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I'm getting on down the road with a few of my projects for the CL65. I'm changing the headliner to black alcantara, which is done, but waiting on a few misc black parts. Another thing I'm doing having my wood trim refinished to burl walnut anthracite (grey color) instead of the usual brown. Having it done by an outfit down the street from me, Craft Customs. Carter Craft owns it and has done a killer job. Took some pics after getting some of the components back together. The lighting in the pics isn't the best; looks awesome in person. Rear sliding console
I'm looking forward to see more pics especially from the wood and the headliner.
Last year i had the same idea painting my wood into a antracite look. But i never had the time to do it.
I'm looking forward to see more pics especially from the wood and the headliner.
Last year i had the same idea painting my wood into a antracite look. But i never had the time to do it.
Have a good time!
As soon as I start getting everything back together, I'll post more pics. Ya, the time thing is a killer. I'm a non-auto-related business owner, so I have a local buddy who's a former MB master tech helping get the stuff out and in. But I'm getting the wood and headliner done professionally by third parties locally who are the best I can find at what they do. The guy that did the wood did a flat bottom on my steering wheel, and recovered with new leather. Since you can't get the nice AMG floor mats anymore, I'm having a set custom made to match oem, with serge border stitching and all, except I'm having the lettering done in a custom bronze color to match my powder coated calipers and engine cover. Kind of just going for it with slight custom touches without going too far beyond the stock classy look.
Wood looks really good, I'm sure it will look even better installed. I always liked that color offered stock. Very nice job replicating the look. Never really saw it in the US, mostly European cars. Good luck with your personal touches enjoy the car. Post more pictures once its done.
Wood looks really good, I'm sure it will look even better installed. I always liked that color offered stock. Very nice job replicating the look. Never really saw it in the US, mostly European cars. Good luck with your personal touches enjoy the car. Post more pictures once its done.
I've never seen it on a W215 or W220. My W211 (in sig below) had an anthracite birdseye maple and I loved it. It was an option for the W211 in at least 2009. Wanted to get that vibe in my W215, but I still wanted a walnut burl wood pattern. Got it.
I think the granite was actually an oem kit in europe, but I could be wrong. The second pic looks close to where I think I will end up, but my headliner will be black too. Where you found the pic, did it indicate it was oem, per chance?
[QUOTE = Skizz; 8022006] Sobald ich anfange, alles wieder zusammenzubringen, werde ich weitere Bilder posten. Ja, die Zeitsache ist ein Killer. Ich bin ein nicht mit dem Auto verbundener Geschäftsinhaber, daher habe ich einen lokalen Kumpel, der ein ehemaliger MB-Meistertechniker ist und dabei hilft, das Zeug raus und rein zu bringen. Aber ich lasse das Holz und den Headliner professionell von Dritten vor Ort machen, die das sind Am besten finde ich, was sie tun. Der Typ, der das Holz gemacht hat, hat einen flachen Boden an meinem Lenkrad und erholte sich mit neuem Leder. Da Sie die schönen AMG-Fußmatten nicht mehr bekommen können, habe ich ein Set, das speziell auf das OEM zugeschnitten ist, mit Serge-Randnähten und allem, außer ich habe den Schriftzug in einer benutzerdefinierten Bronzefarbe, die zu meiner Pulverbeschichtung passt Bremssättel und Motorabdeckung.
Es hört sich gut an. Auf diese Weise können Sie ein Auto professionell und ohne Schnickschnack anpassen.
Das dunkle Holz nennt sich gelockter Ahorn-Antracit und war in Europa, Japan und den USA erhältlich.
Eines der beiden Interieurs aus Stein heißt Labrador Blue Pearl . Es war in Europa und Japan erhältlich (ich habe noch nie eines in den USA gesehen).
Das zweite Interieur aus Stein heißt designo viking green (ich habe es noch nie in einem Auto gesehen).
Auch hier bin ich sehr interessiert an deinen Mods und freue mich darauf die Holz- und Dachhimmel-Updates.
Bitte nicht zu viel an diesem wunderbaren Auto anpassen ..... .less is more
Viel Spaß!
Last edited by v8mercedes; 12-22-2020 at 03:33 PM.
