1990 Mercedes Benz 190E WANTING tender loving care!

[Robertoq]

Newbie from Quebec, Canada.

Recently purchased a 1990 Mercedes Benz 190E (Dark Grey… Blackish). Paint in fair condition. (see paint condition incl. paint damage on door panel)

Also “take care” of three (3) other cars - 2003 Subaru Impreza (Pearl Blue), 2008 Subaru Impreza (Silver), 2010 Hyundai Elantra (Grey).

I now want (neeeeeeeeed) to purchase a polisher with accessories and product. Spent some time on Autogeek website reading-all-about-it. Very informative stuff. Now need HELP making final purchase decision.

What do YOU recommendedddddd to polish the Benz to "showcase"?? (And other vehicles too… eventually…J)

• Polisher - Flex 3401, Makita 9227, Flex 3403, ??
• Polishing Pads – Size (4", 6", ?) & Brand (??) (Ease of use, versatile, effective)
• Swirl Removers, Clay, Compounds, and Polishes, Waxes, Sealant\etc.

NOTE - Am a very handy person. Learn to use tools very quickly. BUDGET - $500


THANKS for the HELP.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hi Roberto,

Thanks for taking this to the forum as it's the best use of "Typing Time" to answer questions via the "Public" forum versus e-mail and Private Messages.

Hang tight will I and others read through your questions and do our best to give you answers that will help you reach your goal.


:dblthumb2:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

What do YOU recommendedddddd to polish the Benz to "showcase"?? (And other vehicles too… eventually…J)

• Polisher - Flex 3401, Makita 9227, Flex 3403, ??
• Polishing Pads – Size (4", 6", ?) & Brand (??) (Ease of use, versatile, effective)
• Swirl Removers, Clay, Compounds, and Polishes, Waxes, Sealantetc.

NOTE - Am a very handy person. Learn to use tools very quickly. BUDGET - $500


THANKS for the HELP.

Either a Porter Cable 7424XP or a Flex 3401

See my "Ease of Use Ranking" here and decide which description listed sounds like you the most.

How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project


If you go with a PC then get 5.5" pads, flat or CCS or 5.5" Hydro-Tech wafer pads.

If you go with the Flex 3401 then you'll need to stick with 6.5" pads and same thing for pads, get flat, CCS or Hydro-Tech pads. I'm a flat pad fan but they all work and with good technique you can get show car results with just about any pad and product combo as long as you're using good technique and we can help you with that.

Good technique more important than just about anything else.

If you call Customer Care they can help you get a custom package that fits you, your tool and your car detailing projects.

1-800-869-3011



As for chemicals, the Wolfgang Twins are great for light to medium depth swirls and finishing out to LSP ready and M105 or Ultra Compound are pretty hard to beat for deeper defects while finishing out almost LSP ready.

The Wolfgang Twins

Proof You Can Do It! - Joe The Detailer - Black Porsche Turned into Black Pearl!



Compounds - Polishes - Paint Cleaners - Cleaner/Polishes - Pure Polishes - Glazes
The SMAT Pack - Everything you ever wanted to know about Meguiar's SMAT products...
The Aggressiveness Order of SMAT Products - This might surprise you!


The above articles and many more can be found on one of these two pages...

How-To Articles
Articles by Mike Phillips 2

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I took the liberty to download one of your photos and then upload it into you gallery so it could be "inserted" instead of "attached", here it is...

Hard to tell 100% from the picture if these are scratches or Paint Transfer and scratches, regardless, these would be better worked out by hand first because you can exert a lot of pressure to just the affected area and work out the scratches with a few fingers versus the equal pressure that will be applied over the entire face of a foam buffing pad.

M105, Ultimate Compound will both work well to remove these types of scratches and finish out nicely. Use a piece of terry cloth as the NAP of the terry cloth will act as a form of abrasive and give the abrasive product you choose more bite. Remember, it's not just the product that determines how aggressive a product is, it's also the application material and application process.

Then take and re-polish the area by machine to work out any marring caused by you working by hand.

See these articles,

How To Remove Paint Transfer

How to use a hand applied abrasive polish or paint cleaner by hand

Factors that affect how aggressive or non-aggressive a product is...

Fingermarks

 

[Robertoq]

Thanks for the product advice and article links Mike.

Will read articles and let you know BEFORE I order stuff.

Also... when you have a minute to reply, what protection would YOU use for harsh Canadian winters??

Ciaoooo...
Roberto

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Also... when you have a minute to reply, what protection would YOU use for harsh Canadian winters??

Ciaoooo...
Roberto

Hi Roberto,

I try to avoid making specific recommendations for waxes or sealants because I represent a lot of companies in my position here on the forum and don't want to be backed into a canyon.

Our forum members are pretty good at sharing what they like and why. I would suggest starting a new, dedicated thread for that topic and get some feedback from others on this forum.

One note though...
Clear coat paints are pretty tough to start with, so finding a wax or sealant you like and then using it as often as needed or when weather permits will go a long way towards maintaining your Mercedes-Benz finish.


"Find something you like and use it often"

 

[TheGLL]

Hi Roberto,
I'm also from Quebec and the protection I will use for my car this winter are : Klasse ( sealant ) and Collinite 845 ( wax ).

With the reviews I read on the forum, I think it's gonna be a really good setup for the winter.

P.S. : I hate winter!

 

[Robertoq]

Hi Roberto,
I'm also from Quebec and the protection I will use for my car this winter are : Klasse ( sealant ) and Collinite 845 ( wax ).

With the reviews I read on the forum, I think it's gonna be a really good setup for the winter.

P.S. : I hate winter!

Merci beaucoup pour les conseilles Guillaume.

Je vais commander Mardi après une dernière réflexion cette fin de semaine.

Ciaooo...

 

[trhland]

Hi Roberto,

Thanks for taking this to the forum as it's the best use of "Typing Time" to answer questions via the "Public" forum versus e-mail and Private Messages.

Hang tight will I and others read through your questions and do our best to give you answers that will help you reach your goal.


:dblthumb2:

:xyxthumbs::xyxthumbs: mike your the best. i know i keep saying it but its so great u answer questions so fast . just great!!! so glad ur a part of autogeek.