A Steel Blue Mercedes-Benz C L K 3 2 0

G35stilez

G35stilez

Ari Gold

Good Afternoon,


Today I had the priveledge of working on this fine piece of german engineering. This CLK was in "good" shape on the interior and "poor" on the exterior. Allow me to elaborate.

The interior contained minimal stains and normally soiled leather seating. The doors had some scuffs and the wood was in rather nice shape. Overall, a pretty quick hour to clean it up.

-Zaino Z9 on leather, vinyl, plastic, rubber
-Oxi-Clean Mix + steam cleaner on mats, carpets
-Zaino Z26 to protect leather, vinyl, plastic, rubber
-Gliptone Glass Cleaner on glass, chrome, wood
-Zaino Z6 in jams

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The main event was a messy one. Where the exterior lacked in bonded contaminants, it made up in heavy and deep swirling, clearcoat checking/failure in many areas, heavy tar and sap deposits, many R.I.D.S, and just general filth. Unfortunately a couple areas couldn't be fixed, even with heavier solvents and wetsanding. My finals to correct and (almost) perfect were:


-Meguiar's Wheel Brightener cut 2:1 on wheels
-TOL Tire Cleaner cut 1:1 on tires/wheels/plastic trim

-Dawn Wash
-Zaino Z18 Clay with Dawn Wash as lube

-HTEC/OCP (50/50) via rotary and LC Cutting Pad @ 1900 rpm x 2
-OCP/RMG via rotary and LC Polishing Pad @ 1400 rpm
-Zaino Z6 wipedown

-Zaino Z2 Pro (ZFX/Z8'd) by hand on paint, glass, wheels, chrome
-Zaino Z8 by hand
-Zaino Z16 on tires/wells (2:1)/trim x 2


Checking/Failure/Dullness
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Before
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After
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Before
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wish the sun was brighter before compounding...these spiderwebs were deep and plentiful

After
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Note: A polarizing filter was used in all pictures. I was trying it out and wanted to see how it affected photographing automobiles. If my memory serves me right, the pictures (compared to in person) appear less reflective, but with more color depth. If you notice, there is almost no glare and you can see clearly through the glass.


Questions/Comments/Advice, please feel free.


Cheers!




 
Nice job! My aunt has the CLK350 Cabriolet in the exact same color combo. her's was a mess too before I got my hands on it.
 
That's a significant turn around on the exterior.

Show off
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The owner should be slapped for neglecting such a fine piece of machinery!
 
mgm2003 said:
That's a significant turn around on the exterior.

Show off
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The owner should be slapped for neglecting such a fine piece of machinery!
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I agree mgm2003. totaly disgusted with tire pic, someone should kick his :boot "oh" forget it..
 
joyriide1113 said:
I ask both Sean and Greg. Where can I get these filters. And what cameras are you two lunatics using?
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Joy if your camera doesnt have a 35mm lens you will need to buy an adapter. I buy my lenses used off ebay as I am poor lol. Both Sean and I have canon a610 powershot cameras with lens adapters. I have run a uv filters off my adapter and a lens hood, and soon to be a polarizing lens.


Greg
 
GregCavi said:
Joy if your camera doesnt have a 35mm lens you will need to buy an adapter. I buy my lenses used off ebay as I am poor lol. Both Sean and I have canon a610 powershot cameras with lens adapters. I have run a uv filters off my adapter and a lens hood, and soon to be a polarizing lens.


Greg
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Are you busy? Can you head to the chat?
 
Amazing work as always..::bigups , also love your photography skills
I do have to ask, Is there ne reason why you chose OCP/RMG mix vs Blackfire src polish this time?
 
Thank you!


joy: eBay. I have a bunch of filters and lenses for it. Nothing professional worthy, but they take nice shots.

Calgary: I think it is definatley worth the outlay. If you've been following my posts, my regimen has barely changed for the past 20 or so vehicles I've done.

roadmaster: There is something about a Mercedes and OCP. I don't know but it cuts great and finishes great. With Optimum being the easiest (to use) polish I own, I had to stick with it. The BF probably would've added a bit more depth, but on a light color like this, the results would be marginally better.
 
Nice looking vehicle!!

The pictures of the vehicle are not only fluid looking as to the shine but the angles of the pictures seem to give the illusion of motion which I enjoyed very much.

The deepness of the swirls cause the higher speed of the rotary to generate the heat necessary to effect correction......right? Or not....? Does higher speed mean less working time vs slower speed. Is there more worry about paint damage when working the paint in this way for us not so knowledgeable rotary detailers?
 
cwcad: I stepped up the speed to cut harder initially, yes. I worked the same amount of time but wanted that initial cut to be more aggressive.

Yes, you must be careful with using that much aggression on the rotary. I kept the pad moving so that I didn't build up *too* much heat. This helped with the overall success.
 
Thanks for answering what I thought was correct. You made it abundantly clear for me.

I have only burned thru the paint once with a rotary. Luckily it was a vehicle that the owner did not mind. In fact I just purchased the truck today. I had burned thru it a few years ago. Before the season is over I will hit it again, with ProPolish and a rotary, to see if my skills with a rotary can be elevated a little, thru practice, on a worry free vehicle.
 
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