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FOR SALE GROUP BUY: Mercedes 500E Badge
- Thread starter Ntrepid
- Start date
Looks like an original used badge. Has MB star and part number inscripted4th one down. Is it an OEM Badge? OR e-Bay?
Just Curious?
BTW, They look terrific!
Looks great!! Can't wait!!
We are in the final stretch, folks!
I drove to Frederick, MD, on Saturday (funny how this project has me bouncing between Frericksburg, VA, and Frederick, MD) to meet with the painter. He inspected the badges and was quite confident that the paint he will apply will be permanent. He is going to use lettering paint. If you are wondering what that is, it is paint used on smooth surfaces like glass windows to offices. it cures over time and is very durable out in the elements. I asked about the durability and he said “There are trucks my dad painted 30 years ago in the junkyard who have their body paint peel off but the letters are still as permanent as the day they were applied.}
My expectation is that he’s going to be done in about a week or so and I’m already getting the shipping production line started. ill be reaching out to everyone on the list to confirm a shipping address. For those who have not paid for shipping, this will be the time to pay those via PayPal using the Friends & Family option.
I‘m really excited. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Robert
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Hi guys,
I am new in this nice forum and just found this thread.
I am close to buy a 500E with a Mopf2 conversion
. But the car was stored in a hall of famous cars now for 13 years.
No rust and the current owner just maintained it every year. Cabeling and much more s renewed. Looks like a strong buy.
I am thinking of a conversion back to Mopf1 - I know about the headlight situation. But I know a company doing restoration of headlights. So there is a chance, if i find a odd EU pair to let them rechromed etc.
The 500E badge is also a thing which is not available - as I have learned.
Is there the possibility to get one from your recent order?
Maybe there is a left over?
I will pay for it fore sure and also shipment to Germany.
All the best!
René
I am new in this nice forum and just found this thread.
I am close to buy a 500E with a Mopf2 conversion
. But the car was stored in a hall of famous cars now for 13 years.No rust and the current owner just maintained it every year. Cabeling and much more s renewed. Looks like a strong buy.
I am thinking of a conversion back to Mopf1 - I know about the headlight situation. But I know a company doing restoration of headlights. So there is a chance, if i find a odd EU pair to let them rechromed etc.
The 500E badge is also a thing which is not available - as I have learned.
Is there the possibility to get one from your recent order?
Maybe there is a left over?
I will pay for it fore sure and also shipment to Germany.
All the best!
René
René, the problem will be locating the correct .036-specific headlight lenses. Restoration or rechroming is not the issue. You can't convert standard lenses to .036 lenses by simply chroming the frame. The glass fluting is entirely different over the H3 bulb, for the auxiliary high beam.
If you do buy the car, start a new "OWNER" thread with some photos. And welcome to the forum!
- will do so if he has none dor
Thanks for the warm welcome.René, the problem will be locating the correct .036-specific headlight lenses. Restoration or rechroming is not the issue. You can't convert standard lenses to .036 lenses by simply chroming the frame. The glass fluting is entirely different over the H3 bulb, for the auxiliary high beam.
If you do buy the car, start a new "OWNER" thread with some photos. And welcome to the forum!
I will poste it if I buy it. I am just on my way home from the first meeting with the nautik blue 500E.
I know about the headlights and the specials.
My remark was just in case I can find ugly but original ones.
The seller has more then 200 (!) cars and he is looking if he has the right headlights im stock.
I just need to say YES
.
Hi Robert,
We are in the final stretch, folks!
I drove to Frederick, MD, on Saturday (funny how this project has me bouncing between Frericksburg, VA, and Frederick, MD) to meet with the painter. He inspected the badges and was quite confident that the paint he will apply will be permanent. He is going to use lettering paint. If you are wondering what that is, it is paint used on smooth surfaces like glass windows to offices. it cures over time and is very durable out in the elements. I asked about the durability and he said “There are trucks my dad painted 30 years ago in the junkyard who have their body paint peel off but the letters are still as permanent as the day they were applied.}
My expectation is that he’s going to be done in about a week or so and I’m already getting the shipping production line started. ill be reaching out to everyone on the list to confirm a shipping address. For those who have not paid for shipping, this will be the time to pay those via PayPal using the Friends & Family option.
I‘m really excited. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Robert
I finally decided to buy a 500E and gave the seller my go.
As written before, it is a 500E that has mutated into an E500.
I want to retrofit the car!
For this I also need a 500E badge.
A colleague here said you must still have some.
I would love to buy one.
Do you sell me a badge for my 500E?
Payment in advance via paypal friends of course.
Only the shipping to Germany you would have to consider please.
Thanks for your feedback in advance.
Best regards
René
Hi Robert,
I'm a patient person as evidenced by my long list of email requesting an update on the shipment of the reproduction badges. I have not had any feedback from you and would like to know what the status of the shipment is. It is troublesome that after asking for shipping charges, which I paid the day requested over a month ago, you have gone silent not responding to my emails.
What's up?
All the best,
Joe
I'm a patient person as evidenced by my long list of email requesting an update on the shipment of the reproduction badges. I have not had any feedback from you and would like to know what the status of the shipment is. It is troublesome that after asking for shipping charges, which I paid the day requested over a month ago, you have gone silent not responding to my emails.
