abqhudson

Hi,

I just purchased my first Mercedes Benz, a black, 2005 CLK 320 after many years of owning BMWs. The paint needs some work and I have a dual action orbital polisher on the way. Question: on this car am I dealing with paint or clear coat? Any experienced suggestions for black paint? Any assistance will be appreciated. I've tried to read most of the detailing threads, but, haven't seen the answer to this question.

Yidney

Often black is not cleared. But it should not make too much difference to what you do to it. If you give more detail on hwat "some work" means I might be of more help. Maybe some, pics. Somebody here may know if it's cleard, but I'd go to a site called "Detailed Image" and ask. They will respond.

CarboyS

It's clear coat. No car these days come with single stage paint since clear coat provides protection for the body.

I heard Mercedes paint is particularly hard because of a "scratch-resistant" ceramic coat. Best of luck!

togaclk55

I've also heard our clear coat is hard. I'm planning on removing some swirls this weekend. Just finished washing and claying the car

Yidney

It is almost certainly clear coated, but there are still some cars that are not in certain colors. In any event, whatever Mercedes wants to say about it's "ceramiclear" topcoat, there is nothing special about it. It' gets fine scrathes from dust etc way easier than the clear on my wife's Volvo of the same color. Anyway, to the OP, hopefully you bougt the Porter Cable DA polisher. Get some Meguire's M105 and M205 compounds and you'll be saying "wow, I did that?!" unless your clear is gone in spots in which case only a repaint of those those panels will help. M105 and M205 is just starting to be available in regular stores. It used to be more specialty for detailers.

mis3

I use Meguiars detailing products exclusively.

For other people's experiences on detailings including swirls removal, go to the "Detailing 101" forum hosted by Meguiars. Google it.

abqhudson

Thanks for the pointers and links. I'm now pretty sure that my car is clear coated.

Here are some pictures I took in the glare of the sun. The scratches/swirls appear to be much deeper than they are to my eye - but, maybe you get the idea.

Rudeney

All MBZ paints use clear coat. Being black, yours will show every little scratch. Using a powered random-orbit polisher is your best bet. It will heat-up the clear coat to allow the polish to do a better job. And when you wash it, you have to decide how you want your scratch marks to look - circular, front to back, or side-to-side. In other words, just washing the car will scratch the clear coat, so you should at least be consistent in scratching it.

Yidney

If your pictures are typical, then that is no big deal. That's what a black car that has been washed a bunch looks like. Easily removed. What kind of pads did you buy for your buffer?

togaclk55

I bought lake country pads primarily orange and white

Fatz

I would think the clear coat is the same, regardless of the color. Removing those scratches will take "some work". The orbital buffer will keep you from "over doing it". I would use 2-3 aggresive levels of polish and start with an area of the car that is not readily seen, like the bottom of the area of a rear fender.

In relative terms (100-200) of polish aggressiveness, I would use 165, 100, and hybrid polish/wax. I use Mequiars, but there are many brands that are probably as good. I have found the Meguiars ColorX to be an excellent polish/wax. I've had it for years. I think the current and improved version is called "Ultimate compound". There are some pretty good videos on u-tube on car polishing.

Take your time and good luck.

abqhudson

So far I have Orange and Black polishing pads and microfiber bonnets for the foam unit that came with the PC.