I just read some threads regarding how to wash your vehicle, and I must say I am greatly impressed by the detail you guys put in to your cars, I can only imagine how goo dthey must look.

My dad owns an E-class (W210), and I keep washing it with turtle wax shampoo and then give it a wax with the same brand car wax, but for some reason, I do not feel I have washed the car properly. I have seen some photos of people's cars in the US, on these forums, and they actually look a lot shinier. Could you recommmend any wax products that will impress my dad and onlookers?

Lastly, the engine looks pretty bad, I wanted to do some detailing on that, there are some metal parts that are rusty and dirty, could I use metal polish on them?

Any suggestions welcome, I am a complete newbie, so take it easy on me .

best regards, and thanks in advance.

 

Welcome aboard, and no worries about taking it easy...we're all buds here.
I used to detail cars as a living, and now it's more of a hobby, but I'm still pretty good at it. Turtle Wax is really not bad stuff, but it's rather antiquated in terms of more advanced wax an soaps available. I'm biased towards Mother's Products, and Eagle One. However, it's always a good idea to go through all the wash and wax steps. Wash the car very well with a good hearty soap, like the Turtle Wax, or Car Soap. Once it's dried out, I use a clay bar (Mother's with misting detailer) in small sections, then I use a cleaner. It sounds like overkill, but it really helps with the clarity of the finish. When that stage is done, I go to the wax and then to a sealer and glaze. This is where the magic really is. It eliminates swirls and really adds a shine to the wax itself.
While all this is good advice for the metal surfaces, remember that it's more than the body people see on the car. Someone posted how to clean wheel wells in here, and it looked very positive. I'm going to do it to my 280 next week I think when I'm doing the full detail service getting it ready for winter. Often times doing the wheels wells and rims, along with detailing the chrome, and glass is really what will set your car apart from the rest. My Audi is the daily dog, and gets filthy fast. I take it to a car wash each week and that does ok. But at least every 3 months I detail the heck out of it. Seats out, wheels off, grill out, the whole nine yards. And that's why it looks so sharp. My advice to you is set aside two full days with the Merc, and start with the engine bay. Use engine cleaner and degreaser and a spray bottle of simple green. For corroded parts, often times a steel brush or steel wool with some polish will do the trick. Just keep pluggin away until you're happy. When the engine's done, a light mist of leather or rubber protectant shines it up well. Then move to the wheel wells, and yank the tires and really scrub in there. If you're doing ok on time, hit the trunk. The next day, go after the interior and the exterior. The car should sparkle.

 

First of all, thanks you very mush Sir, for replying, it seems like you have a lot of experience detailing cars, I have seen how passionate some people are about car maintenance, adn after reading your post, I can only imagine how your car must be, sheer art.

I am going to try EVERYTHING, you have said and I just can't wait to see the results.

I am very glad you replied, and thank you again Sir.

Best regards,

 

I have found turtle wax and mothers waxes to be quite lackluster. If you want great gloss with little effort, give meguiars gold class wax a shot, it doesnt last too long though. I personally am biased towards Zaino Show car polish, gives the most mirror like shine imo, however u will need to do a full prep to get a great shine. 90% of the look of your paint is in the prep work. I advise that you take a look at some of the sticky threads i made to get your feet wet. Take care!

 

I just saw your pics of cleaning leather and zaino on our Lex, must say it does look brand new !

thanks for your tips, just curious what do you mean when you say prep work, is that like washing and drying or ...?

best regards, and thanks.

 

ZAINO BROS. !!!!

www.zainobros.com

Use the system, read the tip sheet!

HTH,,

EDJ

 

I use a wax/polish system by IBIZ, available online from IBIZ . I have found, that for me, this works great on my silver SLK.

I live in an apartment and do not have access to such luxuries as a hosepipe; indeed, washing cars is prohibited on our snobby premises. As a result, my cleaning regimen must be something that can be carried out quickly at a local car wash (or in the corner of a deserted car park!).

I always do the following:

(1) Go to a touchless car wash and ask for just the wash, no waxes, no polishes.
(2) Quickly dry the exterior with a synthetic chamois leather
(3) With a wash mitt and a bucket of water, I work around the car checking for spots that the wash missed.
(4) Quick dry off again with the chamois
(5) Using a foam applicator, I apply one coat of IBIZ Waterless Wash and Wax Pretreatment. Like all of the IBIZ products, this stuff is wipe-wipe-off (with a little elbow grease).
(6) I then apply one coat of IBIZ Car Wax. This stuff is so easy to put on and take off, it's ridiculous!
(7) You don't have to do this part: One by one, I remove each wheel and clean the interior and exterior of the wheel with a good sponge and water. I then buff the painted surfaces and apply the IBIZ Car Wax.
(8) I then polish the windows with a good automotive glass cleaner.... there are many!

In the picture here, the car has received that exact cleaning. The picture was taken this morning (early) - the car was washed yesterday.

 

I am an avid reader of these posts- and also obsessive about waxxing- cleaning-

Not saying im good at it, but I get an A for effort.

I rarely see anyone say anything about Zymol- which i always thought was "it".

In the past I always used HD cleanse followed by carbon wax.-
Bot the stuff u see int he stores- in the blue bottle.

any thoughts?

Also Im going to idrder towels from mf tech.
I am suppose t o buy the ultra?

and waht mf towels do i ue to blot dry the vehice?

tks

 

I think you would like P21S, better than the Zymol if want to go with wax, I really liked it better than anything else I have used until I used the Zaino, it has a great shine, plus it gives me more than two months of durability, which is important to me for the winter months.

 

what about Klasse all in one? is it any good? i want something that faster to do than zaino.i dont mind doin it once a month as long as it doesnt involve 5 steps like zaino