Help on DA Shopping List - Black 07 Mercedes AMG

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desiz

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Hello Autogeek Experts! Firstly, I just want to say that i've been reading previous threads and advice for the past week and I have decided to take a stab at fixing the paint on my car. Some background information before I ask about which pads to get.

I have hand-washed my 07 CLS63 since 2007. I used to use Zaino products, but have moved to ONR and pinnacle carnuaba wax.
I attended a detailer's class in 2008 and purchased a porter cable and Prima products and they did nothing! The detailer who demonstrated these products told me the only way was for him to work on my car, so $600 and 1 day later, I found out all he did was use fillers.
Fast forward five years and I have still been babying my car with ONR and Pinnacle wax (sold the porter cable+pads)

Currently: Lots of swirl marks, some residue from what might have been rain water ? some hairline scratches from the dealer who washed my car once while in service. I took a few picture of the roof, the hood is worse.

My Goals?: Correct as much as possible (90-95%) and get a super deep shiny/glossy look!

I know there is no one magic combination, but after attending meguiar's detailing class last weekend and reading these forums, I picked up a Harbor Freight DA and wasn't sure which pad/polish route to go.

So far, I have :

1.Harbor Freight DA (purchased)
2. Meg's Ultimate Compound (purchased)

Need to buy:
3. B&S Pads: 2xyellow, 2xwhite, 1xred [should I wait for the orange and green to come back in stock at autoality?]
4. HD Polish
5. Carnuaba Wax (Already have, use with DA and red pad or apply by hand?)


I'm wondering if there is a better pad/polish combo that works best on ceramiclear mercedes ?

Thank you in advance! :)


 
Welcome to AGO! I'm sure you'll get a few recommendations here shortly for your AMG...
 
Here's a few MB's I've detailed lately. Each has a blue clickable link where I post what I used.


2014 Black Mercedes-Benz E350 detailed by Mike Phillips


End results...

2014_Mercedes_Benz_E350_0006.jpg







How long to wait before waxing a brand new car?



2014 Mercedes-Benz E350 detailed by Mike Phillips

End results...

2014_Mercedes_Benz_E350_007.jpg





Here's a project that was 2 years old...


Black Label Diamond Paint Coating on a 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350



End results...

2012_Mercedes_Benz_020.jpg




The key is to,

Evaluate the condition of the finish
Use quality product and good technique
Take your time and do the job right.


Check out my article here, it will walk you through every step you want to do to you brand new car.


How To Detail Your Brand New Car by Mike Phillips
 
:welcome:

desiz said:
I attended a detailer's class in 2008 and purchased a porter cable
Click to expand...

desiz said:
So far, I have :

1.Harbor Freight DA (purchased)
2. Meg's Ultimate Compound (purchased)
Click to expand...

Why did you buy a Harbor Freight DA if you already had a Porter Cable? I'm assuming you mean the 7424XP.

desiz said:
I attended a detailer's class in 2008 and purchased a porter cable and Prima products and they did nothing! The detailer who demonstrated these products told me the only way was for him to work on my car, so $600 and 1 day later, I found out all he did was use fillers.
Click to expand...

I'm struggling with this one too. I've used Prima products with the PC 7424XP on plenty of cars (including hard Mercedes clear) with no problems.


I can't judge the credibility of the detailier, but I know these products work and they work well; the only polish that Prima makes that contains any sort of filler is Amigo.

I hope everything works out for you!

EDIT: Not sure how this would work with the ceramiclear, but let me echo Mike's advice and say:
"Use the least aggressive products to get the job done"
This still shouldn't mean that the products failed you.

SECOND EDIT: Now that I'm thinking about it more, applying some sort of glaze or filler might have been the detailer's only option since the ceramiclear is so finicky.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
I'd highly recommend reading this article....


Ceramiclear Paints - Be Careful


And then follow the sage advice of using the least aggressive products to get the job done...


:)
Click to expand...

Wow that was scary, I sent a note to Mercedes to confirm I have ceramiclear.

jakonrad said:
:welcome:

Why did you buy a Harbor Freight DA if you already had a Porter Cable? I'm assuming you mean the 7424XP.


I'm struggling with this one too. I've used Prima products with the PC 7424XP on plenty of cars (including hard Mercedes clear) with no problems.
Click to expand...

I sold the PC back in 2008, and yes the prima products I used were amigo and hyrdo
 
desiz said:
I sold the PC back in 2008, and yes the prima products I used were amigo and hyrdo
Click to expand...

