---Teaser--- Mercedes 300D Never Garaged....Help!!

[imported_Jonnyboy]

This arrived at my shop yesterday. The owner wants the paint restored and the interior restored and cleaned. Here are the before pictures. I will be starting on it this afternoon (California Time).



The car has never been washed or garaged since he has owned it (around 5 years). It actually has mold growing on the inside and outside.



Any ideas you guys might have on what products to use on the paint, rubber, leather etc. would be awesome! :bow



I can use all of the help I can get.



Let me know if you guys have any ideas. Thank you!



I will post the follow-up photos when it is finished.



Before:

MOLD

WATER SPOTS

PAINT

AFTER DAWN BATH LAST NIGHT

Please give me ideas! I will keep you guys posted......

 

[rdorman]

Never washed, never garaged and they want it restored!?!?!? :nervous2: Hope this is by the hour! I will let the detail experts help with the rest of the car but there is a lot of chrome on that car. It will not come back 100% but.... white rouge on a cotton spiral sewn wheel (get an hourglass and some felt bobs to) followed by blue rouge will go a long way on the chrome and make it quicker. Tape off surroundin areas and do it before the paint work (messy).



Now for a quicky, not a restoration (in which case take the car apart, refinish and re-assemble!) a SOS pad works well on chrome followed by a polish and sealer. Try an small area always before going this route.



The bumpers... what are those? Aluminum, stainless?



Borax works great on mold.



The cast bits in the engine compartment, brass brush and WD-40. Brake cleaner works well but has no dwell time. OxiSolv Aluminum Cleaner works well.

 

[mborner]

I see a lot of potential, there.

 

[Accumulator]

I see a lot of potential, there.

Yeah, me too. Some random thoughts:



I'd probably lean towards some disassembly (certain lights, chrome bits,

etc.).



Exterior rubber/plastic might clean up well with KAIO. If not, I'd lean towards Autoglym Bumper care.



I'd pop the hubcaps and probably remove the wheels too. Be careful putting the caps back on.



Lots and lots of claying.



Check for signs of repainting, including spot repairs, that will need to be treated differently.



MB ss is usually nice and thick but don't go nuts on potentiall thin areas.



I'd probably lean towards Meguiar's #2 (new version, and only because I don't like #83), followed by #80. I'd probably use Collinite 476S for the LSP. I would *NOT* be aiming for ultimate gloss.



MB Tex (seats) is really tough stuff, no need to baby it in most cases.



Be careful you don't loosen some of the interior vinyl covering on the dash/etc. as you'll have to glue it back down. Also, watch for any such material that might be brittle.



The engine compartment should be pretty impervious to water and cleaning stuff, just don't go nuts about getting things wet and you should be OK. Think twice about removing all the factory wax-based rustproofing, even if it does look kinda nasty (and no, it's not really "cosmoline" ).

 

[2005GTPinMD]

Obviously the car needs to get polished. I would wash, clay and then you KAIO or something similar to remove some of the oxidation. The interior needs to get shampooed. The MB Tex is easy to take care of.



I wonder if this car is a candidate for one of those decontamination kits? I know there are special treatments for interior mold (I have seen some on the FK1 website).



All in all the car does not look too bad considering how old it is.

 

[tom p.]

The car is in amazing condition if it really has been outdoors its entire life. What is it? A 1975? 1976?



I'll agree with the others, this could be a candidate for a comprehensive job by a pro!



Good luck with it, Jonny! I'm anxious to see the results

 

[Accumulator]

I wonder if this car is a candidate for one of those decontamination kits? I know there are special treatments for interior mold (I have seen some on the FK1 website)..

Well, *I* would do that, but it seems like most people don't and I figured Jonnyboy wasn't gonna wait around for some special-order products.



Either FK1119 or Autoint/ValuGard's "A" would be a good "super shampoo". Dunno if the acidic step would really be necessary, but it wouldn't hurt.

 

[imported_Jonnyboy]

Well, *I* would do that, but it seems like most people don't and I figured Jonnyboy wasn't gonna wait around for some special-order products.



Either FK1119 or Autoint/ValuGard's "A" would be a good "super shampoo". Dunno if the acidic step would really be necessary, but it wouldn't hurt.

YOUR RIGHT!!!! I DIDN'T WAIT. I GOT STARTED RIGHT AWAY.



OKAY!!! HERE IS THE BIG REVEAL.



This is what I used:







Wheels & Wheel Wells



Amazing Roll Off -- tires, hubcaps, and wheel wells

Meguiar's Hyper Dressing -- tires (light coat)





Wash



Dawn Dishwashing Soap..... Twice



Engine



Amazing Roll Off

Dressed with 303 Aerospace Protectant



Carpets



Folex -- spot treatment

Pro-Form (Sams Club) Carpet Cleaner -- Cleaning

Bissell



Leather



Clean -- Woolite 10:1

Condition -- Leather CPR



Interior and Door Jams



Meguiars APC+ 4:1

Plastic & Dash treated with 303

Alcohol & Water 50/50 for windows

Also treated all of the rubber seals with 303 Protectant



Paint



Meguiars 105 w/ Orange CCS pad -- 2 coats

Meguiars 205 w/Orange CCS pad -- 2 coats

Klasse AIO w/White CCS pad -- 2 coats

Collinite 845 w/Grey CCS pad -- 2 coats



Black Plastic on bumpers



303 Aerospace Protectant -- 2 coats

Meguiar's Hyper Dressing -- 2 coats





Please let me know what you guys think. It took me 2 full days to do this. Probably 23 hours. I am looking for any advice on products that might have made this project quicker..... maybe different waxes etc...



Here are the pics:

 

[imported_Jonnyboy]

The car is in amazing condition if it really has been outdoors its entire life. What is it? A 1975? 1976?



I'll agree with the others, this could be a candidate for a comprehensive job by a pro!



Good luck with it, Jonny! I'm anxious to see the results

It is a 1974 300D. Thanks for cheering me on. The results are in!!

 

[gdal]

That's a great save. I think it looks great!!!



I really like your attention to detail. You do great work!!

 

[Mudman]

Great work! That's a fantastic color.

 

[E300Diesel]

Great save! :goodjob

 

[2005GTPinMD]

Great job - you probably doubled that car's value. It looks awesome!

 

[longdx]

Excellent save, the old girl looks proper now. It is really a testament to old MB paint as I have seen several that have been neglected come back to life.

 

[imported_Jonnyboy]

Excellent save, the old girl looks proper now. It is really a testament to old MB paint as I have seen several that have been neglected come back to life.

Great job - you probably doubled that car's value. It looks awesome!

Great save! :goodjob

Great work! That's a fantastic color.

That's a great save. I think it looks great!!!



I really like your attention to detail. You do great work!!

Thank you soooo much guys! I didn't think it was going to come back. It turned out way better than I thought......

 

[Accumulator]

Jonnyboy- Great job, see....you didn't really need much advice from us



The *only* thing I'd consider doing differently would be one more pass with the M205 using a milder pad, just to bring the gloss up a little bit (and I'm not a fan of super-glossy finishes on cars like that). Don't take that as a slam, IMO it turned out great, especially for the limited amount of time you had to spend on it; two days is quick for complete job like that.

 

[jtford95]

Great job!! Nice turnaround.

 

[tom p.]

The thing came out awesome! I be very proud if I were the owner!! It's wonderful to see older cars in this condition.

 

[imported_Jonnyboy]

Jonnyboy- Great job, see....you didn't really need much advice from us



The *only* thing I'd consider doing differently would be one more pass with the M205 using a milder pad, just to bring the gloss up a little bit (and I'm not a fan of super-glossy finishes on cars like that). Don't take that as a slam, IMO it turned out great, especially for the limited amount of time you had to spend on it; two days is quick for complete job like that.

See.... that is the advice I am looking for. I did not know that using a lighter pad would bring up the gloss. I am going to have to try that next time. Great advice! Thank you!!!



Jonathan

 

[Accumulator]

Jonnyboy- Glad you took my post as intended and didn't think it was some slam on the (very nice) work you did. Yeah, going milder than a LC orange can make a surprising diff.