Your knowledge of this is impressive; I researched and researched and saw two of the maple anthracite pics you posted, but got no information on it. I've also not seen the maple anthracite on any of the cars for sale the last few years I was looking. I knew it was out there, just haven't laid real eyes on it.
Ya, the mods, of any type, are a one-man's-trash-is-another's-treasure kind of thing. Even on my E in my sig, I did a bunch of little mods, but probably wouldn't register to the untrained eye. On my CL, I've powder coated the calipers bronze, and I also did the non-carbon part of the engine cover the same, and am matching the stitching on the mats. I haven't gotten it all back together yet, and whether or not there may be some opinions of making it trashy, the intent is to keep the classiness with an oem vibe, with some individual touches.
However, even some oem stuff straight from then factory to me is questionable. Like the granite trim. Man, to me, that looks just downright distasteful and am surprised they would even consider it.
I've had some time setbacks recently, but will update with pics as I can. I am dropping an ungodly amount on my my CL, like replacing (with new oem) little parts that the dealer techs over tightened and broke the plastic clips on, and having chrome parts refinished if new oem parts aren't available. The intent is to bring the car back to almost new oem specs, then enhance it. Engine/tcu tunes will be added, as will other minor, minimally invasive performance mods, to go along with the appearance mods. Just like with my E, I wanted to see how far I could take it with a cautious and tasteful hand, because it had even more potential than was the factory gave it. Same with the CL. And I have a conservative MB master tech buddy with his own shop to help me along the way.
Nothing to post yet, but getting closer. Had a health problem (non-covid related; had to say that, not sure why) that kind of slowed progress, but some info will be coming before long. Mostly making progress on the stuff that isn't pic-worthy; not the fun stuff. My buddy has been handling a lot of the heavy lifting and am swinging by his shop this week. But looking forward to getting my hands back on it and will post some progress pics soon.
Nothing to post yet, but getting closer. Had a health problem (non-covid related; had to say that, not sure why) that kind of slowed progress, but some info will be coming before long. Mostly making progress on the stuff that isn't pic-worthy; not the fun stuff. My buddy has been handling a lot of the heavy lifting and am swinging by his shop this week. But looking forward to getting my hands back on it and will post some progress pics soon.
"good thing will be take a while"
Glad to hear you are well and healthy again and you are getting closer to your project. Please let me know if there are any news
Glad to hear you are well and healthy again and you are getting closer to your project. Please let me know if there are any news
Thanks. May be updating the thread soon. And appreciate the well wishes. All I can impart is that it is apparently very important to your health as you get older to maintain a consistent exercise and work out program. Just being active, maintaining a healthy weight and eating right isn't always good enough, apparently.
Ok. A few teasers. As I had mentioned, although I am keeping the car mostly oem stock in appearance, I am adding a few custom touches. Along with the grey wood and black headliner, I had the calipers powder coated bronze and, since the engine cover's paint was in bad shape, had the engine cover done while I was at it. And since the floor mats that came with the car were the non-amg type, I had some custom made, with the logo to match the bronze. I ordered the correct feintuft (i think that's how you spell it) carpet, had it monogrammed, then had it serge-stitched by a local craftsman that does aircraft carpets.
I know, I know I know. It's a stretch tinkering with the oem look. Some are dead set against it. I can say is that if it looks too crappy, I had other mats done in the stock logo colors and the engine cover and brakes can be redone to oem. I'm in it to win it with the grey wood and black headliner tho.
It's getting closer. Had tons of little stuff to do, and my buddy is trying to get that done while he runs a business. He really has saved me, and my car. If you're in DFW area and need a great MB shop, pm me.
Before I post some getting close pics, here's a few more teasers. Ever see a 215 without a dash? The leather was pulling away along the front ridge on mine. We couldn't have that, so I sourced another one in proper shape. This is what it looks like naked. The bottom pic is titanium lugs on the oem P30-type wheels. Some love the P30 style wheels, some hate them, but I had similar on my E63 (except those were 18's; these are 19's) and liked them. Me, personally, I'm not a huge fan of the dark grey correct '65 wheels. Will swap the center caps for the metal oem AMG type. The chrome inner door sills that are usually scratched all to hell that you can't get anymore (not even from Germany or Russia, believe me, I tried)? Had them stripped and refinished at about four times the cost of new 'cause chrome plated aluminum is apparently a ***** to refinish. This is the type and level of detail I am pouring into this car. Once I get it home, the tweaking will continue.
