Merc-Skycap

Not many people would understand this but one way for me to decompress from this crazy rat race, we call life today, is to spend time cleaning and detailing the "Garage Queen," as friends and neighbors would call it. Every now and then I get to spend a good few hours taking care of my "Freundin." Over the years she has been well maintained but lately had come across some poor detailing at the dealer and some poor weather. Therefore, it was time to spend 7-8 hours (lost track of time) with the C while the neighbors, girlfriend, friends, and family rejoiced to make snappy jokes and comments.

The Before








7 or 8 Hours After










A Day After

Some New Ones

1. "You are really going to dry the water near the gas cap? Is that necessary?" - courtesy of Neighbor
2. Mom calls, "Your Father is saying something about your girlfriend being out in the nude again and you bathing her?" - courtesy of Mom
3. "So when is the honeymoon?" - courtesy of Dad
4. "You are insane!" "You understand this is unhealthy behavior, right?" "Just checking!" - courtesy of GF

arekux

nice, time to get it dirty again :P.

TheRussian818

Good job. I have to find good microfibers that wont leave spider web effect on the clear coat. What do you use?

gthal

I completely get the joy of detailing the car. It is the most relaxing thing I get to do (other than sleep ). I also get grief from family, friend, etc. I have an entire closet full of detailing supplies and have a bit of an addiction to the hobby. It's nothing to spend a 3 day weekend washing, polishing, sealing/waxing the car.

@TheRussion818... even with great washing supplies and very good technique you will still get marring on the car over time. The difference is how gradually it occurs. Bad technique and materials can cause issues much more quickly though. You will notice it more on dark cars in sunlight. I use a wool wash mitt and have liked both the pakshak and cobra micro fiber towels for wax/sealant removal, etc. I have never liked micro fiber for washing purposes but that is more just personal preference.

Helms

Great work skycap! looks great man!

AMGC60-3

I completely get the joy of detailing the car. It is the most relaxing thing I get to do (other than sleep ). I also get grief from family, friend, etc. I have an entire closet full of detailing supplies and have a bit of an addiction to the hobby. It's nothing to spend a 3 day weekend washing, polishing, sealing/waxing the car.

I am the same way, always have been.

503C43 ////AMG

Tell me about it, 040 Black is my best friend and my worst enemy

But I always say: once you go 040 black, you never go back

The detail looks AWSOME, so does the red C63 Coupe

_AMG_

Great job man!
Come to think of it my car could use some tlc as well. lol

Merc-Skycap

Thanks guys, my back and feet were killing me the next day but it was still worth it. Nothing like seeing dust particles just roll off the hood as your drive. I think the next time I may need to ask for assistance to do some paint correction. Got a pretty hefty quote from some detailers so let's see, it's either mods, or a paint correction lol.

Not sure if any of you noticed but the rear end of the car likes to get dirty very quickly. It's usually where all the static is, at least in my case, therefore apply a second coat of Quick Wax after cleaning it with Quick Detailer 1-2 days after you have detailed the car. Let me know if any of you have any better suggestions, but it seems to keep the car cleaner for longer.

@TheRussian818 - I use Meguiars products on the car only. I learned the hard way, stay away from TurtleWax and others, except some Mothers products. Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo, Ultimate Polish, NXT Wax, Mother's Quick Detailer, Quick Wax, tire shine (however, try to find a good water based tire sealant if you can instead). For deep swirls you need to invest in a Dual Action Buff machine and some good buff pads that are soft, yet firm. I also used Meguiars Scratch X (still in experimental stages though) I used to use Meguiar's W9006 6.5-Inch Soft Buff but I'm currently thinking of experimenting with something better as it doesn't do the job 100%. Keep in mind though this is for glossy paint and not matte finishes so please research products for matte finish paints.

If any of you use a D/A, what buff pads do you suggest that help make the job easier? Also any tips, tricks, for removing swirls, I'm all eyes?

khmergod

Great work skycap. Too bad it only takes that many hours out in the open to get dirty again lol.

Maverick1975

Very nice work, you are amongst friends here so we totally understand! I INS washing my cars is a very good stress relief and I never think about my job while I do
it, all I think about is HRE AMG and carbon fibre !

_AMG_

+1

jvanbrecht

I highly recommend detailedimage.com (I have no ties, or financial interest in them other then as a customer).
They have a really awesome blog on detailing (how to's, reviews from pro detailers, pictures and results of some nice cars and what they did to get the result etc), as well as selling detailing products.

It is what I used as the basis for detailing my cars (although I picked some of the products up on Amazon since they are not the cheapest at times).

BenzoBoi

Good job! I DEFINITELY need to spend some time with my car too. I'll definitely be giving her some attention when I get her back next week after some maint. stuff.

Merc-Skycap

Thank you guys so much for the compliments.

@khmergod: I know, it's been a little over a week and it's already dirty smh

@Maverick1975: lol Don't have any carbon fiber on mine (that's an idea for mods) but I know what you mean.

@_AMG_: Haha go for it. Your C would look amazing with a nice detail.

@jvanbrecht: Thanks for the tip. I will definitely check it out over the weekend.

@BenzoBoi: Thanks, don't we all? Let us know how it goes, post up some pics.

By the way, I took some shots of the car before it got too dirty again lol. Below is a sample of what took place a few nights ago. I haven't had the chance to edit them yet but if you guys would like to see some, I'll post them up in another thread?

coladin

Same here. Car detailing is my sanctuary. Just me, my 4 wash mits, two buckets, 4 microfibers, 2 chamois, and the mosquitoes. Ahhh, with three kids it is alone time, time to think, enjoy the finished product. My neighbours think I am nuts, but I enjoy it. Even my wife's R class. Peopledon't say enough about the quality of MB paint, it looks amazing detailed. The depth and metallic finish are top notch.

I was a wash boy as a 15 year old and did that for many summers, loved washing cars and as a pimply 17 year old was prepping the showroom cars, the general manager wondering how the heck the cars glowed when I did it! Then they had me doing dealer trades driving from Ottawa to Montreal in 1990, the new Miata, the RX-7, etc...learning to drive fast, for sure! It was a Mazda, Suzuki dealer. To this day the scariest ride of my life was droppin off a Suzuki Samurai in Montreal. Still gives me shivers!