What's up?
All the best,
Joe
I have after 24 mai also no contact with him.Hope is not.......................
I last heard from him mid-May and he was very close to shipping. Unfortunately since then I have not heard from him.
I hope he is okay as well. @Ntrepid is generous in spirit and a kind soul —— I hope he is okay.
I'm pretty sure he's busy with work. I know how that goes, as I wasn't on the forum literally for about 10-12 weeks other than making sure it was still running and that any needed software was being updated.
Last time I saw @Ntrepid (which was back in late March or early April) I saw the badges, unchromed and unpainted. He actually gave me one of the three that I had ordered which was unpainted -- it's on my garage wall right now. They are stunning and everyone is going to be very happy with them.
Of just about anyone on this forum who is 100% trustworthy, it would be Robert. I will send him a text message today and ask him to respond to this thread. I'm sure he's probably been traveling or otherwise engrossed in his job.
Cheers,
Gerry
Last time I saw @Ntrepid (which was back in late March or early April) I saw the badges, unchromed and unpainted. He actually gave me one of the three that I had ordered which was unpainted -- it's on my garage wall right now. They are stunning and everyone is going to be very happy with them.
Of just about anyone on this forum who is 100% trustworthy, it would be Robert. I will send him a text message today and ask him to respond to this thread. I'm sure he's probably been traveling or otherwise engrossed in his job.
Cheers,
Gerry
I last talked with him a couple of weeks ago. It was about all the craziness going on at work. He's super busy and I think he just has no time to focus on other matters.
Work SUCKS! But we need the BUCKS
In the past I’ve had to work 24/7 to meet deadlines that if you missed you could throw all of your effort in the trash. To some in this predicament all else goes to hell until the goal is met.
Be patient and Robert will deliver. All 500Es will run just fine without the badge on the trunk.
In the past I’ve had to work 24/7 to meet deadlines that if you missed you could throw all of your effort in the trash. To some in this predicament all else goes to hell until the goal is met.
Be patient and Robert will deliver. All 500Es will run just fine without the badge on the trunk.
First, I owe all of you a sincere apology for being out of touch. While I could go into what has been happening in my life professionally, I’m sure it is of no consequence to you. Long story short is things are a bit out of balance with me. I’ve immensely missed being on the Board interacting with others and running the Price Is Right game based on BaT auctions for 036s. Thanks to @Jlaa, @Melville, and @vatc5637 for reaching out to me outside the Board as my absence from this thread and the Board was noticed and of concern. I truly appreciate that.
Bottom line is that I have failed to communicate with you on the status of the badges. The lack of communication has been due to a lack of progress (not activity) in the project which I’ll provide some details below. Looking back, this project has been a journey of reverse engineering that I have enjoyed immensely except when issues like this one which seemed straightforward but clearly have some nuance that could not be appreciated or planned for prior to undertaking.
For the backers of this, I can assure you that your investment is still sitting in my PayPal account. I purposely have done this to keep my focus on completion of the project and my bank account will not be reimbursed until the project has completed.
So here is where things stand. From the last update, the badges were having the stripe under the 500E being painted using lettering paint. This paint was recommended as it is supposed to adhere (without any prep) to smooth surfaces like glass. It did (until it didn’t). I had all of the badges completed and brought back to begin packaging them in the individual bubble wrap sleeves. Upon packing them up, one of the badges I noticed had an incomplete stripe. Upon closer examination, the paint had peeled back most likely from just being handled. I then went back to look at others and they all exhibited the same behavior which meant that the badges would not stand up to normal handling let alone washing or the environment. The last thing I want is to deliver a badge which does not make it past the first washing.
I returned to the painter (who had already been paid) and this was definitely new territory for him. He had pinstriped a lot of things but never had an issue with adherence once dry. We decided to have some sacrificial badges (which also came at a cost since the badges made had all been spoken for) where we could test a couple of options for chemical surface preparation where before the lettering paint was applied we would also pinstripe:
I’ve brought in a new resource and we are working on a way to systematically create surface abrasion which does not compromise the chroming. This is essentially a middle ground between 1 & 2 above and cannot be achieved through chemical means. What is being done now is building a jig to prepare the surface which is 3/64” wide to accept the paint while protecting chrome on the rest of the badge.
There is no doubt in my mind that this project will successfully complete and the investment made by people will be realized with a quality aluminum badge with a black stripe. I just need a little more time to find the solution which delivers this as a product you expect for this investment.
If you have any questions/comments/recommendations, please feel free to let me know.
Robert
Bottom line is that I have failed to communicate with you on the status of the badges. The lack of communication has been due to a lack of progress (not activity) in the project which I’ll provide some details below. Looking back, this project has been a journey of reverse engineering that I have enjoyed immensely except when issues like this one which seemed straightforward but clearly have some nuance that could not be appreciated or planned for prior to undertaking.
For the backers of this, I can assure you that your investment is still sitting in my PayPal account. I purposely have done this to keep my focus on completion of the project and my bank account will not be reimbursed until the project has completed.