I did the same project a few month ago my first wish was to do the graphite trims like in the Designo but it was unavalble so i went with my second option.
Here are some pictures
Looks sweet, although I'm surprised that now I'm not the only one in the world who has done it! Did you get it done in the ME, or did you ship parts to US? Asking because it looks similar to mine and wondering how many companies are incorporating this particular technique.
Looks sweet, although I'm surprised that now I'm not the only one in the world who has done it! Did you get it done in the ME, or did you ship parts to US? Asking because it looks similar to mine and wondering how many companies are incorporating this particular technique.
When i saw your pictures it was like a deja vu for one second i tought someone had stole my pictures
Yes, i did it here in israel, the wood panels were made with hydrotransfer painting. But i also changed the whole interior, door cards (all 4), middle console and dashbord to the ones with the nappa leather. As mine is the 2005 CL55 it didnt came with the optional nappa leather as it comes standard on the 65's. I also reupholstered the roof and pillars with alcantara.
Besides the hydrotransfer of the wood trims i did instal and changed evereything myself
My next project will be to upgrade the HE and new aluminium supercharger pulleys. New projectors for the headlights, becose they are aged and visibility is poor so new ones would make them new.
And i also have got new 65 AMG 2 piece grey color rim's which i got refurbished as new and on its way. The 65's rims ware from an SL65 and have a bigger offset so i am a bit afraid they would stick out to much and touch the fenders.
Sounds like the same process I had mine done with. The guy that did mine lives about 4 miles from me. I lucked out. I just took them straight to his house and was in on the color samples, matching, etc. Fascinating process. I was skeptical at first, but it looks great, and the pics don't do it justice.
I did new alcantara headliner also, but switched my color to charcoal. Got the alcantara straight from Italy. Pricey stuff. Getting the small plastic pieces in the headliner in black was a major pain; some will swap with other models, some won't. Had to paint the ones that didn't. Used the same guy that did the wood to make sure that it was a quality job. It has been kind of a beating.
I did have the nappa, but had to swap the upper dash out cause the leather was pulling away from the frame just a bit. Couldn't have that. Also, the nappa on the seats, over years of temp extremes and people sliding in and out of them, they tend get that shininess to the surface. They also get a hardness/tightness to them and lose that suppleness of new. I'm going to try the leatherique treatment to de-shine and soften, but may have to replace. Some panels are no longer available from the factory, however, there is a company in California, GAHH, that can match the leather and make the panel, cheaper than you can buy oem. I got their contact from one of the guys at the MB Classics center. I talked to them for a while; they seem legit so may have to go that route.
Look on the inside of your wheels. If they say offset is 60et, like the CL 65 and S65's, I think they will actually be inset a bit, and not stick out. The CL55 had the normal size rear axle/hubs. The '65's were a little longer on both ends (beefed up to handle the V12TT torque) so their offsets were different than all others. Not sure of the SL65's were that way too. If they were, I think your problem will be them being inset more than the typical CL55 wheel. This, by the way, only pertains to the rear wheels. I, myself, took my grey '65 rims off and put the C216 CL550 wheels on; the one's that resemble the P30 wheels on the E63, like in my sig. I never warmed to the dark grey oem '65 rims. Just my personal preference. As the c216 CL rear offsets were et46, mine now stick out a little. Don't think I'll get rubbing though unless I slam it, which I won't.
Sounds like the same process I had mine done with. The guy that did mine lives about 4 miles from me. I lucked out. I just took them straight to his house and was in on the color samples, matching, etc. Fascinating process. I was skeptical at first, but it looks great, and the pics don't do it justice.
I did new alcantara headliner also, but switched my color to charcoal. Got the alcantara straight from Italy. Pricey stuff. Getting the small plastic pieces in the headliner in black was a major pain; some will swap with other models, some won't. Had to paint the ones that didn't. Used the same guy that did the wood to make sure that it was a quality job. It has been kind of a beating.
