Detailed: 1998 Mercedes Benz E430 - BLACK!!!

[Marc08EX]

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:

 

[Marc08EX]

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:

 

[Marc08EX]

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

Total time: Approximately 12 hours.

 

[Marc08EX]

Photoshoot:

 

[Marc08EX]

 

[detailjohn]

Fantastic work. That 040 black looks dripping wet in the sun.


John

 

[Jumpingbean]

Talk about bringing a car back from the dead! Nicely done!

 

[keifer75]

Excellent restoration of that paint! Would you mind sharing what microfibers you use in the process of removing the menz during the buffing stage? Lately I have been having a little bit of trouble with it wiping off. Any input would be great!

 

[sullysdetailing]

Good job the car came out great

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Nice work Marc,

Hard to believe someone else could destroy the paint to the extent ti was swirled-out...

Nice write-up too!

 

[CEE DOG]

Nice work man!

 

[Marc08EX]

Fantastic work. That 040 black looks dripping wet in the sun.


John

Thanks John! Yeah the paint does look wet indeed. I don't see the point of using a carnauba on top of powerlock.

Talk about bringing a car back from the dead! Nicely done!

Thanks for the compliment. The owner said "the car looks brand new! It's like looking in the mirror."

Excellent restoration of that paint! Would you mind sharing what microfibers you use in the process of removing the menz during the buffing stage? Lately I have been having a little bit of trouble with it wiping off. Any input would be great!

I used my cookie monsters =D I think that you need a clean microfiber to wipe the polish off. Any polishing residue that's in the MF towel will leave streaks on the paint.

Good job the car came out great

Thank you sir!

Nice work Marc,

Hard to believe someone else could destroy the paint to the extent ti was swirled-out...

Nice write-up too!

THANKS A LOT MR. MIKE!!! This compliment sure does carry a lot of weight coming from you!!! Im the MAN

Yeah I can't believe it either. I don't know why they even try to buff out the car. People should have licenses to use a rotary buffer LOL!

Nice work man!

Thank you!

 

[keifer75]

I used my cookie monsters =D I think that you need a clean microfiber to wipe the polish off. Any polishing residue that's in the MF towel will leave streaks on the paint.

sorry, but what are these cookie monsters that you speak of? lol

 

[steamshooter]

I cannot fathom someone letting a car leave their shop in such a state as it was before you started. That just blows me away.

You did a fantastic job bringing it back!

 

[Matt]

WOW! Nice turn around! That car looks fantastic now!

 

[Marc08EX]

sorry, but what are these cookie monsters that you speak of? lol

I think this is the one I have:
eShine Canada: The Cookie Monster Buffing Towel V2.0

I cannot fathom someone letting a car leave their shop in such a state as it was before you started. That just blows me away.

You did a fantastic job bringing it back!

Thanks!

WOW! Nice turn around! That car looks fantastic now!

Thank you!

 

[O.C.Detailing]

VERY nicely done Marc! I can only imagine the look of sheer amazement on the face of the owner when he picked it back up!

 

[Marc08EX]

VERY nicely done Marc! I can only imagine the look of sheer amazement on the face of the owner when he picked it back up!

Thanks Adam! Appreciate the compliment. The owner said that the car look brand new and the finish looks like a mirror! He thought that the holograms in the paint were permanent!! I was so happy to hear what he said. :buffing:

 

[AdamsImport]

This one looks really great, and I reference back to your work on the possibilities with a black mercedes. (Had a customer with the same one asking about it today, and I showed your thread, he was very impressed.) The question is can I reproduce your results with different products. :xyxthumbs:

 

[sterling09]

Awesome! great job. :dblthumb2: