Nick T.
New member
Harkonen - - -
Black paint is challenging in the extreme, but it is the best color for learning about paint care since it will show each and every one of your mistakes!
Don’t get discouraged - - any marring that you cause will be fairly easy to remove later with a random orbital buffer (Porter Cable is the preferred brand), a couple of grades of abrasive polish, and a little work.
In my experience careless washing causes more marring than anything else! Car covers are a close second. Even the very best soft cover is pretty heavy, and if there is any dirt on the paint you are almost guaranteed to cause marring with mounting and removal. I use flannel bed sheets as dust covers in the garage - two king size on the MINI and three on the Z3. They are very light weight, but I’m still very careful to not drag them over the surface - I roll them up from the ends and lift them off.
If you use carnauba wax, then much of the minor marring that you see is probably only in the wax, not in paint. Switching to a synthetic such as Klasse will make pollen removal much easier since it has a much harder surface. I top my Zaino (on the Z3) and Klasse (on the MINI) with very thin coats of carnauba paste - Souverän, S100, and P21S have worked best for me.
If you really want to get serious about paint care, then a Porter Cable is a must have item. There are a couple of good tutorials on PC use by GeekySteve (Steve L.) either here on Autopia or on Roadfly.
Have fun with your CLK430!
Black paint is challenging in the extreme, but it is the best color for learning about paint care since it will show each and every one of your mistakes!
Don’t get discouraged - - any marring that you cause will be fairly easy to remove later with a random orbital buffer (Porter Cable is the preferred brand), a couple of grades of abrasive polish, and a little work.
In my experience careless washing causes more marring than anything else! Car covers are a close second. Even the very best soft cover is pretty heavy, and if there is any dirt on the paint you are almost guaranteed to cause marring with mounting and removal. I use flannel bed sheets as dust covers in the garage - two king size on the MINI and three on the Z3. They are very light weight, but I’m still very careful to not drag them over the surface - I roll them up from the ends and lift them off.
If you use carnauba wax, then much of the minor marring that you see is probably only in the wax, not in paint. Switching to a synthetic such as Klasse will make pollen removal much easier since it has a much harder surface. I top my Zaino (on the Z3) and Klasse (on the MINI) with very thin coats of carnauba paste - Souverän, S100, and P21S have worked best for me.
If you really want to get serious about paint care, then a Porter Cable is a must have item. There are a couple of good tutorials on PC use by GeekySteve (Steve L.) either here on Autopia or on Roadfly.
Have fun with your CLK430!