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Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

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  • Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

    Wheels/Tires:
    Meguiar's Deep Crystal on wheels
    Meguiar's APC on tires/wheel wells
    Meguiar's Cleaner Wax on wheels
    Meguiar's Hyper Dressing on tires

    Wash:
    Gilmour Foam Gun with Meguiar's Gold Class/APC
    Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Gloss via 2BM
    Meguiar's Microfiber Wash Mitt

    Clay:
    Meguiar's OTC Clay
    Meguiar's Last Touch

    Paint Correction:
    Flex 3401 VRG
    Meguiar's G100
    Menzerna Super Intensive Polish / LC Orange Pad
    Menzerna Nano Polish (106FF) / LC Grey Pad
    Craftsman 500W Halogen Lights

    LSP:
    Menzerna Powerlock / Meguiar's Foam Applicator Pad

    Misc:
    Meguiar's NXT Metal Polish on the emblems

    I have always detailed light colored cars. The darkest color I've detailed is our red minivan but I wasn't enthusiastic about polishing its paint because of the fact that it's a van. So when I got a chance to detail this BLACK E430, I was really excited. In addition, it's a Mercedes Benz so that got me more excited. The paint was just a mess. The rear bumper had some paintwork done to it but guess what they did??? They tried "buffing" the whole car only to leave buffer trails all over the place. Here are the before pictures:































    You guys can see how bad the paint looks right?? The reflection is pretty much blurred and it wasn't as clear as it should be.

    Here are some wash pictures:







    Clay after 1/2 of the trunk:



    All taped up and ready to go:



    I always try to use the least aggressive product first to get the job done. With this in mind, I tried using the Menz 106FF first with a LC white pad. Here are some pictures of my test panel:









    As you can see, it still left behind some minor swirl marks. After seeing this, I was unsatisfied with the outcome so I decided to step it up to Menz SIP via LC orange pad. Here are some pictures throughout this step:




    Driver side rear quarter panel:












    Driver side rear door:












    Driver side front door:










    Driver side front fender:






    After the whole car has been polished with Menz SIP, I then polished and jeweled the paint with Menz 106FF via LC grey pads. Here are some pictures after doing so:
















    Rear trunk 50/50 shots after SIP/106FF:
























    Here are some after shots inside the garage after Menz Powerlock has been applied:













    Total time: Approximately 12 hours.
    2011 Car Crazy Showcase SEMA Team

  • #2
    Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

    Nice work.

    The paint was just dying to be corrected.
    Nick
    Tucker's Detailing Services
    815-954-0773
    2012 Ford Transit Connect

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

      Awesome job. I think that car had been dried with sandpaper!

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

        Photoshoot:













































































































        2011 Car Crazy Showcase SEMA Team

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

          Wow, I think you could have cut the final pics in half if not more as there's like tons of shots at the same angles. I literally though you accidentally posted doubles and triples of the same shot. Just my cc.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

            Originally posted by never gone View Post
            Wow, I think you could have cut the final pics in half if not more as there's like tons of shots at the same angles. I literally though you accidentally posted doubles and triples of the same shot. Just my cc.
            I couldn't edit my post anymore. I'm sorry if I posted way too much pics. I was just excited on how I was able to improve the paint. I guess I got trigger happy with the camera and posted most of the pics. The funny thing is that the pics posted is already a cut down version of what I have in the camera LOL!
            2011 Car Crazy Showcase SEMA Team

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

              What a tremendous improvement. The Benz looks fantastic.
              quality creates its own demand

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

                Originally posted by Marc08EX View Post
                I couldn't edit my post anymore. I'm sorry if I posted way too much pics. I was just excited on how I was able to improve the paint. I guess I got trigger happy with the camera and posted most of the pics. The funny thing is that the pics posted is already a cut down version of what I have in the camera LOL!
                Never too many pics. lol

                That paint was terrible. Incredible turn around!
                Tedrow's Detailing
                845-642-1698
                Treat Yourself to that New Car Feeling

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

                  Looks much, much better! Great work and nice save!
                  -James
                  2012 Chevy Silverado ECSB. Z71 4x4. 5.3


                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

                    Marc, awesome job and great writeup! How hard was the paint? Sure corrected up nice with the Flex

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

                      Tremendous change by looking at the before and afters. Good work man!
                      Learning new things everyday

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

                        Originally posted by J. A. Michaels View Post
                        What a tremendous improvement. The Benz looks fantastic.
                        Thanks! I thought so too!

                        Originally posted by coopers23 View Post
                        Never too many pics. lol

                        That paint was terrible. Incredible turn around!
                        Yeah I agree! I always like looking at pics.

                        Thank you sir!

                        Originally posted by Golden View Post
                        Looks much, much better! Great work and nice save!
                        Thanks!

                        Originally posted by kerrinjeff View Post
                        Marc, awesome job and great writeup! How hard was the paint? Sure corrected up nice with the Flex
                        Sup Jeff? How's it going??? Thanks for the compliment man! I appreciate it from the guy who has M105 in his holster. The paint wasn't hard at all. SIP/LC orange worked great with one pass! I'm not sure how much harder those ceramic clears are though. I'm sure that I don't want to deal with that hahaha!

                        Originally posted by TimG View Post
                        Tremendous change by looking at the before and afters. Good work man!
                        Thanks Tim! Appreciate it.
                        2011 Car Crazy Showcase SEMA Team

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

                          Nice job on the car. It's beautiful. If I was the owner, I would invest in a new premium tint job. The car would look really brand new.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

                            Excellent work

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

                              Thanks guys! I was happy with the results!
                              2011 Car Crazy Showcase SEMA Team

                              Comment

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