Makes sense. As I mentioned before, Amigo is going to have fillers and Hydro is a synthetic sealant.

See my second edit above regarding why the detailer may have used fillers on your paint.

Once you find out if you do have ceramiclear I guess your best bet is to figure out whether the 0.2 mils of rock hard clear is still available to you or if that has been compounded through and now you're dealing with super soft, even sticky paint. I would recommend the same process either way; use a very mild product with fillers and live with what you've got. Ceramiclear sounds like a mess and has no place on cars.
 
jakonrad said:
use a very mild product with fillers and live with what you've got. Ceramiclear sounds like a mess and has no place on cars.
Click to expand...

very mild product = m205/ultimate polish ?
 
desiz said:
very mild product = m205/ultimate polish ?
Click to expand...

I feel like with m205 you'll get one of two results, depending on whether the hard coat is still available to you or not.

1. It will do next to nothing (the hard clear is still there)
2. It will do too much and leave marring (the hard clear has been abraded away)

You might get lucky and it works great, I guess that's a good starting point. Curious to see what others recommend. Hope it turns out alright and I'm looking forward to seeing the before/afters.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
I'd highly recommend reading this article....


Ceramiclear Paints - Be Careful


And then follow the sage advice of using the least aggressive products to get the job done...


:)
Click to expand...


woe is me :( , checked my door panel, color code is C040 (ceramiclear!)

Mike, since you've done a few ceramiclear's before, any tips on pad combos ? I'm ok with whatever it takes to hide defects, am just tired of hand waxing, so hopefully this DA will go lightly on my 35 year old bones :p
 
Read Mike's recommendation on one of the pages in the 'ceramiclear' thread and got:

1. 5 inch backing plate
2. Menzerna SF4000
3. white/black pads

This will be my least aggressive approach. If it doesn't work i'll move up to SI 1500
 
desiz said:
Read Mike's recommendation on one of the pages in the 'ceramiclear' thread and got:

1. 5 inch backing plate
2. Menzerna SF4000
3. white/black pads

This will be my least aggressive approach. If it doesn't work i'll move up to SI 1500
Click to expand...

I would step up your Menzerna and pad choice to really knock out the defects. That is if you are after a great two step correction.

If you want a decent one step, then SF4000 on white will get you there. But if you are really after those swirls and scratches I would start of with FG400 or SI1500 to start with.
 
jakonrad said:
Once you find out if you do have Ceramiclear I guess your best bet is to figure out whether the 0.2 mils of rock hard clear is still available to you or if that has been compounded through and now you're dealing with super soft, even sticky paint.
Click to expand...

Completely respect your opinion. That said, I see people talking/typing on forums all the time about how the Ceramiclear paints are rock hard and I simply disagree.

If fact, I find them in the medium range and a real joy to polish as long as they have not been compromised.

To date, I've NEVER struggled to work on a Ceramiclear finish. I hated working on the clear on the recent Audi Q5 that was at our shop and the paint along on that car would keep me from buying one. (I don't tend to buy new disposable cars anyway so don't put a lot of weight on my opinion).


jakonrad said:
I would recommend the same process either way; use a very mild product with fillers and live with what you've got. Ceramiclear sounds like a mess and has no place on cars.
Click to expand...

Again, I completely respect your opinion as I read comments like you're from others and I'm all about each of us having our own uniqueness as humans and with that our own opinions.

That said, Ceramiclear paints are my FAVORITE paints in the world. That is as long as they have NOT been compromised by some hack detailer at a dealership. (here me MB Dealerships?)

Not only do I find the paint buffs with ease but it does exactly what it's supposed to do and that is it RESISTS marring and scratching as long as the owner treats it intelligently.

I've never seen another paint system hold up so well to normal wear-n-tear and it hold up even better when an educated AGO type person owns the car.




desiz said:
woe is me :( , checked my door panel, color code is C040 (Ceramiclear!)
Click to expand...

Don't get down... if you're lucky most of the factory paint is still there, that is it's still intact and has all of it's integrity.




desiz said:
Mike, since you've done a few Ceramiclears before, any tips on pad combos ? I'm ok with whatever it takes to hide defects, am just tired of hand waxing, so hopefully this DA will go lightly on my 35 year old bones :p
Click to expand...

35 year old bones? Heck I'll be 53 next month... :D


Here's what I've used with GREAT success on the most recent Ceramiclear paint systems I've worked on and that is either the Wolfgang polishes or the Rupes System

I use the Rupes system as a system, that is their tools, pads and products.

