illmike

I fell in love after seeing the full brabus w212...had to build one of my own but with a little bit of my touch---did a few parts in gloss black to give it more contrast. not everyone's cup of tea seeing its more of a 'luxury' car, but hey i dig it =]

threeMBs

Very, very nice indeed.

In the front wheel's closeup, can't quit see tire's size. What is it? How do you like Hankook V4s especially in the rain (if you drove in the wet on them, that is) and what made you get them above others?

illmike

thanks...the rims are 20x9 (45) and 20x10 (45). 235/35/20 in the front and 245/35/20 rears. I got them because they are the best bang for the buck

http://www.onlinetires.com/search/ve...ds/page_1.html

$120/ea and have the longest tread wear compared to other tires in its price range.

baker053

Super super clean! Does a clean paint job like that drop the value of the car?? j/w

FAMUBER

mike's car was wrapped so it can be easily removed when it's time to sell...

speaking of which, sell me your exhaust when that time comes lol

hyperion667

daaammnnnn illmike! that it sweet as hell bro!
I think this may be my favorite w212 on this board man.....
besides my own, LOL......
I'm sure as hell that thing turns some heads.......
love it all man.......have you done anything inside besides
the petals?
and who cares about the classy aspect of it? haha!!
making your car different from the rest of us momo's
is awesome man....
love that matte business too..

thanx for sharing these

RobbieRob

Wow, that thing is wicked cool. Nice job... Did you lower it also or stock hight?

CEB

As usual, I'm the one with the dissenting opinion. While the "frozen" paint looks very nice, the shiny bits look out of place.

What would have been nicer as well would have been color matched wheels.

To me it looks like a work in progress.

BenzV12

This should be a head turner in real

I like luster shiny black fenders , they look cool compared to the rest of car .
For matte paint or wrapped paint fan your car is a gem

BM2BZ

holy ssssshhh1t !!! thanks for the pics and time for you to pimp the cls as well . just wondering what is the cost to wrap the whole car ?

K-A

Not digging the setup personally, but A on the effort of embarking on the creative route. It reminds me of the artistic approach of tatting up something beautiful, per-se. I'm sure that thing gets TONS of attention!

I gotta say, that pic where you have the heavily modded rear end in frame with a gorgeous stock 1st gen white CLS in the driveway made the CLS look like breath of fresh air. Considering I assume that's your car, then you have the choice of both worlds, and the variety must be fun.

threeMBs

Speaking of the CLS, illmike do you a have a closeup picture of the wheels.

steelgrey

I have what may be a stupid question but, your wrap is going to get scratched. There is just no way it can't. How do you maintain that flat look? To me there is no way to remove any defects, scratches, etc. without adding at least a little shine. Not being critical of the look I know it's popular. I'm just really curious about maintaining that flat black look.

illmike

as albert said, the car is wrapped by '3m vinyl' outdoor life is about 7 years and protects the original paint- when i'm ready to go back to the 'stock' color all i do is peel off the vinyl and the car will look brand new

thanks bro...car does turn a lot of heads, mainly just adults. my last car was a GTR, this one gets just as much attention but not from 'kids' which i like...don't have to worry about my car when I park at the mall or something. Only thing I upgraded inside was the pedals....might put a Brabus emblem on the steering wheel and custom mount the new Passport iQ somewhere.

car is lowered at H&R springs at the moment

a good wrap job cost between 2,000-3,000...think of it like a paint job, yes you can pay someone off craigslist 800 to do it, but when you compare a job side by side you will notice alot of flaws on the cheaper job (paint cuts, edges not folded/tucked, lifting, etc...) a good job takes about a week, and they take off EVERYTHING (headlights, door handles, trims, etc....) shops that say they can do a clean job but leave all of that stuff on, is not going to be a very 'clean' looking job. I had alot of the 'major' parts taken off to ensure the cleanest wrap job.

below is a 'progress' pic of the car during the wrap...notice the headlights, handles, rear view mirrors, and other trims that were removed.


its stock...CLS500 with the AMG kit/exhuast

Its just like maintaining a regular paint job...just no 'waxing' involved. When you hand wash a 'gloss' job a few times you will get 'swirl' marks. You do not get those with vinyl. Only thing you get are oil stains which can be removed by quick detailer. If your 'gloss' gets scratched you have to repaint the whole panel...If the vinyl gets scratched, just rewrap that section (its ALOT cheaper then having to repaint) and it will color match 100%

BM2BZ

some tinting shops have to remove door panels to do the tint job and i thought that's brave for whoever just bought the car brand new. now this is balling !

K-A

That's funny you say that about the GTR. My buddy has one and he hates the attention it gets by kids, and is always paranoid to park it or to drive it to certain places, because of the people that won't leave him alone about it

As for the wrap, 3M matte finish is actually VERY durable. I found that with the small piece of it that I have on my car, the more you clean it/rub it/etc., the glossier it will get. Which for me is a plus as I have it covering my middle front lip/diffuser, and like it a bit more now than when I first got it (now it's more black with a matte-gloss type of look, whereas in the beginning it was the grey-matte hue).

I've actually heard that matching can be a big problem though? In that if the material does "shine up", or the sun affects it, etc., it would not match the brand new film obviously. Not sure from any first hand experience.

One great thing about matte is the ease of care, i.e no waxing or polishing or claying. Being someone who is a total clean freak on my car, I also like to be as lazy as possible to get the results I desire, so eliminating any steps is a major plus.

illmike

Hmm...are you using automotive cleaners on the vinyl? 95% of the cleaners on the market contain 'polymores' that will give a coat of shine/gloss on finishes- you can also use Dawn soap or cleaners/detailing products by "The Chemical Guys" that make products for "matte" finishes...

The shop that did my vinyl wrap just redid a bumper that had on 3yr old vinyl- couldn't tell a difference after the job was done. You just need to upkeep the vinyl making sure it's always kept in good condition.

I know what your friend means about the GTR, I didn't think it would be so hyped since it's a Nissan but I was wrong- that car was borderline exotic level on the attention scale.

K-A

Oh yeah, the GTR is extremely overstated and definitely attracts attention, most notably from the younger, Import crowd.

We drove back in it from Vegas, just less than a year after it launched, and the attention that it got was akin to someone who had giant pictures of naked girls covering their windows, no joke.

I actually just use water to clean mine mostly, but occasionally some wax makes it onto their, which maybe be doing the trick. Considering my specific application, I actually like the finish more and more as time goes on, as I find it picks up more of a black slightly glossified sheen, yet it's still distinctively matte.

Good to know about the matching. 3M's wrap is quality stuff. I should know, I have bits of all different types of it sprinkled throughout my car.

BM2BZ

a "regular" gtr is eyecatching. yours was a red w/nice big wheels and that's cops/youngsters/chicks magnet! i believe a gtr definitely draws more attention than any other cars in the same price range any day.

bigigg

I love the color! Im not a fan of the wheels, I wouldnt have done the front fenders in gloss black, the front grille i would of done brabus bullit style without the mercedes star,and that red reflector/break light? on the rear difusser im not feeling.. also the roof spolier i wouldnt of went with something smaller/more subtle.. anyway thats just my opinion still think your car looks great and is very eye catching!

hyperion667

damn I hate those gtr's, ugly as sin

bigigg

^ hope thats sarcasm..

EmE247

Whadup Illmike.

Saw your ride at MBJunks MM last month but didnt get a chance to meet u.

Ride looks sick!

clmulli

Love it illmike. Thanks for sharing.

hyperion667

not even close homey....those things are terrible.....but that's just my opinon you know?

peace