rhettnashmb

Alright guys, quick history- Got a 2000 E430 "obsiderion"?? black color. Got it about a month ago from a guy whose wife drove it back and forth form Memphis to Charlotte pretty reg. so it got ALOT of highway use, It is in great condition, and the gentleman was a stickler with maintenance and sold it to me for a great price. LOVE the car.Anywho, of course with the hwy miles comes along alot of front-in chips and scratches. I have ordered the touch up paint from MB and am planning to get a chip kit from performanceplus which includes a "sanding pen" to remove rust resulting from these chips. Any advice or recommendations before I endeavor this feat??
Also, I am planning to get a PC 7336sp, but have never used an orb polisher. I always detail by hand, but I have always had newer cars and kept up with them from the beginning- and some of the swirls and scratches aren't coming out of the MB, so I have been researching polishes/finishers/sealants yatta yatta on this forum and proper auto.com. I am confident in using the polisher from everything I have read, and plan on getting my cousin (who always uses a orb. buffer and told me I will never go back to hand jobs-ok that sounded bad-) to give me some pointers- but this is some pretty neglected paint for my **** standards. I think I am going to go with Merzerna intensive polish and then follow it with merzerna acrylic jacket. I have not heard of anyone doing this, but I thought since the acrylic jacket is suppose to be like 40% final polish II and 60% FMJ it would be a great combo. Any thoughts???
Should I fix the chips first wait a couple of days, then detail?(I am thinking yes)
Thanks in advance!!!!

Nickc0844

Ok, a lot of info there. Do us a favor and break your paragraphs up a little bit next time.

First off, congrats on the new ride. You'll find german clearcoats to be a little tougher to buff than domestics cars (which are softer in nature). Your car color is Obsidian. It's a blackish/brownish/grayish metallic. It's stunning when detailed properly.

Your 2000 E430 probably has a handful of swirls. This being the case, it is my professional opinion that Acrylic jacket will not be enough. This may be good 6-9 months down the road from a full detail. My suggestion for any of the products you purchase would be to come from our Detailing Sponsor, Detailed Image (www.detailedimage.com). They help keep this forum free!!

Having myself an Obsidian color car, and detailing a handful of other obsidians in the past, my best results have come from using a claybar to start, then Menzerna Intensive polish on the PC, then followed up by Menzerna Final Polish II on the PC as well. I nice hand application (ha, I read your handjob remark and just busted out laughing) of Menzerna FMJ will compliment your hard work. The products are very easy to use, and the results will show.

For your rock-chips: Clean the area well prior to paint with isopropol alcohol. Use your Mercedes touch up paint and "blob" the paint on. Don't "brush" it over. You want to build it up over the surface of the paint. Let it sit for at least 3 hours!! Find a product by Lanka that levels out touch up paint...it works great. Do this the weekend before you decide to go all out on a full detail, and take your time!!

Best of luck to you, and welcome to the forum!!

Nick Carberry
Former owner of "The Details"
Atlanta, Georgia

Greg@DI

First off its great to see you did some pretty thorough research. Glad to hear you are ready for the orbital buffer it will greatly improve your detailing results. I use the Porter Cable 7424 but those two are basically the same exact machine. Tough call here because although I own and sell all those products I haven't tried that specefic combination. Here is my advice if you're using the Intensive Polish with a cutting pad (lake country orange pad) then you would probably need to use the Final Polish II with a polishing pad (lake country white pad). If you used the Intensive Polish with the white polishing pad you could probably get away with using the Menzerna Acrylic Jacket and a white polishing pad. However then you would loose the cutting power of the Intensive Polish when used with the orange pad which does make a noticeable difference in my opinion. I would advise you to get the Menzerna Intensive Polish, Final Polish II and Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket FMJ. An additional benefit of this is that after this job is done you'll have a great pure sealant with the FMJ applied with finishing pad (lake country black pad). So when you do maintenance washes you can add a quick coat of FMJ quick and easy. The Acrylic Jacket is a great product but can't be applied and removed as quick and easy as the FMJ.

Let me know if you have any other questions that I can help you with. We have all these products at Detailed Image with 10% off when you use the code "10offMBW" (except the buffer). Good luck with the detail and let us know how you make out.

Greg @ Detailed Image

rhettnashmb

Thanks guys, for the advice and the promptness of giving it!

Sorry about the jumbleness of the thread, lots of overtime and coffee will do that. This MB is actually my third German vehicle and all black! My basalt metallic boxster was a pain to keep detailed, but man was it georgous!

I also registered at detailed image.com, great website. I am glad they sell the leatherique products, so I can get all of what I need at one time.
I figured the three merzerna products would be the best bet, just trying to save a little time since I got a 17 month old and 1 on the way! Honey do's everywhere!!! I love the acrylic jacket one step method though.

When is the best time and condition to apply the acrylic jacket, meaning if I get all three of the suggested menzerna products, is there really a need to get it?
One more quick question, what product to you guys suggest for the outside plastic for ex. the wiper base? I have used products before that seemed to dull the dark plastic finish instead of "reviving" it.
thanks again!!!!

Greg@DI

Glad our responses were helpful, Nick is one of the more knowledgable detailers I've met online. I'm also happy ot hear that you registered on our site and liked what you saw. We try to carry a variety of products that provide only high quality results like the Leatherique line you mentioned.

The Acrylic Jacket would be applied after the Final Polish II and before the Menzerna FMJ since it is a mix of both. Its a great product for anyone who wants to get a lot from one step. If you're planning on doing the IP, FPII and FMJ you probably won't need it. However if you're trying to maintain a great fresh shine its a great product. Plus if you want extra protection you can always add a layer of FMJ over it with great results.

For any vinyl, plastic, rubber surface I highly recommend the 303 Protectant. This is a great product that leaves a great shine without the excessive oily feeling. It has UV 40 protection so any surface you apply it to won't have to suffer from sun fade. I typically apply it to trim, tires, dash board, doors, arm rests and more. Also a little bit goes a long way so you don't need much to cover a large area.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Greg @ Detailed Image