal Panels, not the Plastic trim – skirts, bumpers etc!) providing there have been no repairs or after-market repaints. 

What Models are involved? 
It has been reported that Fire Opal Red, R172 models can suffer from this paint blistering issue.

Process of repair

• Book the car in with an MB Dealership for inspection.
• The boy-shop will inspect that the paint is original (paint depth etc.) and then issue a report

• The Body-shop will then report back to the Dealership and the Dealership will make a report to MBCS UK or the Customer Service Department in your Country who will, hopefully, approve a FOC respray. 

 
Pre-Inspection Checks? 
Ensure that the issue is not due to.  

• Impact damage,  
• Corrosion, 
• After-market paintwork. 

Causes of the issue 

• This seems to be a general issue with this particular colour. 

What will happen? 

• Take your car into a dealership, and they will, either examine the paintwork themselves or, send you to an MB approved Bodyshop to have the paintwork examined. 

What happens if the Dealership wants to Charge for the inspection? 
Generally, if the Dealership wants to charge for the inspection, it is up to the owner if they are happy to accept that charge. The owner can also take it to another Dealership who may not charge. 

What happens after the dealership have examined the car? 

The Vehicle will be examined by the Body-Shop and the dealer will inform you of the outcome of the inspection.