Hi all,

I'm a proud owner of a 2017 Selenite Magno Grey C43 AMG Coupe and I'm having problems with the paint.
I recently posted here, asking help about the magno paint maintenance, but didn't get any responses.

I've researched the magno paint maintenance a lot and read all about it, but as I don't have a place to wash it myself and going to a good detailer every few weeks would make me broke, I haven't found a good midway solution.

Anyways, I've used the self-service power washing stations, even recently, but at the beginning I didn't know I shouldn't use wax-based products and I used the "hot-wax" program in those places.. Anyways, I don't know if that had that much of a bad effect on the paint or was it here before I bought the car.

I brought the car to a detailer who was recommended and partnered by my local official MB dealership.

After he cleaned the car, he showed me that there were spots and drips all over the car on all the paint.
I have a bunch of images and a few videos visible here:
Drive folder - paint problems

It's difficult to see, but if you look at the places where white light is reflecting back, you can see many spots and drips and the top of the car, hood mostly, is full of it.

Is it possible to fix this somehow?
The detailer himself didn't know the answer.. his idea was to make a bit of a stronger solution of the product he uses to wash the limescale off.. but i don't know.. too strong solutions might make everything even worse maybe?

 

What's with the V8 badge?

As for your paint, only use wash and wax designed for matte paint. Yes, wax based products at power washing stations are bad for matte paint and are likely why you're seeing issues. Really had to tell what's going on by the pics/video, but I'd take it to a dedicated detailing shop (not just the MB dealership) and see what they say.

 

I use Chemical Brothers (find them on Amazon) matte paint detailer, wheel cleaner, interior cleaner and car wash --- all specifically made for matte finishes....and hand wash the car only.

I would try their products to see if it'll clean it up - if not, you may need professional help. If they say re-paint, I would go with PPF or a wrap that would hide it all.

 

Likely what you are seeing is the wax product sitting in the minor imperfections inherent to matte paint. It usually can be washed off, though it may take several washes with a soap/shampoo specifically for matte. Dr Beasley's body wash is the preferred go to for the BMW folks with the "frozen" matte finish paint. There are others out there, of course, such as the mentioned Chemical Brothers. But that's the first approach I suggest. Just wash it several times and remove the residue that is there. The matte finish shouldn't be damaged just by the wax, or even the soap, at one of those self-service places.

I realize your issue is the lack of a place to regularly wash it. The best suggestion I can offer for that is that you can bucket wash at those power-wash type self service places. Take your own soap, bucket, etc, and use only the pressurized water and spotless rinse features. Just have to go when there won't be people waiting and you can take your time. As you now know, remember to avoid using the wax setting there. Other alternative is a waterless wash product that is meant for matte finishes. They are basically a diluted detail spray, for matte. You'll still need to do an actual wash every so often, but the waterless process can fill in on occasion.

 

The v8 badge...oh man. Please tell me the prior owner did that.

 

I have the same paint and use matte specific products. Dr Beasley’s is one. They have a matte paint cleaner you can try. Wash several times with a matte paint wash. Pick a spot less obvious a use the cleaner. Wax will fill-in the imperfections in the matte clear coat and make it shine. Maybe that’s what’s going on. Definitely interested in the out come.

also take it to the MB dealer if they have a Magno paint certified shop.

 

Your car has a rash from that V8 badge!

But as others have said it's probably residue from the wax that isn't coming off, but the chemicals they are using in those wash stations may also not agree with the matte paint. Matte paint is something I decided to stay away from. It was intriguing at first, but I'm just not into constantly washing my car by hand anymore. If matte paint, then I would have PPF'd the whole car to protect the paint, which is pretty much a must. At the end of the day I realized that I prefer gloss paints and the light reflections it produces and the convenience of taking it to touchless car washes in between hand washes. Your options are limited essentially other than trying to wash it off since matte paints can't be polished. Worst case it needs a repaint.

 

As long as the wax didn't chemically stain your paint, as with all waxes, it will "wear" away after some time.

If you really don't like it, you can buff it out and re-spray your car with paint and clearcoat.

 

I HATE it when people badge a car other than what it is! I've seen people stick an S after the C43 make it C43S. Or people that take off the C300 and put AMG, like WTH are you doing, I just want to rip it all off their car lol... to me the car is worth half once you do something like that.
Like leave it alone, just my opinion, don't modify the badges, it ruins the car, and car people know anyways! If anything de-badge the car, but don't start changing it to S or AMG, or V8, V12, whatever.. my pet peeve

 

Hey guys, first of all, thanks a lot for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it

Haha yeah, I'm truly sorry about that. I got the car 7 months ago, it was being sold as "C63 look" and of course I liked the fact it had a Panamericana grille, a black badge on the hood, C63-style diffuser and MAM GT1 rims that look like AMG C63 ones.. but the badges were on it as well and I'm in the same boat as you, i hate the V8 badge and it also has a C63 badge in the back, i hate them. It's so cringe.
I've taken the car to a pro detailer only twice during that time, first time I told them to try to remove them, but they didn't and said "we could try next time", but I haven't gone back there.
The second place (which the MB dealership recommended), I told the same, but then he didn't really want to do it because he was afraid that the adhesive from the badges might not come off or even worse, might have ruined the paint as well.
So we were thinking of me trying to find some black plastic numbers "6" for replacing the "8" in the V8 and also finding a "4" to replace the "6" in "c63". I guess the 6 in c63 is smaller so I can't use that for V6
But I haven't found any yet and haven't had much time to look for them.

