K-A

The W212 has the best Drag Coeff of about any Production Car ever, and I'm wondering if that's why dirt/dust is just fixated to swoop onto, and stick on the rear portion of the car.

Also, White is great at hiding swirls/scratches it seems, and it looks hot, but DAMN, I never noticed all these little black "sticking" pieces of dirt on any other color (that you can't notice unless you get super close). Literally you either need to fingernail them off, and even then they don't come off, or the tiny stains are too strong. My rear is LITTERED with these already, and the car has less than 1K Miles. Looks like White requires a Clay Bar a lot perhaps?

mbuster25

K-A:

What type of protection (wax/sealant) are you putting on?

K-A

Actually haven't Waxed it yet. Damn Dealer told me I need to wait "6 months for the paint to cure". I ended up researching myself, and voila, found out paint is cured at the Factory. Hoping to put on my first coat of Wax within the next few weeks. Unless of course, the Dealer Waxed it when they got the car themselves (doubtful). It's an April build as well.

Perhaps this is why the stickier dirt specs are sticking so much? Even the chrome trim on the rear deck-lid is littered with little specs, but again, not noticeable unless you get super close.

303E550

I have the arctic white as well, but this is not the first white car I have owned. Clay bars will be you and your car's finish's best friend.

K-A

That seems to be the case, lol.

mbuster25

K-A:

I really wouldn't wait much longer to get it done if I were in your shoes.
Paint prep, polishing (optional at such a new car), followed by putting on some protection (layers), LSP if desired will make your car washing and drying a lot easier. Even if my dealer DID put something on, it is probably inferior to what you can put on yourself, and I would take it off. Can't have some mystery wax/sealant on there anyways.

What I do is concentrate on the hood, top, rear deck and put extra protection on (i.e 5 coats of X on the hood, 3 coats on the door).

The dirt you see back there is in part from the tires kicking up road debris, brake dust, and your exhaust. Ever look in your exhaust tips? It's pure nastiness. Don't forget to put some protection on that too.

K-A

Thanks. Will do.

The Waxing is definitely coming up asap. I hate to think the paint is so unprotected. I think that's why the rear is so engulfed in those tiny things.

I think a good quality Cleaner Wax should remove them, and provide some protection to keep the future ones easy to remove. Hopefully it's not to the point where I have to go the Polish or Clay route on a brand New car, to get all of them off.

They're so tiny, they don't bother me thaat much, but I'm ****.

firefighter608

K-A S100 makes a good spray detail wax for the in between serious waxing and it helps w/bugs on front of car.
S100 can be picked up at fine motorcycle dealers in your area and Harley dealerships

Kamen

You're not the only one K-A, I get that stuff on the SLK all the time. Did the full treatment of wash, clay bar, wax etc the SLK over the weekend but it took like 2-3 hours haha

wheels777

Have WHITE too and notice ALL the same things.

I've waxed 3 times since November and it helps but doesn't cure the specs problem.

BTW, My horizontal chrome piece was stained also and the MB dealer just replaced it under warranty.

K-A

Really? Thanks. I'll try and take it in for a replacement when it gets really bad.

I can't believe it's already stained, car has barely been used, and has been kept clean.

wheels777

btw, I called and ordered the part in advance of my appointment so that I wouldn't have to come in 2 times. I had the tires rotated a the same time, 5k.

OceanView

From my previous experiences, white cars show a lot of the dirt on a car.
I think silver hides dirt the best.
What kind of wax are you gonna use?

K-A

Yeahh that's very true, and Pewter was the best with hiding dirt. I see bird poop stains now very easily, even while cleaning them off (spreading, eww), whereas they just blended in with the Pewter, lol.

I think I'm gonna use the "Nano Wax" from Eagle One I think it is, that I have leftover. It's a Cleaner Wax, so hopefully that takes care of those tiny "stuck on" particles. Then, get it Clay Bared sometime later on (waay too long a process for me to Clay Bar, so I'd probably just pay someone to do that).

White is kind of a give and take. It seems to be very good at hiding swirls and scratches (hopefully I'll never have to find out on my own car), and it shows the dirt when you get up close, but from far, it actually seems to look "clean" even after it hasn't been washed for a few weeks (at least on a Garaged car that doesn't sit out during the day much at all).

OceanView

That's been my experience with white as well.
My W211 was white, my W210 is black and from a distance, the white always looked cleaner.

Have you heard of Rejex? It's suppose to be good.
http://www.rejex.com/

I have a bottle but haven't used it yet. Maybe I will try it on the W212

K-A

Wow, yeah that sounds like something I'm looking for.

Is it a "Sealant"? Or kind of just its own thing?

I wonder if there are any users with experience. I'll look up some Reviews and hopefully give it a try.

Brad S55(IN)

Another vote for Rejex here! That stuff is the best I have ever seen at "sealing" the paint and making it shine and easy to wash. I had a local detail guy put it on my Porsche Boxster S and it is amazing!

220S

Move out of LA and you won't have those little black specs on your car, in your hair, and in your lungs.

Tjdehya

Right after washing I notice that the back always gets dirty first. Makes no sence to me but I guess you must be right about the aerodynamics KA because I cant think of any other reason.

Any way I went to a local car wash a couple weeks ago and got a wash and wax. I noticed swirl/spiderweb marks on the car that I have never seen before. I found out that that stuff is caused by a bad wash and wax job. So from now on I have to devote more time to washing and detailing the car myself.

AMGfan

You can also get a "clearguard' film on the bottom portions of the rear panels. It helps with debri hitting and sticking to the panels.

K-A

Ouch.

Damn man, that sucks. I'm familiar with how crappy Vegas carwashes are, and how hard it is to find a good one. I can't believe it can be THAT bad that they screwed up the paint.

Yeah, about the rear getting so dirty, it's gotta be aerodynamics. The 212 is one of the most aerodynamic cars in the world, so I think that might explain the odd attraction of dirt to the rear.

hyperion667

lol

hyperion667

yeah, you have to be really careful, there is dirt outside..........

sosh

Actually I find my W212 less apt to show the dirt than any other E Class I have owned those being a W210 and a W211. Also less suseptable to dirt than any of the 4 ML's I have owned.

K-A

M-B's press release on the car said that the aerodynamics are engineered to show less dirt on the rearview mirrors, windows, etc. So maybe that's why.

It certainly is good at that it seems. Also, if it rains, and you're on the freeway, then stops raining during your drive, you'll notice that your front end, and sides look super clean. Obviously a characteristic of good aero.

Although, dirty water seems to stick HARD to the rear pontoon-fender section (during the above mentioned rain scenarios), I've never seen anything like it on a car. Everything else will be clean, except for that section, and the rear end area. Which shows that the car is designed to whip all the air/water fluidly around it, and then then pretty much hit a bit of drag (or just "climax") in those sections. Pretty interesting.