Here are some before and after pictures from my recent detailing of my 2000 CLK 430.

Before:

 

Notice the little shine on the hood in the picture above. Attached is another before picture, notice all of the brake dust (gonna change to aftermarket pads) on the wheels and tires, and again the less shine on the body.

 

The next day, after the detailing....notice the increased reflection on the hood, even in less sunlight...

 

another one...

 

in my garage

 

one of my favorite pics

 

Nice Work !!!

 

The rest of my toys

 

Extremely nice work! Any thoughts on the products you used?

 

I second that comment! (and the question as well).

 

Check https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...0&pagenumber=2 for some of the steps I did in detailing the car.

As for the products I used, here are my reviews:
1) California Water Blade: Good for removing water from large areas of the car (i.e. roof, hood, trunk, doors, etc.) cuts down on time to remove water by about half, but not sure if worth it based on the price. If it lasts for a number of years then it's worth it. I got it a week ago, so I'll let you know. :p

2) Pinnacle Clay Bars and Clay Bar Lubricant: I don't know if it's this brand of clay bar or if it's just clay bars in general, but if after washing your car you still feel a slight gritty feel to the body, or the body of your car doesn't feel as smooth as glass, then you need this product. This gives your car body a SMOOTH touch, and it preps it for the next step in the process, Polishing your car. There is a bit of a learning curve here though, in terms of how much lubricant to spray on, how much pressure to apply to the bar, and when to stop rubbing, but after 10 minutes you should have this process down.

3) Klasse All-In-One: Made in Germany, I feel this is a good product. After clay barring the car I applied a thin layer of AIO and this is necessary if your car is more than a year or two old, have swirl marks, minor scratches, oxidation from the sun and acid rain, etc. Plus this gets your car ready for the synthetic wax, which is the next step.

4) Klasse Sealant Glaze: Also made in Germany, this synthetic wax once applied to your car will form a bond to help protect the paint and clearcoat underneath. Being that it was the first time I was detailing my new car, and with these new products, I wanted to get a feel for them by applying only one layer of each so I know what they're about. It's recommended that you let the car sit with this wax for a couple of hours before removing it, I put it on the night before and took it off the next morning. After this layer I applied a caranuba wax for shine. I expect the caranuba wax to wear off in a month or two (most of it anyway) and then I will apply another layer or two of Klasse SG.

5) Pinnacle Paste Glaz: This product is recommended for lighter colored cars (white, silver, etc.) and there is also a product recommended for red and black cars but this is almost twice the price. Apparently from Pinnacle's marketing materials they use the finest Brazilian wax (which is yellow in color in it's natural state) and then purify it so it is white, so if you apply multiple layers it won't yellow the paint of your car. That's what the brochure in the box says. Anyway after applying this the body was even more slippery and even more shine. In a month or two after I apply another 1-2 layers of Klasse SG I'm going to apply a layer of Paste Glaz for shine.

These were the major products that I used in detailing the car. Also have in hand a few terry cloth cotton towels to remove the wax and general clean the car. I put aside one terry cloth towel just for the wheels/tires. I also had a no-wipe wheel shine product which I was thoroughly impressed with too (don't know the name of it off hand) since I've been used to using Armor All. After hearing bad things about Armor All for the dash board interior I am switching to Vinylex. I did the exterior this weekend, and will finish the interior next weekend. I know this past weekend has been a learning experience for me in using these products, so if you attempt this and have any questions don't hesitate to send me an email: safet@si.rr.com.

Good luck in your detailing,

Safet

 

safet, thanks for the pics! Your car came out great! You can really appreciate this with the B4 and after pics!

 

Great job Safet! Wanna do my car next? lol jk
I know deep down inside you did it all for the nookie and it was all worth it lol.:p

 

looks very good, but I still must recommend using at least 4 layers of the klasse sealant glaze. I really noticed a difference in shine and durability after each layer. Trust me, if you think that looks good, put on 5 layers of klasse and 2 layers of pinnacle and it will be looking like this.

 

You should also consider using klasse SG on your rims. Cuts down on brake dust and makes it very easy to clean with plain old soap and water. Plus it is cool to watch the water bead up on your rims .

 

The Nookie makes you do some things you wouldn't sanely do (like spend all day washing/claying/polishing/waxing/shining up your car )

 

AlBoston,

I already put on a layer of caranuba wax on it and didn't really have time this week to let it stand 12 hrs between each SG layer (between work and having to bring the car in later this week to charge up the a.c.) I think I'm gonna let it sit for a month or so to let the caranuba wear off and then layer another 4 layers on top of the current SG layer, and then 2 layers caranuba on top of it. Maybe the week before Memorial Day weekend I'll do one layer SG every night so it'll be ready for that weekend.

I must say your car does look outstanding with the 5 layers SG and 2 layers caranuba. Very nice!!!

Safet

 

Thanks man, so does yours! It is good to see people taking time to do such extensive detailing to their cars. I love it!

 

Nice work safet!

 

nice job safet

i rather take it to detailing shop have them deal with it

im too lazy for for that i rather watch the lakers on big screen tv