New car help

[MMXBenz]

I just purchase my FIRST black car and seeing how difficult it is to keep and stay clean is driving me crazy!!:buffing:

It is a 2010 Mercedes-Benz C300 and I have a few questions.


The car is one week old so is there anything I need to do to it at this time?
I am looking to purchase all of Wolfgangs products - which product should I use on it at this time.

Thank you for your input.

[Rsurfer]

I just purchase my FIRST black car and seeing how difficult it is to keep and stay clean is driving me crazy!!:buffing:

It is a 2010 Mercedes-Benz C300 and I have a few questions.


The car is one week old so is there anything I need to do to it at this time?
I am looking to purchase all of Wolfgangs products - which product should I use on it at this time.
Thank you for your input.
Congrats on your new ride. Yes, black is not a color, it's a part time job. Are you getting a buffer? You need to clay the paint first of all. Take it into the sun and see what kind of marring is on the paint. You will then need to clay, polish and seal or wax. The amount of swrils will determine what polishes and pads you will need. Alway's do a test section first and then use the least aggressive pad and polish. Good Luck :buffing:

[MMXBenz]

Congrats on your new ride. Yes, black is not a color, it's a part time job. Are you getting a buffer? You need to clay the paint first of all. Take it into the sun and see what kind of marring is on the paint. You will then need to clay, polish and seal or wax. The amount of swrils will determine what polishes and pads you will need. Alway's do a test section first and then use the least aggressive pad and polish. Good Luck :buffing:


Rsurfer, I will be purchasing a porter cable. So claying first and then I will use Wolfgang swirl remover and then paint sealant AND fuzion or just paint sealant?

[Mike Phillips]

Are you planning on working by hand or machine?

Read this and then plan on getting a machine, it will make the job faster and easier and you will always get much better results by machine than you will by hand.

Man versus Machine (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/faq/20257-man-versus-machine.html)



The Wolfgang Twins work great with a dual action polisher plus they are easy to wipe-off and that's important especially if you new to detailing and working on a black car.

Either the new PC 7424XP (http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polishers.html) and the GG ROP (http://www.autogeek.net/griots-random-orbital-polisher.html)are great tools. You should also consider getting one of these,

Brinkman Maxfire Dual Xenon Rechargeable Spotlight (http://www.autogeek.net/brinkmann-swirl-finder-light.html) - Review and How-To

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/766/BrinkmanSwirlFinderLight009.jpg
:)

[Mike Phillips]

Rsurfer, I will be purchasing a porter cable. So claying first and then I will use Wolfgang swirl remover and then paint sealant AND Füzion or just paint sealant?

I'm not rsurfer but his advice will rival anyone's...

Here's what you want to do,


Wash
Clay
Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0 with a polishing pad on the 5.0 to 6.0 speed setting working only small sections at a time.
Wolfgang Finishing Glaze 3.0 with a finishing pad on the 5.0 speed setting and you can work larger sections.
Then choose one LSP, either the Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 or the Fusion but you don't need both.



The DGPS requires 12 hours of drying time AFTER wipe off and before the car gets whet as it's oxygen activated.

In this shot there's WG DGPS on the back half of this 1954 Mercedes-Benz... (Ran out of time to finish the entire car in one day)

Swirled-out 1954 Mercedes-Benz
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/786/54MBinDallas007.jpg


Cropped out of the above original
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/786/54MBinDallas007c.jpg


WG TSR with a Green Kompressor Cutting Foam Pad on the GG ROP Speed Setting 6.0
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/786/54MBinDallas008.jpg



After
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/786/54MBinDallas009.jpg


Same section only zoomed in on the Van in the reflection.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/786/54MBinDallas010.jpg






:)

[MMXBenz]

Thanks Mike!!

I will do as advised but do I need to do this now as it is a new car? I do see some swirl marks but the paint feels very clean. Second, do you recomend fusion hand applied or machined?

Thank you for the advise and assistance.

[Mike Phillips]

I will do as advised but do I need to do this now as it is a new car? I do see some swirl marks but the paint feels very clean.



