06 SLK55 AMG w/30 package, 06 Accord

I

imported_themightytimmah

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The owner of this SLK55 came to me off of Autopia, and he was looking to take his SLK55 from an excellent finish to a perfect one. Before the polishing it had only light marring from washes and one deep scratch on the hood - the average person would have thought of it as perfect. It had the 30 handling package - stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, etc. Sorry no after sun shots, as I didn't get done until it was getting dark. The ceramiclear on this one was as hard as a rock - I swear its harder than the other ceramiclear cars I've done.



Befores









Light marring, some hologramming (from either the factory or dealership)







(these were fun to clean by hand, but for what they cost, I wasn't going to use MWB)



Process:

QEW Wash

GR-40, plastic razor blade, and clay to remove some road tar from rocker panels

S100 Polishing Soap on wheel barrels and exhaust tips

PO106FF (customer supplied)/Rotary 1500/Orange CCS pad X2 (X3 on hood)

50/50 mix of P0106FF and CG EZ Creme Glaze/PC 6/CCS Green

Pinnacle Souveran/hand

Poli-seal by hand on windows, wheels, calipers and exhaust tips

Wheel Wax tire dressing (customer supplied)



During polishing



Rotary Steps











Finishing with PC







After















 
I gotta thank a.k.a Patrick for this one - he referred the owner to me looking for a seat extraction. Apparently the owner had left some raw chicken out on the seat. When I got there, the interior was in pretty good shape (just in need of disinfecting) but the exterior had severe waterspotting (Florida sprinklers are a killer) and the light marring (looks almost like hologramming) that Hondas always seem to develop.



Before:







Process:



Kids and Pets to pretreat interior

Extract interior

Interior plastics cleaned with APC 10:1 and dressed with CG's Silk Shine

QEW Wash

CG's Clay with QEW lube

Rotary/Orange LC/HTEC on deep scratches

Rotary/Orange CCS/OP on whole car (this left some nice holograms, talk about soft paint)

PC/White LC/Blackfire SRP FP

PC/Blue/Z5pro

CG O-Shine in wells

CG Silk Shine on tires

Poli-Seal on windows, mirrors, rims and exhaust tip.















The paint actually had a blue flake which didn't show up until after polishing:



 
Both look amazing but the Accord's paint was so bad in the before shot and so good in the afters...and Honda paint definitely isn't the quality that Ceramiclear is, so the results on the Accord are even more impressive! :)
 
Nice work on the AMG!!!:goodjob



Those that order the AMG and are smart have spec'd it with the optional Ceramiclear clearcoat if the dealers salesman was smart to have the customer check that box.



The newer 06/07 AMG and some std MB with this newer Ceramiclear is extremely hard as nails! This is why most dealers cannot prep them correctly since they do not have the 3M SCR polishes and pads or Menzerna. Most still use not so well trained prep techs that hack the snot out of these, then try like hell to fill it with glaze B4 delivery to customer.



Next time you get one straight from a dealer, wash it well and watch all the filler leave and all the damage show up.



We did one "inventory" vehicle after the dealers tech did the work and without moving the car and covering it, the following day we washed it and showed the management what is really happening. Then we went around and polished it all out to a piano black laquer look. Washed it again to show no fillers were used, straight polish (All Menzerna).



After the whole demo, we advised that they need to get them (the techs) up to speed on how to properly do these finishes. What we found by viewing the techs is they used a rotary, hard polishing pads (worn) and cutting compounds followed by glaze. :soscared:



It takes time to do these right and you did an excelent job! :2thumbs: You took enough time to correct the defects. It ain't easy with the newer Ceramiclears.



Once you get more time with these, you'll find a sweet spot on how to cut down on time and still get stunning results. It's a matter of polish/pads and rotary speed. Too slow and you'll be at it longer. Too fast and hello holograms.



BTW, not too many bodyshops can replicate this newer finish yet, some can, but it takes a special booth and harding agents for the paint. Too long curing and it does not harden correctly, too soon and it's brittle. PPG, Glasur and the other paint mfg are trying to get shops up to speed on these, but some shops won't do them as it's too much hassle.



Regards,

Deanski
 
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