But it is annoying explaining it all the time


Yeah, it's difficult to see from pics/videos, it's multiple times more visible in real life. Some people were also saying wax washes off after a few washes, but that these spots come from hard water and lime.. dunno.
Btw, it was a dedicated detailing shop. I contacted the MB dealership and they recommended that guy, was supposed to be their partner or sth. There are very few good detailing shops who even have any experience with or products for matte paint, i've searched quiet long. I get that proper washing/detailing is quite costly, but I did want to find a solution where I can wash it regularly with proper products but not paying like 100-200 for each time. Especially now, in the spring, there's a lot of pollen and dust etc.. sometimes I want to simple wash or rinse the car every day.. Now I've just kept to those power washing stations but only use soft water + foam/soap programs and haven't used the wax anymore. I hope that their soap/foam/shampoo is neutral and doesn't contain wax itself but i know, it might and it might be bad.. but also no way for me to know.


Like I said, the guy who last washed it, is a professional he used proper products, like from Labocosmetica or Gyeon or maybe Chemical guys as well.
I don't have a proper way to hand wash it myself.. I live in an apartment, so I don't have that possibility. I could use my own products at the power washing stations, but usually there are people waiting and not happy if you take too long time there.. and over the winter it would be impossible.. I did find a place recently, that's underground in a parking lot, so maybe that helps, but it's not perfect.
Also, how would PPF help? It would just keep, whatever it is, there forever, no? PPF is clear coat, like I understand?
Another color wrap would be an option, but I searched for 2 years to get a proper Magno c43.. I could have chosen a random color and wrapped that then, don't really want to do that.

Thanks for the response, yeah, multiple proper washes sound like the easiest thing to try.
I have thought about this as the only viable option for me to propery wash it but I am afraid that just trying to get the dirt off with soft water and then washing it with buckets and sponges/mittens and my own products, I won't be able to get the car fully clean of dirt/dust before using them and I'm afraid of ruining the paint even more by scrubbing hard particles against the paint with the sponge.
The detailer I last went to, said I can pay him 20€ to wash my own car in his garage for an hour while he teaches and keeps an eye on me and helps me. Sounds like a good deal to learn to properly wash a car and not damage it. Then I could probably do what you suggest
Right now, like I said above, I've been using the foam/soap and spotless rinse, no more wax based stuff (i'm hoping the shampoos don't include those tho).





Again, only one MB dealer here offers car washing and their price listing didn't include anything for Magno/Matte paints.. don't know how they handle these but they suggested the guy I last visited. So i'll stick with him for now.
But yeah, I'm gonna take it to him a few more times, mean while trying to learn from him how to wash it myself and order myself some products. Will try to update this but probably will take some time, few weeks if not months.

Yeah.. when I got the car, immediately had to buy winter tires and new rims and at the time didn't have money to go for the PPF.. the detailer gave me **** about it "how you gonna buy a car and learn about maintaining it half a year later" lol.. but the car has driven 125k km, it already has many chips in the paint.. part of me is thinking, what would be the point of doing PPF on an already damaged paint.. but then again, it's only gonna get worse if I don't, right.. like "best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, next best time is now" kind of thing.

Hmm.. repainting the whole car doesn't seem like something I'd want to do hopefully multiple washes will help somewhat.



It is super noticeable, but fortunately only when the car is super clean and under a bright (sun)light. So luckily not during bad weather or in the dark or when the car is dirty.

 

There are Matte paint cleaner spray's and Matte paint prep spray's. The prep spray is what would be used to remove all residue before a ceramic coat goes on. You could use a diluted isopropyl alcohol as well. None of these will hurt the clear-coat.
I cant think of a reason you cant try these, regardless of where you live.

 

This paint needs a little different approach than regular paint, like others stated Chemical guys have a special soap and matte cleaner, same like mckees37. I have great results with both products. I've heard really good stories about Dr Beasly, but have not used that product.
I normal rinse the car, use a soap canon with Chemical Guys Matte soap, use the 2 bucket methods, dry the car with a leaf blower and use Matte cleaner from Chemical guys or mckees37 with a microfiber cloth. I have even used mckees37 ceramic coating for matte paint and it works great. Other than that, washing the car is no different than any other car, using the right product is key ! I think your issue can be easily resolved by using the Matte cleaner from Chemical guys or the mckees37 matte finish cleaner.

