My hands almost fell off, Mercedes hard clear coat

[bigaudiofanatic]

I will try not to ramble on but, Mercedes clear coat has to be the worst to correct ever!!!! I did know that I was going to be detailing a G55 AMG so I tried to order some SSHR and the pad before the detail. Sadly the shipping was to much from VA to be worth it. I still had the flex and SHR so I thought I could get by with just that.

 

 

Picked the car up Sunday morning and started cleaning it after taking care of some audio problems. After washing and claying I pulled out the FLEX.

 

Even after 3 passes on 6 I was not able to get the marks I wanted out. The swirls did go away but the light scratches did not.

Sadly I didn't have the time to do more passes so I had to settle for 3. The car turned out great but was the worst with all the curves and lines this car had. What made it worse is I did not have the 4 inch pads as well.

 

What did I learn? Make sure you have the right pads and product, and that Mercedes clear coat has to be the toughest I have seen ever. My hands almost fell off because of the effort put in. In the end the customer loved it and I learned a lesson.

[DaveVY]

If the customer loved it then ultimately you are good!

 

The right tools and product make a world of difference.

 

Haven't worked with the MB clear yet, good to know how hard it is so that when I do get a job on that I will bid it out correctly.

 

[Chewy]

I believe they use a ceramic clear.

 

A rotary should have been used on the scratches, followed by the Flex to get rid of the rotary damage.

 

Chris

[bigaudiofanatic]

Ya it still turned out good.

 

 

Edited June 11, 2012 by bigaudiofanatic

[DaveVY]

Looks great!!

[savi01]

When I tried getting some minor swirls out of my 08 C300 I had the same issue. Only I was using the PC and it took FOREVER, and there will some swirls left. Fortunately though they're really hard to notice on the color.

[bigaudiofanatic]

I believe they use a ceramic clear.

 

A rotary should have been used on the scratches, followed by the Flex to get rid of the rotary damage.

 

Chris

 

Ah, sadly I do not have access to one or the training.

[Chewy]

Ah, sadly I do not have access to one or the training.

 

4 inch pads on a drill! If the clear is as hard as it is, you should be pretty safe as long as you watch the Adams videos.

 

Chris

[tpr676]

Maybe Adam or Dylan can chime in on this one, I have read some on ceramic clear coat that Mercedes and I believe BMW uses. From what I gather the nano technogly I'm no chemist is very hard once you punch though that it's softer and harder to correct. Not sure if any Adams polishes are safe for this ceramic clear coat. I do know there is a polish that Mercedes has approved for their clear.

[mikeg6045]

Maybe Adam or Dylan can chime in on this one, I have read some on ceramic clear coat that Mercedes and I believe BMW uses. From what I gather the nano technogly I'm no chemist is very hard once you punch though that it's softer and harder to correct. Not sure if any Adams polishes are safe for this ceramic clear coat. I do know there is a polish that Mercedes has approved for their clear.

 

this is actually true. There was a thread on another forum with information from a chemist from PPG discussing the ceramiclear. Theres only a certain amount of the ceramiclear and you could compound through it, leaving the paint without the original properties it was designed for. It was tough to read because I know so many detailers have hammered away on audi's, bmw's and merc's without fully understanding this.

 

Its not so much whether a polish is designed for ceramiclear. The bigger issue is that the OEM's are not taking into account for paint correction over the service life of the vehicle. All they care about is laying the thinnest amount of paint on the car and having it look perfect for inspection upon leaving the factory. They dont leave enough clear for correction as is, and the ceramiclear chemistry throws another monkey wrench into this equation.

Edited June 19, 2012 by mikeg6045