Products used on Derick Samson's 1952 Mercedes 170S for Ridler Competition

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Products used on Derick Samson's 1952 Mercedes 170S for Ridler Competition



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When I first saw this car in the pictures, had I not known it was a Mercedes-Benz I would have guessed it to be a late 1930's or early 1940's Ford or Chevy sedan as it has those iconic body lines but nope... this is a Mercedes-Benz Streetrod!

Some of the key products used to remove the holograms out of the paint and create a crisp, clear high gloss finish.


On Autogeek.net

SONAX Profiline Nano Polish

SONAX Polymer Net Shield aka PNS

FLEX XFE7 Orbital Polisher

Lake Country ThinPro Pads




Here's the FLEX XFE7-15 orbital polisher with a 6.5" ThinPro foam finishing pad and to the right are the SONAX Nano polish and PNS

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We had the honor of using the FIRST production FLEX XFE7's in the United States.

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We had a great team of seasoned professional detailers and with a painted and polished undercarriage we needed them!

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It's a tough job but someone has to do it...

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:)
 
I can`t get Velocity Channel too many trees on my hillside blocks signal of HD satellite sets too low on the horizon.

I`m sad not being able to watch Competition Ready:cry:
 
Mike, I have a paint question. When you arrived at Samson Design you asked the owner how long ago the Mercedes had been painted and he said a little over a week ago. You guys did your typical amazing job polishing and the sealing. I thought new paint needed a month to, "out gas" - something like that. What am I missing?
 
I can't speak for Mike, but in this instance I don't think anyone had a choice in the matter due to the timing. That was why they used the soft black pads and the least aggressive polish on hand. When we left for the day, they literally had the truck and car hauler sitting in front of the shop ready to load.

I can attest to that paint being soft...insanely soft...like breath on it and it scratches soft. Derick actually damaged a tiny spot on the edge of the hood simply trying to raise so someone could get to work on the engine bay.

Had the car been able to sit for another week or two I'm sure the paint would have cured enough to be much easier to work on.
 
SATracker said:
Mike, I have a paint question. When you arrived at Samson Design you asked the owner how long ago the Mercedes had been painted and he said a little over a week ago. You guys did your typical amazing job polishing and the sealing.
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Thank you.

I have a video on my cell phone that shows the holograms in the paint BEFORE we started. Maybe I can give it to Yancy and he can create it in a version I can share.

I really like the SONAX Nano Polish and it worked great on this fresh/soft paint with the Lake Country foam finishing pads and the FLEX dual action polishers.



SATracker said:
I thought new paint needed a month to, "out gas" - something like that.
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Yes, fresh paint is supposed to be left unsealed for at least 30 days. To my knowledge there's not a single paint manufactures that recommends sealing their brand of paint until after 30 days.

Most people including me agree that with modern catalyzed paint this 30 day waiting time really only applies to old school solvent-evaporation paints like lacquers and enamels. In fact I've never seen a negative result caused by sealing a modern basecoat/clearcoat paint system before 30 days air cure.

That said it's always best to follow the paint manufactures recommendation as they know their products best.


SATracker said:
What am I missing?
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What you're missing and what I observe quite a few people to be missing is there's the real world and then there's the TV world. The TV world is about entertainment. And there's a lot of money involved in any TV show and part of the money equation is to have sponsors and then show the sponsors products. The goals is that sales of the products will increase otherwise the show goes away. That's reality. I actually find it interesting so many people don't understand this simple concept. I'm not say you don't understand it I'm saying II see that others don't grasp this concept.

A simple analogy is when you watch any NASCAR race and you see a huge logo for any specific brand on the hood of a race car, the logo didn't get there by accident or for free.


So "yeah" normally you don't seal paint before 30 days air cure but that's a rule-of-thumb practice from the old days that lingers around today just as a way for paint companies to bubba-proof their products used for the masses that most don't know squat about finish care.

While polishing paint makes it look great it's the application of a wax, a sealant or a paint coating that creates the maximum shine plus uniform visual results that last over time.

Note as a veteran of the NXT vs Zaino Wax Wars I wrote the above sentence very carefully and each word is chosen for a very specific meaning. I know there are some that would argue that paint looks best after ONLY machine polishing with a fine cut or ultra fine cut polish and I respectfully disagree.

Paint looks best and the results last longer and look more uniform AFTER applying a wax, sealant or coating, not just polishing.

So to enable Derrik's 1952 Mercedes-Benz the best chance in competition after machine polishing we sealed the paint with SONAX Polymer Net Shield. This also supports a sponsor. (see what I wrote above about the fact that a TV show costs money).


Great questions, I'm glad you asked it and I hope my answer makes complete sense.



:)
 
Thanks for the answer- makes sense to me. Does anyone track sales after these shows. I have a pretty decent supply of products, pads, and machines but I'm watching the show thinking- "that product looks cool", "I'm gonna get me some of that". So after my wife goes to sleep I bravely place my order.
 
Mike,
It really is a fun show to watch, and I appreciate you pointing out what you did. So many shows (and Velocity Channel is probably the biggest culprit) are nothing more than 30 minute infomercials for whatever sponsor is paying. As long as the products perform as advertised, and I am entertained, I will still watch. And I haven't missed an episode yet. So you're doing a great job. Plus, AJ is hot.

One thing I question, and I see this on the other Velocity shows as well, is the timing of the detailing and the events. I mean, really? Every single episode is a time crunch down to the last minute?
 
SATracker said:
Thanks for the answer- makes sense to me. Does anyone track sales after these shows. I have a pretty decent supply of products, pads, and machines but I'm watching the show thinking- "that product looks cool", "I'm gonna get me some of that".

So after my wife goes to sleep I bravely place my order.
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That's funny....


To be honest, I don't have access to that type of information unless it's shared with me I don't know.

I hear the ratings are good and the ratings are strong.

I get LOTS of feedback, some negative, the majority is positive.


:)
 
Uranium235 said:
Mike,


One thing I question, and I see this on the other Velocity shows as well, is the timing of the detailing and the events. I mean, really? Every single episode is a time crunch down to the last minute?
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I cant speak for Mike, but I can tell you there is some reality to the time crunch. For instance, on the show at the auction, it is not uncommon for cars to get detailed at auction sites. In fact, Mothers has a team at Barrett Jackson doing just that! For the Petersen museum, my guess is those cars were not brought out of the vault until the last minute so they wouldnt get damaged by any construction. For SEMA, if I were Kyle Tucker, I probably would want my car detailed at the very last moment as well for the battle of the builders show. So it might be a little exaggerated, but not totally :)
 
Jaretr1 said:
I cant speak for Mike, but I can tell you there is some reality to the time crunch. For instance, on the show at the auction, it is not uncommon for cars to get detailed at auction sites. In fact, Mothers has a team at Barrett Jackson doing just that!
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This may be a late response, but I was on vacation last week and just saw this...

For the Ridler episode, the time crunch was real as well. Derick Sampson was headed for Detroit very early the next morning. In fact, when we were done he had the transport trailer sitting in front of the shop ready to load the car. Other employees had already loaded the display stand pieces on the truck. Since the show started a day or two after we completed the work, I have no doubt that car went in the transporter as soon as the TV production crew left the shop.
 
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