I did have the nappa, but had to swap the upper dash out cause the leather was pulling away from the frame just a bit. Couldn't have that. Also, the nappa on the seats, over years of temp extremes and people sliding in and out of them, they tend get that shininess to the surface. They also get a hardness/tightness to them and lose that suppleness of new. I'm going to try the leatherique treatment to de-shine and soften, but may have to replace. Some panels are no longer available from the factory, however, there is a company in California, GAHH, that can match the leather and make the panel, cheaper than you can buy oem. I got their contact from one of the guys at the MB Classics center. I talked to them for a while; they seem legit so may have to go that route.
Look on the inside of your wheels. If they say offset is 60et, like the CL 65 and S65's, I think they will actually be inset a bit, and not stick out. The CL55 had the normal size rear axle/hubs. The '65's were a little longer on both ends (beefed up to handle the V12TT torque) so their offsets were different than all others. Not sure of the SL65's were that way too. If they were, I think your problem will be them being inset more than the typical CL55 wheel. This, by the way, only pertains to the rear wheels. I, myself, took my grey '65 rims off and put the C216 CL550 wheels on; the one's that resemble the P30 wheels on the E63, like in my sig. I never warmed to the dark grey oem '65 rims. Just my personal preference. As the c216 CL rear offsets were et46, mine now stick out a little. Don't think I'll get rubbing though unless I slam it, which I won't.
Actually the Hydrotransfer painting is not a new tehnique and i did it in on an old car that i had back in 2013.
My frist initial choice was the graphite like in the desingio optional trims but the guy that painted them did not had that paint scheme.
From what i understand the hydrotransfer has better UV protection then the original wood trims and offcourse if it will get scraches which it will get for sure with time you can polish then to look like new again
I also wanted at first to import the original italian alcantara and i also found a better price from an alcantara dealer in Romania where i lived in the past. At the end i opted for suede material as it was simpler to purchase and cheaper. The suede material looks identical as the alcantara. The only difference i was explained is that the alcantara is made to be light weight for racing/sports cars and this is why is so expensive.
When you finish the headliner please post some pictures, you made me so curious. I'm affraid now that i would like it more then the normal grey color
About the leather seats, when i bought my CL 2 years ago, the seats also look shiny and used. I've done the leatherique treatment and i can tell you WOWWWW, its like someone tooked the old seats out and put new one's in you can see immediately that matt clean finish new cars leather seat have.
The only advice i can give you is to do the leatherique treatment when it sunny and hott outside becose it works much better. I also left the oil for 24H until i used the prestine clean.
The rims that i have now are as follows:
Front 8.5J x 18 ET44 (original AMG 18 inch rims that came with the car)
Rear 9J x 18 ET44
The new SL 65 rims:
Front 8.5J x 19 ET25
Rear 10.0J x 19 ET28
I dont know much about wheels but from my understading these should stick out a bit more then my original 18's.
Last edited by superveloche; 12-22-2020 at 08:31 PM.
Ya, I knew the process has been around awhile. My guy has been doing it for years. He's big with the porsche crowd, as some of the real wood on the older models deteriorate rather quickly, according to him. But he's branching out more and was happy to do mine. I had the curly maple anthracite designo on my E63, but since the CL mainly came with the burl walnut, I stuck with it and just worked with him to get as close the the anthracite tint as possible.
If I had to do the headliner again, I'd do ultrasuede. Not only is it more cost effective and looks just as good, I'm told that it is also easier to work with on the often-difficult bends and shapes of headliners, with their sunroofs, etc. The firm I had do mine said that getting the alcantara tucked and wrapped perfectly was difficult, as opposed to the ultrasuede. Of course they told me this after I bought the alcantara. I'm sure the mark up was higher on that. Me, I just couldn't stay with grey. Don't know why, but on these types of cars (my E63 and even my 2020 GLE) I think they just cry out for dark headliners. But the plastic bits and pieces almost make it not worth the hassle. I'll post some pics when I get it all back together.
Thanks for the feedback on the leatherique. Just what I wanted to hear. I was also going to put black trash bags over it with the oil on and leave it, like you said, for at least 24 hours in the sun (over the course of a few days). I heard that the trash bags allow it to really heat up the leather and open the pores, allowing the oil to really soak in. Did you try that? After the pristine clean, any residue to speak of? Holding up well after treatment and use?
