Post-Detail Pics | Making Brilliant Silver a little more brilliant
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 70
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From: Germantown, TN
2005 C55
Post-Detail Pics | Making Brilliant Silver a little more brilliant
After a few months of ownership, I finally got my *** out to the garage to give the car a proper detail. It was utterly pointless trying to capture the detail process, as the silver made it very difficult to see the swirls and marring with my own eyes, much less a camera.
I suppose there is a trade-off to silver. The upside is that it always looks clean. The downside is that it never looks REALLY clean like a darker colored car. Don't get me wrong, the paint is popping, but it lacks that visual "wow factor" that a freshly polished/sealed/waxed black car would have.
I went for about 90-95% correction in the paint. It's my daily, so I wasn't going to kill myself. Below are some of my favorite products that were used, along with pictures I took today.
-Matt
My weapon of choice....Flex 3401 orbital polisher. This thing is the bomb.
I did a spot treatment, using M105 with an orange pad to take out a couple deeper scratches here and there. Lots of people like to use it on the entire vehicle as their first stage of polishing.
Menzerna SIP (with an orange pad) was my first step product on the entire vehicle.
Menzerna Super Finish (with a white pad) was used for round 2.
Then I coated the car with Menzerna Power Lock sealant. This stuff is AMAZING! It's my favorite detailing product. Using a very minimal amount on a red pad, you can coat the vehicle's surface in no time. It comes off easy, provides long lasting durable protection and leaves the paint feeling and looking slippery and wet.
I love Aerospace 303 for exterior rubber...particularly the tires. If you don't like that shiny/greasy look, this is for you.
Onto the nice pictures....
I suppose there is a trade-off to silver. The upside is that it always looks clean. The downside is that it never looks REALLY clean like a darker colored car. Don't get me wrong, the paint is popping, but it lacks that visual "wow factor" that a freshly polished/sealed/waxed black car would have.
I went for about 90-95% correction in the paint. It's my daily, so I wasn't going to kill myself. Below are some of my favorite products that were used, along with pictures I took today.
-Matt
My weapon of choice....Flex 3401 orbital polisher. This thing is the bomb.
I did a spot treatment, using M105 with an orange pad to take out a couple deeper scratches here and there. Lots of people like to use it on the entire vehicle as their first stage of polishing.
Menzerna SIP (with an orange pad) was my first step product on the entire vehicle.
Menzerna Super Finish (with a white pad) was used for round 2.
Then I coated the car with Menzerna Power Lock sealant. This stuff is AMAZING! It's my favorite detailing product. Using a very minimal amount on a red pad, you can coat the vehicle's surface in no time. It comes off easy, provides long lasting durable protection and leaves the paint feeling and looking slippery and wet.
I love Aerospace 303 for exterior rubber...particularly the tires. If you don't like that shiny/greasy look, this is for you.
Onto the nice pictures....
MBWorld Fanatic!
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From: Vancouver, B.C. Canada
05 C55
Amazing photos as usual Matt. I am going to tackle a detail soon as well. It will be my first time doing it with a orbital polisher. I normally do it by hand and it usually takes me 6-8 hrs to complete. I have to admit, I am a tad nervous about it.
Thanks for sharing.
P.S; Gotta love silver! The lines on the car really stand out. My next MB will be silver for sure. CLK63BS FTW!
Thanks for sharing.
P.S; Gotta love silver! The lines on the car really stand out. My next MB will be silver for sure. CLK63BS FTW!
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 37
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C32 AMG
Looks flawless!
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Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 232
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From: Monmouth Junction, NJ
'06 C55, '14 Audi S4, '09 Range Rover Sport, '07 Lexus ES350,
As usual, Matt does an awesome job with the photo's.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 70
Likes: 0
From: Germantown, TN
2005 C55
Probably 10-15 hours.
Correct. Different levels of cut.
Yellow-more aggressive
Orange
White
Blue
Red-less aggressive
Thanks man!!
The good news is that with an orbital, you can't do any kind of meaningful damage. Take your time and you'll be fine. Shoot me a pm if you have any questions.
I do love how this color accents the car's features so well. I want a silver CLK63BS too!
Much appreciated man!
I've never used it on the interior....me personally, I wouldn't recommend it. Might leave things looking a tad too too glossy. Works great on exterior rubber though.
Thanks Mike!
ha I thought so!
Yellow-more aggressive
Orange
White
Blue
Red-less aggressive
Amazing photos as usual Matt. I am going to tackle a detail soon as well. It will be my first time doing it with a orbital polisher. I normally do it by hand and it usually takes me 6-8 hrs to complete. I have to admit, I am a tad nervous about it.
Thanks for sharing.
P.S; Gotta love silver! The lines on the car really stand out. My next MB will be silver for sure. CLK63BS FTW!
Thanks for sharing.
P.S; Gotta love silver! The lines on the car really stand out. My next MB will be silver for sure. CLK63BS FTW!
I do love how this color accents the car's features so well. I want a silver CLK63BS too!
Much appreciated man!
ha I thought so!
Last edited by porschefan1013; Jun 2, 2011 at 12:58 PM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,856
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02 C32 AMG
thanks for the response!
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 70
Likes: 0
From: Germantown, TN
2005 C55
They're good and clean. I don't like em looking too greasy. 
Thanks man!! I'm really pleased with how the pics turned out....glad you like them too.
Thanks man!! I'm really pleased with how the pics turned out....glad you like them too.
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,136
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From: GA
2016 Chevrolet SS, 2006 Cadillac STS-V
Looks nice! I need to get a more powerful buffer, I've got the old Porter Cable model. I'll probably look into either the Flex or the Meg's (I think the Meg's is the current hotness, no?). I did my car with 105, 205, Vanilla Moose, then Opti Seal shortly after I bought it. Was a ton of work with the PC but it looks a hellova lot better than when I bought it, needs a few spots redone though.
Do you do anything to your photos in Photoshop?
Do you do anything to your photos in Photoshop?
