2004 Black Mercedes S430 De Swirled

[jgh1987]

All I can say is I was not prepared for this car! My parents S-Class that has never seen anything other than nylon brush washes and the occasional Swirl-O-Matic run. Other than that the car is in excellent shape, only around 20,000 miles and has always lived in a garage. Since I only had a PC and Menzerna Intensive Polish as my most aggressive combo, each section took around 5 passes (sometimes more) to perfect. It also did not help that I only had two pads, I kept finding myself having to clean each halfway through each panel



Process:



-Wheels, tires & wheel wells washed with Meguiars Deep Crystal soap and Meg's APC 4:1

-EZ Detail Brush for Wheel Barrels

-Paint foamed with Meg's Deep Crystal

-Washed with Meg's Gold Class via two bucket method

-Clayed with blue Clay Magic

-Polished with Menzerna IP & Orange LC 5.5" pad

-Polished with Menzerna Final Polish & White LC 5.5" pad

-Meg's Quick Interior Detailer

-Poorboys EX-P as LSP



around 15-20 hours over three days













Dried off after wash, preparing to clay











50/50 shot of rear passenger door






Close up






Before, driver side hood






50/50






After






Driver mirror, before






After






Before






After
















In the middle of the detail, one of my dads friends came by with one of his new cars so I took a break to check it out.









its a 1970 Challenger with the original body & paint, but with a brand new 470 cubic inch (I believe) Hemi crate motor





















Back to the detail...




50/50 of trunk






After






Driver side front quarter, before






After






Another 50/50, driver door






After second wash to remove all dust & polish oils, preparing to dry for LSP application






EX-P applied, I let it cure for about 20 hours








Afters:

 

[jgh1987]

I would also suggest that if anyone is in need of microfiber towels right now, to consider what George at Detailed Image has to offer. Just before this detail I had received 10 of his "Ultra Plush Two Sided" towels and 10 of his "reTHICKulous" towels. These MF's are fantastic! Extremely soft and thick, and they don't come with tags! I took a picture of each towel:




Ultra Plush Two Sided (what I used for this detail)









and the reTHICKulous towel








Here are links to DI's site for the MF's:



Ultra Plush Two Sided Towel



reTHICKulous Towel

 

[BLKSWAN]

looks like you did a real nice job man. keep up the good work.

 

[jimmie jam]

nice work.:soscared:

 

[charbro]

Fantastic......very nice.

 

[musicdjs]

Very nice! So, how long did this take you?

 

[350f]

Nice! You said it took you 5 passes with the Menzerna and the orange pads, are the 50/50 shots after the 5th or so pass or just after one?

 

[Redfire03]

Did it really take that many passes with the orange pad with Menzerna combo? Im kind of worried now, i just ordered some IP... for my pc

 

[jgh1987]

looks like you did a real nice job man. keep up the good work.

thanks man! I really appreciate it

nice work.

thanks jim!

Fantastic......very nice.

thanks!

Very nice! So, how long did this take you?

A LONG time. The detail was done over a three day period. I'll be sure to edit my post so it includes this information. Thanks!

Nice! You said it took you 5 passes with the Menzerna and the orange pads, are the 50/50 shots after the 5th or so pass or just after one?

The "finished" side of each 50/50 represents around 5 passes. it was ALOT of work, and I have two things to blame: 1) the underpowered PC and 2) ceramiclear on the Mercedes (or at least I believe), oh yeah......having more pads would of helped too.

Did it really take that many passes with the orange pad with Menzerna combo? Im kind of worried now, i just ordered some IP... for my pc

Yeah it did. I wouldn't worry though...the car had never been polished so it took a lot more work than usual.

 

[David Fermani]

Sweet turnaround Josh. I'm sure your parents were very pleased!! When are you doing the Challenger?

 

[P1et]

That is some excellent work, very nice dedication! Let us know how the EX-P holds up, I had less than stellar results...

 

[jgh1987]

Sweet turnaround Josh. I'm sure your parents were very pleased!! When are you doing the Challenger?

Thanks David! glad you liked it, lol I dont know....the paint was in great shape swirl wise so it wouldnt be hard to!

That is some excellent work, very nice dedication! Let us know how the EX-P holds up, I had less than stellar results...

Thanks! is that right about the EX-P? I would have used something better but want to use up that bottle before buying anything else. Sure did make the paint slick, and application was relatively easy but we will see about durability :think:

 

[detaildoc]

Great correction there. I can't believe you did that MB with a PC (that would explain the long hours and 5+ passes). Great job!

 

[hannon3487]

yea josh the benz finally got the care it needed. No more spray and wipes on dirty paint lol!:grinno:

Those inside lips of the wheels look super fresh. Did you have to clean up the interior at all?

 

[KnuckleBuckett]

Check out the EDGE doublesided pads and their quick change system.

 

[jgh1987]

Great correction there. I can't believe you did that MB with a PC (that would explain the long hours and 5+ passes). Great job!

Thanks Doc, yes the MB clearcoat was difficult to correct with just a PC

yea josh the benz finally got the care it needed. No more spray and wipes on dirty paint lol!

Those inside lips of the wheels look super fresh. Did you have to clean up the interior at all?

thanks hannon.....all the interior saw was a Meg's QD Interior wipe down, I did not condition the leather...maybe next time :think2

 

[imported_hockeyplaya13]

Wow fantastic job!

 

[imageautodetail]

Great work, I just finished(it finished me) a 2005 E500 Black that was just horrible to work with, I feel your pain

 

[imported_themightytimmah]

Nice Josh... man you've got a lot of patience to tackle that via PC.