So here is where things stand. From the last update, the badges were having the stripe under the 500E being painted using lettering paint. This paint was recommended as it is supposed to adhere (without any prep) to smooth surfaces like glass. It did (until it didn’t). I had all of the badges completed and brought back to begin packaging them in the individual bubble wrap sleeves. Upon packing them up, one of the badges I noticed had an incomplete stripe. Upon closer examination, the paint had peeled back most likely from just being handled. I then went back to look at others and they all exhibited the same behavior which meant that the badges would not stand up to normal handling let alone washing or the environment. The last thing I want is to deliver a badge which does not make it past the first washing.
I returned to the painter (who had already been paid) and this was definitely new territory for him. He had pinstriped a lot of things but never had an issue with adherence once dry. We decided to have some sacrificial badges (which also came at a cost since the badges made had all been spoken for) where we could test a couple of options for chemical surface preparation where before the lettering paint was applied we would also pinstripe:
- Muriatic Acid which is used to remove chrome plating. The issue here is we found it compromised the chrome finish which currently envelopes the entire badge. The concern is that compromising the chrome in one area may lead to a product which degrades in the elements over time.
- Zinc Chromate which is used in etching aluminum. While we found this did etch the chrome, it did not provide consistent adherence even when baked in an oven
I’ve brought in a new resource and we are working on a way to systematically create surface abrasion which does not compromise the chroming. This is essentially a middle ground between 1 & 2 above and cannot be achieved through chemical means. What is being done now is building a jig to prepare the surface which is 3/64” wide to accept the paint while protecting chrome on the rest of the badge.
There is no doubt in my mind that this project will successfully complete and the investment made by people will be realized with a quality aluminum badge with a black stripe. I just need a little more time to find the solution which delivers this as a product you expect for this investment.
If you have any questions/comments/recommendations, please feel free to let me know.
Robert
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Thanks for the update and appreciate the efforts to make this perfect.
Not sure if you looked at black chrome plating rather than painting. It would be much more durable.
Here is a good link.
arlingtonplating.com
All the best,
Joe
Not sure if you looked at black chrome plating rather than painting. It would be much more durable.
Here is a good link.
Black Chrome Plating | Black Chrome Plating Suppliers | Metal Plating Company | Arlington Plating Company
Black chrome plating can be done over bright nickel, satin nickel, or dull nickel. Each metal plating combinations produce a different appearance from a bright shiny black to a dull matte black finish.
All the best,
Joe
Post #282 is the last update and quite detailed. Outside of that, has been a waiting period.
In order to keep confidence high and foster patience I will repeat the impressions of my earlier post and remind other buyers that I received my non chromed version quite some time ago and am very satisfied by the quality. Very nice! I'm sure when all the rest of you get your chrome versions it will have been worth the wait.
drew
drew
I just read the update in post #282. It sounds like the paint shop didn't have sufficient knowledge about the issue, but admitted after the job was done. It's well known that adhesion on untreated chromed surfaces is a no go, whatsoever. The surface has to undergo a sanding/grinding process followed by adhesion promoter like etch primer, next the final black paint and curing at temperatures per the specific paint datasheet. It is no other way around that process from what I have picked up.
I am really glad the paint peeling revealed before the badges were shipped, which would have triggered a lot of noise against Robert, which he definitely doesn't deserve after this long journey. I appreciate your effort Robert, and I'm sure the paint issue will solve in the end.
I am really glad the paint peeling revealed before the badges were shipped, which would have triggered a lot of noise against Robert, which he definitely doesn't deserve after this long journey. I appreciate your effort Robert, and I'm sure the paint issue will solve in the end.
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Robert,
It's now been 4 months silence on the Group Buy, so I'll skip that black striping and take the chromed badge as is.
Per post #1 I ordered 1 chrome + 1 bare aluminium badge and I've paid for the badges, but not the shipping. Please pack and ship the badges and the SLS reservoir + labels I bought last year. The shipping will be domestic to a shipping forwarder, I'll PM you the shipping address and complete the payment for the shipping.
It's now been 4 months silence on the Group Buy, so I'll skip that black striping and take the chromed badge as is.
Per post #1 I ordered 1 chrome + 1 bare aluminium badge and I've paid for the badges, but not the shipping. Please pack and ship the badges and the SLS reservoir + labels I bought last year. The shipping will be domestic to a shipping forwarder, I'll PM you the shipping address and complete the payment for the shipping.
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Hello everyone, to those who manage this Forum, it would be good to remind Robert that he has had our money for almost a year, and it is legitimate that he can give us information! it becomes worrying! will we see a badge or money again?? Thank you for your understanding!
I have no knowledge at all about this situation other than the knowledge that Robert has been a long time member here and long ago proved his integrity to me and I'm sure many others. This absence of response leads me to believe that something has happened to him. I hope it's not so.
Someone here must know him personally.
Someone here must know him personally.
I left Robert phone texts and messages via this forum 2 weeks ago in an attempt to trace the reservoir he supposedly sent me in Aug/020. So far no reply. Based on this forum his last visit was Jul 8, 021 which is when he posted on this thread. I most likely will not see the reservoir and decal I paid for.