As far as removing the decals ... that is tricky as you will see sticky residue (glue) which will NOT go away .... I have tried everything to remove the glue, but it is still noticeable in certain light conditions.

The biggest disadvantage of the matte paint is not be able to buff the paint.... that is an absolute NO NO ... if you buff the paint it will turn shiny. The only option you have when it comes to scratches is to have it re-painted, but it is tricky when it comes to the spray out areas. ( Colour differences )

Good luck

 

try wiping ( Important : with Micro fiber towels ) the surface down using McKee’s 37 N-914 Rinseless Wash diluted 1 part concentrate to 16 parts water or stronger or with the Chemical Guys matte cleaner. You can also try with alcohol (diluted ) like somebody else suggested.

Test first a small section.

 

NO buffing on a matte finish/paint !!!!!

 

Hmm, so the cleaner is for like "everyday" use and prep is for a special case, like a stronger product or sth? And you'd recommend to try that?

Thanks for your insights! Like I already mentioned, I'm still sceptical about removing all sand/dust with just foam/soap and rinsing.. and then i'm afraid to scratch the paint with the leftover dirt using the sponge. But I'll probably go and let the professionals teach me
I am a bit bummed out about the decals. Even if not the glue residue, the paint itself might look different as it hasn't been exposed to the sun and different products/chemicals compared to the rest of the paint, so it might show yeah.. that's why we thought about testing with only the numbers that are actually wrong and not removing all of them. Tbh the black badges on the sides do look good on the car, it's just that it's false information that bothers me

And of course that I'm aware of, that you can't buff or polish the matte paint If you google "matte/magno paint maintenance", that's the main info that comes up 99% of the time. Other stuff not so easy to find (for some reason I didn't find the wax information - although very logical - when I first researched the topic half a year ago and only found it a few months back)

Haha, I think he was joking because he followed the "buff" suggestion with a full re-paint + clearcoat.

 

"Danlovescars" is 100% correct. I did exactly what he stated before I used ceramic coating.

"GuardianVA" is spot on too. As far as washing the car ... do not overthink it too much. Here are the steps again : 1) Rinse it with water first. 2) Use soap for Matte paint/finish ( I use a soap canon ) 3) use the 2 bucket method. 3) Rinse the car with water 4) Dry the car with a leaf blower 5) once dry use a Matte cleaner with Micro fiber towels.
It is no different than washing regular paint, but you have to use soap for matte finish ! Check YouTube ..... and read up on the "2 bucket method"

As far as the decal removal .... no matter what you do .... You will still see it as you can not buff it. I've removed the C43 logo as I do not like any logo's on my car, however after I removed the C43 and could not cleaned it properly, I decided not to remove the AMG logo as that would be an even bigger problem. I have removed logo's on my other cars, but that was far more easier as you can buff that spot. Not with a matte finish.

Matte paint is unique, but it comes with a maintenance challenge.

Good luck.

 

Sorry but this is a mess of a car. Fake badges that can't come off of Matte? Should never have bought this car.

 

You might as well try it. It won’t hurt the paint and all you need is microfiber towels.
From Dr Beasley’s website;
Dr. Beasley's Matte Paint Cleanser is the clay bar alternative for matte finishes as well as a heavy cleaner. As traditional clay or even synthetic clay bar substitutes cannot be used on matte finishes, Dr. Beasley's manufactured a product to fully prep a matte surface for a matte coating or sealant. Dr Beasley's Matte Paint Cleanser will rid your matte surface of microscopic particles that hinder proper sealant as well as clean heavily soiled areas - all while being perfectly safe for use on matte finishes!

they also have a decon spray, it also will remove break dust and imbedded iron. Just go to their website or try Autogeek.net

 

Thanks for the advice Well, if I were to use ceramic coating, I wouldn't trust myself to do it and I'd have it done. But of course this issue needs to be resolved first, otherwise i'm just gonna cover the spots with the coating and they're gonna stay there for a long time.

Well, I'm trying not to overthink it but like I said, I don't have a place to wash the car of my own. So I probably can't use a foam cannon, not sure it'd fit with the pressure washers at those stations. Not sure if applying the shampoo/foam with the sponge is safe enough. And I also don't have a leaf blower obviously, as I live in an apartment, and those washing stations don't have pressurised air either.

Okay, and thanks for that info, then I'm probably not gonna touch those decals. Or very carefully try to swap the numbers only, if i find similar correct ones.



Haha The car is a mess because of a glued on piece of plastic and should never be bought? Right.. imagine being that picky and still finding your perfect car to buy

Hmm okay.. Well, I live in Europe and while we have Chemical Guys and Labocosmetics for example, I don't think i've found Dr Beasley's in EU. But i'll at least forward all this info to my detailer guy to see what we can try thanks