I use Wolfgang polishes with anything and everything including the Rupes Duetto. My go-to pads for smaller DA's are the Lake Country 5.5" Flat pads. KISS or Keep it Simple Simon. Get orange, white and black. If you want to machine apply the wax get at least one blue.



desiz said:
Click to expand...


Yeperdoo.... that's the code for a Ceramiclear finish. I've taken pictures of all the codes for the cars I've worked on, just have to cyber dig them up off my hard drive and post them.


Fear not... follow the basics and you'll not only be okay but your car is going to look GREAT!

Wash and dry
Decontaminate to remove above surface bonded contaminants if discovered. (Do the Baggie Test)

Gather pads and products and do a TEST SPOT - This is the most important step for ANY detailing project with any tool, pad or chemical. Never skip the test spot, I don't.

Once you dial in your process and PROVES it works to one small area, duplicate it over the rest of the car.

Copy and paste the below into Google, be sure to include my first and last name and my article will pull up in the number one position in search engine rankings.

How to do a Test Spot Mike Phillips

How to detail your brand new car Mike Phillips

Mark your backing plate Mike Phillips

How to clean your pad on the fly Mike Phillips

Very important, read this one FIRST not after you run into problems...


DA Troubleshooting Guide Mike Phillips
​


That should be more than enough and remember all this info is in all my how-to paperback books/ibooks/ebooks.



:)
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Completely respect your opinion. That said, I see people talking/typing on forums all the time about how the Ceramiclear paints are rock hard and I simply disagree.

If fact, I find them in the medium range and a real joy to polish as long as they have not been compromised.

To date, I've NEVER struggled to work on a Ceramiclear finish. I hated working on the clear on the recent Audi Q5 that was at our shop and the paint along on that car would keep me from buying one. (I don't tend to buy new disposable cars anyway so don't put a lot of weight on my opinion).




Again, I completely respect your opinion as I read comments like you're from others and I'm all about each of us having our own uniqueness as humans and with that our own opinions.

That said, Ceramiclear paints are my FAVORITE paints in the world. That is as long as they have NOT been compromised by some hack detailer at a dealership. (here me MB Dealerships?)

Not only do I find the paint buffs with ease but it does exactly what it's supposed to do and that is it RESISTS marring and scratching as long as the owner treats it intelligently.

I've never seen another paint system hold up so well to normal wear-n-tear and it hold up even better when an educated AGO type person owns the car.






Don't get down... if you're lucky most of the factory paint is still there, that is it's still intact and has all of it's integrity.






35 year old bones? Heck I'll be 53 next month... :D


Here's what I've used with GREAT success on the most recent Ceramiclear paint systems I've worked on and that is either the Wolfgang polishes or the Rupes System

I use the Rupes system as a system, that is their tools, pads and products.

I use Wolfgang polishes with anything and everything including the Rupes Duetto. My go-to pads for smaller DA's are the Lake Country 5.5" Flat pads. KISS or Keep it Simple Simon. Get orange, white and black. If you want to machine apply the wax get at least one blue.






Yeperdoo.... that's the code for a Ceramiclear finish. I've taken pictures of all the codes for the cars I've worked on, just have to cyber dig them up off my hard drive and post them.


Fear not... follow the basics and you'll not only be okay but your car is going to look GREAT!

Wash and dry
Decontaminate to remove above surface bonded contaminants if discovered. (Do the Baggie Test)

Gather pads and products and do a TEST SPOT - This is the most important step for ANY detailing project with any tool, pad or chemical. Never skip the test spot, I don't.

Once you dial in your process and PROVES it works to one small area, duplicate it over the rest of the car.

Copy and paste the below into Google, be sure to include my first and last name and my article will pull up in the number one position in search engine rankings.

How to do a Test Spot Mike Phillips

How to detail your brand new car Mike Phillips

Mark your backing plate Mike Phillips

How to clean your pad on the fly Mike Phillips

Very important, read this one FIRST not after you run into problems...


DA Troubleshooting Guide Mike Phillips
​


That should be more than enough and remember all this info is in all my how-to paperback books/ibooks/ebooks.



:)
Click to expand...

Thanks mike,
fortunately or unfortunately I already purchased sf4000 after reading one of your previous threads how menzerna is great for ceramiclear. If it doesn't work, I'll try wolfgang.

I went to the detailing class that you used to teach back in Irvine, your successor taught us some of your tricks (folding the towel,etc) so thanks for that as well!
 
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