Nickc0844

I've enjoyed particiapting on the forum since I purchased my Benz. A little while ago, I had the pleasure of detailing one of my client's 2004 Black E-Class.

For those of you who don't know, my name is Nick, and I recently sold my high-end detailing business out of Atlanta. I enjoyed starting this in my junior year of college, and progressed through learning the art through some of the industry's best. My knowledge even took me into apprenticing at a local bodyshop, where my rotary skills were really honed in. I kept a few clients, and am now detailing more on the "weekend warrior" basis and use the money for upgrades on my car

For this detail, it was a typical dark Benz. A 2004 that had obviously been washed improperly since inception. The hood had a ton of swirls, and the paint had lost a touch of it's gloss and luster. No problem though, I had just received the refills I ordered from our Forum Sponsor Detailed Image! along with some other trusty tools.

Let me know what you think~

Here are some before pictures:







After washing with a product from Hi-Temp called Prep Wash, I went to claying the vehicle with Adam's Polishes Clay Bar. Prep wash does a great job of removing old wax, polishing residue, and gunk from the vehicle. Dawn "can" do about the same thing, but this stuff works great in the sun.

My initial step was to get rid of the deeper scratches and swirls. I did this by buffing with my Makita Rotary polisher. I used an Edge Green pad with Menzerna Intensive Polish on a speed of 1500.

From there, I bumped down to my Porter Cable (PC) with an Edge Blue pad and Menzerna Final Polish II on a speed of 5.5.

After removing the FPII (among the easier to work with in the sun) and a good wipe down with Poorboy's Spray and Wipe, I began the protection process.

The first step was to lay down a nice protective sealant. I did this by using Klasse High-Gloss Sealant Glaze. I could have easily stopped here, as the product looks amazing stand-alone, but I'm on the car crazy side Once removed, I then applied a carnauba paste wax; in this case, because of the dark color, I used Pinnacle Souveran. While expensive, this product will last one awhile, and the results are outstanding.

The final wipe down was with Adam's Polishes Detail Spray. Talk about an amazing product! The tires were glossed with Optimum's TireShine, and were left a little on the shiny side. However, a couple more swipes and one can acheive a matte-look to this water-based product.











No pictures, but the inside was a sinch. I used Adam's Polishes Vinyl, Rubber, and Tire (VRT) and Leather Conditioner. Both are water-based and contain SPF 65 (more than Aerospace 303 Protectant). For the carpets, I presprayed with Aerospace Cleaner, and then extracted with hot water.

It was a great detail, and in the end, the client was fully satisfied (and that's what it's all about)!!

pmb600

Damn dude! That is a work of art! Too bad no interior pics

Greg@DI

Nick,

Fantastic work as usual, thanks for sharing the detailed post.

Greg @ Detailed Image

j_belll

wow, looks great! thats too bad black cars can stay looking like that for 2-3 days at the most.

gmotoring

Nick
That is great. How did you prevent all the spatter into the edges, windshield, and molding? Green masking tape?

EmergencyDpt

Unbelievable.

Nickc0844

Thanks for the question:

If I am doing a lot of compounding, I will take the extra effort to properly mask off everything. However, I found the Menzerna line of polishes to really stick well to the pad, and the workability to the paint stellar. Experience with a rotary also comes into play about proper usage and tips and tricks to prevent exactly what you said. In the end, it's all about the small details (like wiping down door jams at the end and following your lines while polishing and removing) that make the effort easier.

gmotoring

Thanks Nick, If you were near by I would paid you anything to work on my Blk E500. Great Job.

Nickc0844

I appreciate it gmotoring. I'm originally from the LA area, and are out there a time or two a year. However, if you were to call Adam's Polishes (www.adamspolishes.com), they can refer you to some excellent detailers in the Fullerton area.