Hey everyone. Just thought I would start a new thread specifically for the upkeep in appearance of our babies. Please put any questions, comments, advice, etc.. that you might have picked up over the years on cleaning the car, the wheels, the leather, keeping the smells new, etc.. that you have found.

I will start with a ?

I have a little bit of black suit on the rear pipes that will not seem to come off with any amount of elbow grease and soap. Has anyone found anything that will get the carbon burn off of the chrome tip?

 

A bit O.C.D. however,

when it rains or after a good car wash with alot of rinse W202 rear doors hold a lot of water at the bottom door seal where it meets the body.

I have had 2 W202's now and after a long rain or wash once the car is dry I will open the rear doors for a minute or so. You would be surprised at the amount of water that hits the ground especially after a night's rain. Sometimes enough to back splash and get your ankles wet.

I always do this........

 

meguiar's metal polish

i have the older version. works like a charm. works great on the exhaust tips, and also on all the other chrome stuff...like the hood ornament, which tends to get faded/whatever u call it. just use a different piece of rag/towel for the exhaust tip

 

I use NEVER-DULL on the pipes , also clay-bar the body every 6 months and I use Zaino for my wax/sealant

 

try blue magic on chrome it effective yet gentle

 

Before waxing tape off the door handles with masking tape. It takes 5 minutes. The black material used on the door handles literally soaks up a white stain from the wax.

I clay-bar and waxed my car last week and this saved me as my last W202 had white stains from the wax on each door handle that took me a long time to remove.

Also, to those who have never used a window rag go and get one. All mine seem to be blue for some reason. Paper towels suck yet I see tons of people using them on windows. This will save you time and give a better result.

 

When I picked up my C43 the handles were a little on the white side as well, I dont know if it was from the was as you mentioned or just oxidation, but I used some back to black on them and they look fantastic. About a minute per handle is all it takes and the bottle should last you years.

Jeff

 

As far as general car care goes: (Just my suggestions!)

Car Wash: P21S Shampoo and two wash mitts. One for the top and one for the bottom of the car with the grit and grime.
Clay/Wax/Sealant: I'm insaino for Zaino!
Wheels: I use P21S Shampoo but in a different bucket than my car wash bucket.
Leather: Leatherique works wonders.
Dash: I occasionally use Armor All Detailer's Advantage, but mostly I just dust it off with a duster or wipe with plain water.
Tires & Trim: I use Turtle Wax Tire Wax. Easy to apply and lasts about two-three weeks. Mother's Back to Black has been the standard for black trim(including window surrounds and door handles). Great stuff.

BTW: Microfiber towels are your best friend!

 

Oh yeah,

A wash bucket with a strainer at the bottom to separte all the dirt and stuff from the water.

Shouldn't cost you more than $15.00

 

i have been using klasse on mines and love it especially on a black car, now if you want to have the wet look, they recommend pure carnauba wax on top of the klasse sealant. i somtimes use the P21 over my klasse and it makes the black look wet once yoru done. is zaino any better? i've heard many great things about zaino but never tried it myself. for the tires, i've tried many, but IMO mothers reflections tire dress seem to work best for me, it doesn't make the tire look all glossy and stuff and last for few weeks. for the interrior, i just wipe with a damp micro fiber and use a paint brush between the cracks to get all the dust out. try the paint brush (they call it a detail brush) but you can pick one at home depot, make sure to get a soft type and not the synthetic hard brush, brush your vents and radio area, and it will look great!