A little handy work today...

[SpoiledMan]

Today I took on the test of removing some pretty good swirling, holograms and spider webbing on a '96 C-Class Mercedes. The funny thing about it is that it's a "Star Mark" car. You know, one of the used cars that is certified and meticulously prepped by the dealer and put out for resale.


This is the before picture


I started with Meguiar's Body Solvent to remove tar and some bugs that were on the front of the car. I followed that with a thorough wheel cleaning using Meguiar's wheel cleaner from the Pro line(don't remember the #). The front wheels were etched and stained pretty bad from acid at the local car wash. The wheels were also polished with Poorboy's PwC. I then cleaned the full exterior with a QEW wash. This revealed the TRUE look of the paint. I didn't capture this with the camera, but there was a LOT of holograms from the novice that "detailed" this car last! I then clayed the car using Pinnacle Poly-Clay and #34 for lubrication. Car was surprisingly clean for the condition of the paint. The next step was to polish the bad areas with #83 and then the whole car with #80. The owner was ecstatic after I made the round with #83 and there was hazing all over the place. After the round of #80, I did a quick clean up with Spray N Wipe to remove residual dust from #83. The finish was Poorboy's EX. There were no interior pictures taken but I did do some spot work on the carpet and door panels and a general wipe down. Now for the pictures......

Here is a sun shot on the trunk


Hood


Whole car


This car belongs to the gentlemen's wife but he was having it done for his birthday as a surprise.

[317indy]

Looks really great! How do you get rid of that pesky highway damage on the front of a car?

[SpoiledMan]

Thanks!!

I used my new supply of Body Solvent. It's one of the new Detailer Line goodies. It worked like a charm. I simply sprayed it on and waited about a minute then wiped the crud away with a soapy synthetic mitt.

[Vandelete]

nice work spoiledman

Is those pinnacle claybar just as good as the Meguiar's quickclay?

i guess you had a long day detailing this Mercedes... or not?

[SpoiledMan]

Thanks!!

Well, my next order for clay will be from Meguiar's. I got the Pinnacle clay for Fathers Day. It's a little to tough to pull and fold unlike the Meguiar's clay. Dollar value also goes to the Meguiar's. There are a couple others I'd like to try that are also comparable in price to Meguiar's. The lube that came with the Pinnacle is also a little "soapy" and streaks when wiping.

[SpoiledMan]

i guess you had a long day detailing this Mercedes... or not?

Well, I started about 10, the gentleman made lunch for us (was a great organic antipasto salad) and I finished at 3:30. The claying was the quick part at the car was pretty clean as the guy is a REAL car nut.

He has and old an old Fairlane 500 convertible that he is rebuilding/restoring that he is building himself that so far is just awesome. Once that's done and painted, there will be pictures from that detailing.

I got a lifetime customer out of this as his wife was REALLY happy!!!!!

[scrub]

Great work. Big improvement to the paint surface. Body solvent is a must have for efficiency at bug and tar removal.

How tuff were the holograms to remove?? Was #83 used with the rotary of PC?

[SpoiledMan]

Thanks Rick!! The PC and Lake Country VC polishing pads were used for the polishing steps and a Meguiar's 9006 was used to apply the sealant. The hood and trunk were worked twice with #83 and twice with #80. I was going to use #81 but didn't want to take a chance with getting a good bond.

Body Solvent needs some soapy water to remove it as it's kind of oily so beware. It doesn't just wipe away. Maybe I used it a little wrong and should have tried to take it off with just a dry terry towel. I have another car tomorrow and I'm pretty sure I will go the same combo. She's a new customer and likes her car spotless.

[Vandelete]

well good luck with everything and we will see the results again on the board i hope...