My 240 has two significant spots of rust, one about the size of a quarter on the back near the fuel door, and another by the rocker panels. Neither are of them are too bad, nothing has eaten through. The body also has an assortment of nicks and scratches, most on the hood, some worse than others. I'd like to get them fixed (or at least slow down the spread) and keep the gorgeous original gold color, but I'm afraid that a body shop won't be able to match the color. Can I get the exact color somewhere without spending an arm and a leg, or should I have the whole thing repainted with a cheaper, more common color? Thanks for any help.

Any halfway decent body shop should be able to blend the colors. But with the small areas affected, you might be able to effectively brush touch them and greatly improve the looks especially from a few feet back. That's a good measure after you've stopped the rust itself.

The problem with repainting with a different color is that you'll see all the insides of the doors and underhood, which will obviously still be gold. Then if you have to have a repaint done to the quarter panel or something at a later date, they'll have to match an unknown color. Plus the gold color is really nice.
--
chris herbst, five volvos.

Take a look here before doing anything:


http://www.carcareonline.com/paint_chips.html

I am in a similar dilemma. My old brick has a few small rust spots that I need to work on once the snow melts. As for the color, you should be able to tell the color by the paint code. Go here:

www.volvoworld.com

And go to id. From there, it will tell you where to find the paint code and the key to it. Once you get the paint code (I think mine is volvo 128), then you are home free.

--Joe HC
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1977 244, B21F engine, 140K, 'carlsbad yellow', IPD anti-sway bars, Minneapolis, MN

IMHO, it depends on the color of your car. White will not show underlying defects as much as darker colors.

When I bought my 1984, it was white and had been repainted at a paint and bake within the last year. Looked pretty good. After replacing a wrecked front fender (courtesy step-son new driver), I took it back to a paint and bake.

$300 bucks took care of pop-rivet patch and bondo small holes in the rear, and paint the entire car.

Not bad I thought.

This sounds great. I have no rust anymore (had to change section of rocker panel due to rust damage)but overall my car looks bad because the paint is faded. I also have nicks here and there.

Do you guy's recommend going to just a MAACO type place since I'm thinking of painting the car the same color? Or, a more expensive paint shop?

Thanks,

Ruben
73,000 miles
Miami

if you're going to take it to maaco, make sure to fully prep the body yourself first. paints relatively cheap compared to the labour. my car didn't look too bad when i bought it, however i've already put 8 or 9 days into fixing up the body & i'm maybe a third of the way there. mind you, my flat head screw driver has a knack for finding hidden rusty spots that could have been left alone and i'm lucky enough to have a full body shop to use on weekends =)
how did you change a section of your rocker panel ? my passenger side panel has a few small holes in it.
grab a spray bomb of primer & gold wheel paint and see what you can fix up in your spare time. if you clean & prep the metal (rust converter), take care of whatever was causing the rust any bondo you put on the surface will outlast the car.

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-- '82 245GL B23E 350k km --