Yeah, me too. That is until my detailer showed up at 11:00 am at my house yesterday and didn't leave until 2:00 am this morning. I really thought I took pretty good care of my car until he started pulling out UV lights and showing me how bad my paint really was. The fact that it's silver is the only reason it hid the swirls so well. I knew the interior was a bit dusty, as it's my daily driver, but man I didn't think the outside was that bad. Apparently, it was.

Here's some after pics. The pictures really don't do it justice. I just can't seem to get a real good pic with this stupid little point and shoot camera. The fact that silver hides all of the defects also means it's really hard to tell how great it looks when the paint is in good shape. This is all in preparation for my AMG conversion and new wheels. Hopefully should be all done within the next two weeks.

I can't wait to get back out of these OEM wheels and drop her back down where she belongs.


BEFORE:




AFTER: (It's like it's a whole new car!

 

My car "after" is almost like the one you had "before".

 

Showoff.

 

NICE Clayton!!!

 

good stuff

 

11 a.m. to 2 a.m. ! I don't even want to venture a guess at what that detaling cost.

 

He only charged me for 10 hours, thank God. $350.00 + $50.00 tip.

He spent 4 hours on the interior and the rest was exterior. The MB nano-paint presents some problems when it comes to detailing, apparently. I watched him work 1/4 of my trunk lid for 20 minutes straight, and the swirls still weren't gone. I thought this poor guy was gonna feint from exhaustion. He even worked all of the glass with a high speed buffer.

I'm glad I make my living behind a desk.

 

Nice work.

Before the detailing was done, did you run your hand across the paint and was it smooth as glass?

 

Before he started I did, as well as after. The difference was nothing short of amazing. Before the detail, the paint felt like it hand little sand pebbles in it. After he was done, the paint and glass felt smoother than a baby's butt. I don't even want to drive it. And the smell in the cabin.......smells better than new.


If you can't tell, I'm very happy about it. I recommend that everyone do this at least once a year.

 

I always feel like that when the detail has just been done,and I feel progressively worse a day or two after the elements have re-asserted their position...

 

Looks great. The time he spent sounds about right to me to get the job done right. I do all my own cleaning and polishing and the exterior takes me about 7-8 hours for one car. The interior takes me about 3 hours. And I'm always starting with a car that's garaged and in very clean condition to begin with.

BTW, the paint on my wife's new wagon looked great when we picked it up, but I noticed when I washed it that the water hardly beaded at all. It seems there was little, if any wax on it. So, after a few weeks, I did an abbreviated polish/wax job on it before dirt started sticking to it. This still took me about 4 hours, just for the exterior.

 

For two years, I've given the dealer $250/yr to detail my car. Both times I've gotten the car back, I've looked at the exterior and interior and said "hmmm, they missed that; hmmm I would have gotten that, and hmmmm, that is totally effing obvious, how the eff did they miss coffee in the shifter leather." Mind you, this happened after telling the SA when I asked for the second detail "make sure the guys don't phone in the detail this time." He wrote on the work order "special attention required" or some BS.

Thank you. I will not further waste my $$$ and spend a little more money on an independent detailer. The dealer is a rip-off.

 

There are great posts in the Detailing forums. I detail my cars myself. My Bluetec looks great no doubt (I have several photos in various posts) but I love to maintain and detail my other love; my Ford Expedition I bought new in Nov 1998. The right treatment, care and regular maintenance can do wonders for any vehicle.

 

Looks good Clayton, when are the Sevas coming in?

 

Nice pic at 1:32pm... haha.

 

**sigh**

Got an email today saying they're being shipped to me this Friday. I've heard that before though.


Ehem..... 1:32 and 15 seconds.

 

HAHAHAH frickin Clayton...the before pic threw me off! Car looks immaculate man, hurry up with those S55s already!