Fierce5 Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Last week a buddy of mine asked me to detail his 2008 Mercedes C300. He has just bought the car with less than 47000 miles on the ODO Upon picking up the car and inspecting it, I knew that even though the dealer has supposedly cleaned and prepped it, this wasn't going to be an easy task. The car had some sort of brown stains and gunk stuck on pretty much all of the lower 1/3 of the car and the body felt rough to the hand. Right away I did the bag test on the paint and realized that the car needs a CLAY badly! This car had the roughest surface I have ever felt. Anyway, we will get to that later as I go through the quick write up for that detail. Here are some pictures to show how the car was when I picked it up. First thing first, I started with the wheels, tires and wheel barrels and applied the Deep Wheel Cleaner which is specifically designed to remove brake dust on sports cars (In order to increase the stopping power of sports cars, the brake pads usually have a higher amount of metal, causing A LOT of brake dust). Before The Deep Wheel Cleaner in action After I then moved to wash the car by using a Foam Gun to reduce the potential of adding more scratches to the surface as I'm washing the car with the wash pads. Just after a wash I then went ahead and clayed the car, here's what I got on the clay bar (after a thorough wash!) I then went ahead and masked the car to make sure the polish doesn't get in contact with the rubber or in the nooks and crannies. It was time for polishing, so I started with Severe Swirls and Haze Remover and the green pad then Swirl and Haze Remover, Fine Machine Polish, Brilliant Glaze and Buttery Wax. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of in-process paint correction or comparison pictures (except for the heavily swirled B-pillars) as the time was running out and I needed to focus on the car instead of taking pictures but I have some pictures after the car was done and I felt comfortable with the time. B-pillars before B-pillars after Here you go Reflections....nice! Engine bay after Here are some pictures after I delivered it to the proud owner Next time, I will have to find someone to help me out with the in-process pictures as I find myself too focused on the detail that I don't take pictures or if I see something wrong I go ahead and fix it and after I fix it I realize that I should have taken a before picture first then an after. Thanks for looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlack151 Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Very awesome work and a very well done write up! That Benz looks better than new now. Nice save for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimz808 Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 So nice! Very good job. How long did it take and what was your most difficult/easiest part to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyAtAdamsAustralia Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Never ceases to amaze me to see a clay bar filled with grit after a wash! Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryW Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 What was the process for the black B pillars?? Nice job :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianT Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Benz turned out nice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fierce5 Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 So nice! Very good job. How long did it take and what was your most difficult/easiest part to do? I initially thought that it won't take long but I started around 10 AM and delivered it around 7.30 so at least 9 hours of work. I wish I had the FLEX to cut down on time. Easiest part was the interior and the most difficult is the paint correction, this Benz has one hell of a clear coat, it took forever with the PC to get it to an excellent shape Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fierce5 Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 What was the process for the black B pillars?? Nice job :cheers: 2 passes with the PC and Fine Machine Polish with the white 6 inch pad. After 2 passes, pretty much 90% of the scratches and swirls were gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmethystBMW Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Very, very nice! What kind of swirl finder were you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fierce5 Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 Very, very nice! What kind of swirl finder were you using? Thanks. Energizer LED lights on a headband from Home Depot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07RS4 Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I initially thought that it won't take long but I started around 10 AM and delivered it around 7.30 so at least 9 hours of work. I wish I had the FLEX to cut down on time. Easiest part was the interior and the most difficult is the paint correction, this Benz has one hell of a clear coat, it took forever with the PC to get it to an excellent shape You got skills, she came out great. I don't know how guys are 3 stepping vehicles with a PC in such a short amount of time. 90% of the vehicles I get hear in California have water spots on them and even the SSHR takes multiple passes before it even lightens them up. I'm so glad I got the Flex a few years back. There were paint corrections that I wanted to shoot myself in the head when I was done 3 stepping with a PC:willy: I still think Adam's needs a good 1 step polish, 3 stepping these cars is killing me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fierce5 Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 You got skills, she came out great. I don't know how guys are 3 stepping vehicles with a PC in such a short amount of time. 90% of the vehicles I get hear in California have water spots on them and even the SSHR takes multiple passes before it even lightens them up. I'm so glad I got the Flex a few years back. There were paint corrections that I wanted to shoot myself in the head when I was done 3 stepping with a PC:willy: I still think Adam's needs a good 1 step polish, 3 stepping these cars is killing me. Thanks. Couldn't agree more, I wish there was one compound/polisher to remove scratches and swirls and then follow up with the Fine Machine Polish. This car took me 9 hours and it was washed, cleaned and prepped by the dealer just 3 days prior. My whole body was sore for 3 days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scootertrash19 Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Great post and great job! Fierce5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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