Ok, those SL 65 wheels with the et25 and et28's seem unusual, so I guess I was thinking they were off the R230 models. So, yeah, those will stick out, in the rear, approximately 16mm from what you have now. For reference, my new rims, in rear, stick out 14mm, which looks pretty good to me; a little more aggressive. Assuming that the offsets of et44 are oem, then, yeah, yours will protrude 16mm in the rear. I don't know if the extra 2mm from mine will make much of a difference in rubbing though. From what I gather, most of the rubbing with new rims with reasonably aggressive offsets, if it happens, occurs over large impacts, and not so much just normal driving. I guess it will remain to be seen in the individual application.
It looks like I am following in your footsteps somewhat, what with the wood, headliner, leatherique, rims and all. We seem to be of the same mindset with our CL's. Let me know if you have any audio upgrade plans to share! Also, let me know if you have some pics of your CL posted somewhere.
I didnt used the trash bags metod with the leatherique, in fact its the first time i'm hearing about it so i'm curious.
When i did the leatherique treatment i buffed the seats really good with plenty of oil and left the car outside for 24h in warm day (30c = 86F). To be honest i used so much oil that i was afraid it would be hard to get it off but the prestine clean removed all the oil without a sweat. I did the leatherique 18 months ago and the seats still looks fresh but i'm not using the car as a daily. Probably i would do a light coat of leatherique on the driver seat again in the spring just to maintain and get some hydraition.
I just searched the codes for my rims and they are from a CLS AMG. Codes A2304000102 and A2304000202. For the rear i am less concerned rather i am worried more about the fronts which will protrude 19mm and hoping it will not be an issue when turning the wheels.
Before the CL a had the W220 S-class which is my favorite S-class of all times Generally i love the Merc's of those years.
In the W220 i ugraded to an OEM looking android which was amazing and was a hugh upgrade from the old OEM head unit.
Also my W220 had the normal entry level sound system that came with the car and the speakers were bad and torn so i got also 4 new Audison speakers.
In the CL i have the Bose sound system and still sounds amazing but the original head unit to old. I want to upgrade to the same OEM looking android system that a had on my W220 but someone told me i would not have the same sound quality from the Bose sound system with an chinese android system.
I'm guessing i am going to take the chance and will order the android anyway. I'm sick of making CD's for the CL
I didnt posted pictures anyware but we can chat on whatsapp or FB where it much easier to send pictures.
Last edited by superveloche; 12-23-2020 at 09:02 AM.
Okay, thanks for the info on the leatherique. Mine will also not be a daily driver, so I feel more confident about the procedure now. I'll try the trash bag technique and post how it went.
Hmm. CLS wheels off of an SL 65...now I'm really confused! I can't say for sure, but the CLS rims should be similar to the E class. I'm still surprised by the offset. And, yeah, for your fronts, of your going from et44 to et25, you may indeed have a rub issue when turning. I use an online wheel configurator, http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp, and it helps me get a good visual of what the wheel and tire combos are doing. It won't tell you if it will rub on your car, but the visual may help.
Let me know what android unit you end up with. I'm an old audio head and will upgrade the system in my CL, just not sure yet which way I'll go. In my W211 E63, I kept the oem head unit, but did a fully active system with a 3-way Hertz Mille front stage with an Audison BitOne DSP and Voce amps. It sounded nice, but tuning with the lap top was a pain. I listen to a wide variety of tunes, often recorded very differently, and want more fingertip tunability, however, I won't do as elaborate of a system again. I also don't have time (business owner) to do my audio installs anymore, so I'll have to find a good local shop to do the install, and am concerned about them working with one of the chinese android head units that they have likely never seen. Good excuse for when something screws up, they don't accept any blame, even if it has nothing to do with the head unit.
For reasons I am not entirely sure of, I've managed to avoid social media, so I'm not on either of those formats. But I am interested in what you're up to with your car, so keep us posted. I may rip off some of your ideas
03-29-2020, 07:52 PM
my first wish was to do the graphite trims like in the Designo but it was unavalble so i went with my second option.
for one second i tought someone had stole my pictures 
but the prestine clean removed all the oil without a sweat. I did the leatherique 18 months ago and the seats still looks fresh but i'm not using the car as a daily. Probably i would do a light coat of leatherique on the driver seat again in the spring just to maintain and get some hydraition.
