2 C's, do I get a passing grade?

[Scottwax]

Bear with me, this one is going to be huge...



1995 Mercedes C280. I've been taking care of this car since it was new. Yes, since 1995. However, the owner's company ran into some serious problems after 9/11 (travel related) and was never able to recover, so for the last 5 years, I see this car once, maybe twice a year for a detail. Never deep polished it during those details, he was operating under a budget. However, things are really looking up so he wanted me to go hog wild on it.



Last time I detailed it was in August. Since then it has seen a few dealer and tunnel washes. Lets just say it needed a bit of work!



All the polishing you see in these first pictures was using Optimum Compound, a white 6.5" Lake Country CCS pad at 1400 rpm, finishing out at 1000 rpm. You may see a tracer or two (most notably on the gas cap door) but I followed with 3M Ultrafina using an Ultrafina pad at 1000-1800-1000 rpm.

Flash shots after OC/Ultrafina and waxed with Clearkote's Carnauba Moose:

No idea why the flash isn't centered, but this shot shows the flake and wetness.

 

[Scottwax]

Finished shots. Interior was the usual, Woolite/water for leather and vinyl, BioKleen TLC for the carpets, Meguiars Interior QD on vinyl, Meguiars Gold Class Leather on the leather.

 

[Scottwax]

2007 Mercedes C230 Kompressor. Owner sold his red SC430 (posted it a while back) and just picked up this C Class. The dealer had it detailed for him-I'll let the pictures do the talking...



Let's dress the dirt!

How about putting in some rotary swirls without removing the spider swirls?

Extract the carpet but don't actually clean it...

BioKleen Traffic Lane Cleaner and about 30 seconds (after 2 minute dwell)

Just vacuuming, Meguiars interior brush then some Interior QD-

 

[imported_JoshVette]

Scott, looking very good. You did a great job of correcting the paint. How long did it take?



It's great to see such an old car look so new.:goodjob





So, are you now getting room in your busy schedule to take on the longer projects?



Josh

 

[Scottwax]

It was tough getting good sun shots, it started storming right in the middle of the detail, so when the sun came back out, the angle was a lot different.



Driver's side with Meguiars #105, Solo yellow wool, then an 8006 polishing pad:

Just Meguiars #105 and an 8006 polishing pad on the driver's side of the trunk lid-note the lack of holograms!

#105/wool then 8006 here too, hard to see the swirls in the before shot, but the after shot looks really good.

Befores (untouched) followed by #105/8006 in the next 4 pics:

Took 3 passes using #105 on to get from that to this:

#105/8006-finishes down really well!

#105/wool, first pass:

#105/wool, second pass:

Followed with 2 passes with #105/8006 (the hood was by far the worst!)

 

[euro]

I'm liking this pic :xyxthumbs. It has an air of a cold war east bloc dictator's ride.

On the other hand, that 2007 Merc's before pics has "shame" written all over them considering how young the car is. I'm sure it's in good hands now. :2thumbs: = A

 

[Scottwax]

Followed #105 with Ultrafina and the Ultrafina pad:

Looked ready for wax after the halogens:

 

[Scottwax]

By the time all the polishing was done and I got a coat of Meguiars #16 on the car, the shadows were getting pretty long so no final full sun shots.

 

[Scottwax]

Scott, looking very good. You did a great job of correcting the paint. How long did it take?



It's great to see such an old car look so new.:goodjob





So, are you now getting room in your busy schedule to take on the longer projects?



Josh

I put just over 7 hours into the car, 4 of that was polishing. :nervous2:



Daylight savings time gave me some room but the last two days, I didn't finish until dark.

 

[imported_JoshVette]

I put just over 7 hours into the car, 4 of that was polishing. :nervous2:



Daylight savings time gave me some room but the last two days, I didn't finish until dark.

Nice job, it takes longer with the rotary, but the results are soooo much more then can ever be achieved with the PC or whatever....



Why don't you just polish the cars in a garage? It's easier to take pics and isolate the lighting to show swirls as well as keeps the sun off your back and off the car.:2thumbs:

 

[BigAl3]

yes, you get a passing grade on both. excellent work as always! :2thumbs:

 

[imported_DieselMDX]

wow awesome job the cars look AWESOME.





did id u finish with 105/uf then go right to lsp?



did u only use yellow wool or did u step up to burgandy wool?

 

[Scottwax]

Nice job, it takes longer with the rotary, but the results are soooo much more then can ever be achieved with the PC or whatever....



Why don't you just polish the cars in a garage? It's easier to take pics and isolate the lighting to show swirls as well as keeps the sun off your back and off the car.:2thumbs:

After the rain ended, it was really humid and the garage was pretty uncomfortable. Plus, the sun is best for finding any stray holograms left...as long as the sun cooperates!



DieselMDX-I think you can see how well #105 finishes with a polishing pad on ceramiclear paint so I was able to go straight to UF. Real time saver! On softer paint, you might need an intermediate step.



I was just amazed at how wet and glossy the paint looked for how aggressive #105 is, looks better than #83 leaves it.

 

[imported_DieselMDX]

so u used UF alone after 105? I agree the paint looked dripping wet after 105!

 

[WhosRich]

good to see you posting again scott!

 

[kaval]

Scott, I love looking at your C&Bs!



This here is the money shot IMO

 

[BLKSWAN]

Well both cars came out great, as usual Scottt...so you pass.

 

[Driven Auto Detail]

Your work always amazes me Scott. I can't wait to get a bottle of 105 to go with the UF that I picked up the other day. It looks like it's a real time-saver for ya. Great job on both cars!

 

[Scottwax]

so u used UF alone after 105? I agree the paint looked dripping wet after 105!

Yep, that's what I did. #105 left the paint nearly LSP ready after using it with a yellow Meg's polishing pad.

 

[imported_DieselMDX]

thanx scott