priceyboy

Love my S205, but one thing really bugs me!! Having to constantly clean the black plastic centre console of fingerprints. am I on my own, or does this bug anyone else??

ManiacGT

The stock gloss surface will show every mark fingerprint and scratch. For this reason I specified the black matte ash wood.

Just the marks on the cheap plastic gloss buttons is enough to annoy me.

vic viper

Wrap it or replace it.

StanNH

I had the high gloss Burl Walnut trim on my first C300. It was impossible to keep micro scratches off the finish, and I had to polish it constantly. My new C300 Sport has the open pore Black Ash which requires virtually no maintenance.

There's not much you can do other than to keep a microfiber cloth and cleaner in the car and keep cleaning the surfaces as needed.

MASSC450

Why anyone would even want cheap looking shiny black plastic in their luxury car is beyond me.



I too opted for the open pore black ash. The extra $325 to me was worth every penny.

floridadriver

In some markets MB has an open pore brown colored wood, forget the type. Looks sharp with the lighter interior. As the open black ash looks great in black/red.

Otherwise, I use microfiber now and again on burl wood, and once ammonia free tint cleaner that adds anti static property to it to keep dust off. It's not just this car. It's any with shiny veneer. Upside is nothing will absorb into it.

laz81

Same here. I didn't want the ash wood. I specifically asked for piano finish because it looks much cleaner to me. But now I do regret that decision lol. I keep a microfibre cloth in the car. And wipe it down every second day or so.

cidtek

Hasn't been a problem for me as I generally only touch the little raised silver part of the bin to open it and don't use the mouse all that much. I certainly don't rest my fingers in that area when using the wheel or back button. Dust is my biggest issue and I have a light poly filament brush in the car for that. I would have gone for the black ash but since the grain patterns vary so much I saw a few unattractive pieces in the showroom that reminded me of water stains at certain angles.

hpilot

I totally agree. The Black Ash was a must have for me. As you say, now I only have to wipe those terrible shinny black plastic buttons. Why did they do that???

Waynezworld

I too hate the piano black and it collects fingerprints and dust like crazy. I am in the middle of having it switched out as I ordered an open pore ash wood center console. It comes in the mail this week and my local dealership is doing the "change" for me.

smudge

That's a matter of preference, I prefer the aluminium on the doors and the shinny center does not look bad at all.
Apparently has more maintenance, but will go with it (save some € too).

Pants-Flyer

Do you the US models have the clock fitted on the dash.

I'm looking to change out my Piano black trim.
But in the UK the Piano Black doesn't have a clock and the Black Ash trim does. Meaning I would have to pay another $300-$500 for the clock in addition to the cost of the trim.

cidtek

I've heard the retro clock is not fitted in 2016 so maybe wait a few months before ordering parts.

pdp8

Yes, US models with the wood trim have clocks in console.

Waynezworld

Yes that is true the US models do have the clock but apparently my dealer was able to find me the center console in open pore ash wood, that does not have the clock. I was surprised also. It actually comes in the mail tomorrow so I'll most likely post pics next week once the install conversion is done.

Waynezworld

This is the pic the dealer sent me, all the codes are very specific to my car so please understand that it wouldn't necessarily work on everyones. They ran my VIN & did research to come up with the part #. I also consulted another dealership and they are actually in disagreement that this is the right part, so this one may not work so I may have to send back this one and order another

vic viper

It is not easy to find parts not originally fitted to your vehicle, you have to manually go through the SA-codes on almost every part number.


I have been told that the analog clock isnt available at all in the basic level trim, so if you want to retrofit a wood panel you also need the clock, wiring, as well as some coding.

Waynezworld

Yes there is a ton of confusion on this matter and it doesn't seem that anyone is yet to actually do the conversion. I can't wait until the delivery happens tomorrow as its coming to my home, I'll inspect it then take it to the dealership for install. Crazy thing is the box with he center console weighs over 20lbs.

5banger

Greetings,
Note I found the MB OEM glass cleaner worked really well to clean the gloss-black-plastic. Then, for all the aluminum and plastic pieces, I found Klasse all-in-one does a good job to keep it from taking fingerprints easily (and the sealing/preserving aspect).

Warning: I wouldn't use it on the capacitive-touchpad portion of the COMAND, nor the navigation screen, as those likely have special coatings.

Also note the original gloss of the factory aluminum is mildly muted by the Klasse--but if you ever touch/clean the aluminum after delivery, it seems to smudge, or change texture, or streak anyway--so, I preferred to have a homogenous and smudge-resistant look, even if slightly less glossy.

I might make a separate post to share/query all the various detailing chemicals for the specific materials in the W205.

Andrew C400

cidtek

This would be a great thread.

digitallust_aus

^ +1

StanNH

The open pore Black Ash is the only trim that does not have a gloss finish. The plastic, and both the Linden and Walnut, are all high gloss. That's why the rest of the trim items are a gloss finish. It would be very expensive for MB to have a special set of matte buttons and plastic surrounds to accommodate just one trim option. It's hard enough for them to get a bumper cover to fit right, so how do you think this would turn out?

On my Porsche, all the plastic is matte ... but it matches the trim, and no high gloss options are available. I prefer the matte, but I'm certainly not going to stress over shiny buttons in my car.

hpilot

I don't think the shinny wood with matte buttons looks any worse than matte wood with shinny buttons. The Germans seem to be so worried about fingerprints with touch screens, you would think they would care more about fingerprints with shinny buttons...

DBOC205

Apart from the fingerprint and dirt issue, IMO the worst thing about the shiny console finish (piano black or even the gloss wood) was the amount of glare and reflections it can throw up. The open pore wood is definitely the way to go on this car.

floridadriver

I'm with you, and Porche. An all matte version of buttons, metals and woods seems best option. I remember when super shiny kitchen stainless was in style. What a PITA.

And to be picky, somewhere between the open pore and glossy. There's some vehicles that have some nice woods that don't reflect and pick up every fingerprint, but wouldn't absorb liquid, or look like some of the ash wood I've seen that already looks like something was spilled on it.