Well... you should do as Rsurfer recommended,




Take it into the sun and see what kind of marring is on the paint. You will then need to clay, polish and seal or wax.

The amount of swirls will determine what polishes and pads you will need. Always do a test section first and then use the least aggressive pad and polish.




Wash and dry the car and then move the car into overhead bright sunlight and inspect for swirls. Even though it's a new car it's likely been washed numerous times and just the simple act of washing in an un-careful way can instill lots of swirls.

A worst case scenario will be that it has DISO

DISO = Dealer Installed Swirl Option

That's when the dealership has their in-house detailers detail it and if they use poor quality products and bad technique they will instill the paint with swirls.

These are Cobweb Swirls, they are inflicted by poor washing techniques over time.

Cobweb Swirls
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2600_before1.jpg


These are rotary buffer swirls, they are inflicted by the mis-use of a rotary buffer

Rotary Buffer Swirls also called Buffer Trails or Holograms
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/773/zigzagrotarybufferswirls01.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/773/zigzagrotarybufferswirls02.jpg



You need bright sunlight overhead to expose the above types of swirls to your eyes. Let's hope you don't have either. You can also use the Swirl Finder Light.


Brinkman Maxfire Dual Xenon Rechargeable Spotlight (http://www.autogeek.net/brinkmann-swirl-finder-light.html) - Review and How-To



Correct distance to hold the light from the finish
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/766/BrinkmanSwirlFinderLight007.jpg


Swirls in the clear coat finish surrounding the dual Xenon light bulbs
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/766/BrinkmanSwirlFinderLight008.jpg




If you discover swirls then you'll want to get a SMR or Swirl Mark Remover, if you don't then you can skip the swirl removal step but it wouldn't hurt to use a light paint cleaner to remove any impurities from the surface and insure the paint is squeaky clean before applying any wax or a paint sealant.,






Second, do you recommend fusion hand applied or machined?

Thank you for the advise and assistance.


Fusion is a paste wax and as such is pretty fast and easy to apply by hand, you can if you like apply it by machine,


At our recent class for the Space Coast Porsche Club I demonstrated one way to apply a paste wax to a foam pad on a dual action polisher.


Pictures & Comments from October 17th, 2009 Saturday Detailing 101 (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/pictures-saturday-detailing-101/21232-pictures-comments-porsche-space-coast-class-october-17th-2009-a.html)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/mikephillips/images/spacecoastlogo.jpg
Removing Pinnacle Souveran from the jar
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/746/SpaceCoast007.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/746/SpaceCoast008.jpg


Showing how to apply a paste finishing wax by machine using Meguiar's G110 with the W9207 Finishing Pad.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/746/SpaceCoast009.jpg





You could also use the flat part of the wrench that comes with your dual action polisher or a butter knife or a spatula if you like and scoop some out and spread it onto the face of your foam buffing pad.

Most people apply paste waxes by hand as it's pretty fast and easy to do and you don't waste any product that way.


Wash and dry your car and then pull it out into the sun and inspect it, see what you have to work with.

Hope this helps...

:)

[teamerickson]

Welcome to the forum!

Congrats on the black car. I love mercedes black. 4 months ago I got an 09 E350 in black and I've become obsessed with keep it looking good. My wife hates me. :) There's a LOT of great info on this forum. What worked pretty well for me was starting kind of conservatitve. With a PCxp I tried Menzerna final polish 2 but liked meguiars 205 the best. I didn't have anything more aggresive and I liked the results of the 205 with an orange ccs pad. What drove me crazy is the next time I washed I noticed some new swirls. I was pretty mad. I was using a bad wash mit. Although I want to keep my daily driver swirl free, it probably is unreasonable to expect that. I'll probably polish twice a year (once light, once more aggressive) and seal and wax frequently. I use a CA car duster to keep it looking clean between washes and I'll use some quick detailer sometimes to. I haven't decided if I want to take the plunge on the brinkmen light. Ignorance can be bliss. Good luck.