PAPA PA

Gosh these cars are beautiful - I pinch myself every time I look in the garage and count myself amazingly fortunate to stable this fine steed.

Thanks too to the collegial group here as you guys and gals make this one of my favorite groups to visit every day!

mcpousnret

Wow!

iridium18

One fine steed indeed - thanks for sharing the great pics

Utopia Texas

It has been so hot, dry and dusty here in my part of Texas the last 6 weeks I’ve given up keeping my SL super shiny. It’s clean and washed but in one day it already has a thin layer of dust! Color me jealous.....

PAPA PA

So noted! Although it’s only clean now because here in the PNW I had to wait until July to get though the annual pollen fest! My daily driver and my truck still have a slight powdery yellow green hue!! But that is next weekend’s project. I had to prioritize!

rmorin49

Very sharp car but I'm too **** for a black car. They are so nice when they're clean but very labor intensive to keep them that way. Job well done. I admire your resolve.

PAPA PA

Too true - that’s why I take photos from 10 feet away!

Streamliner

Gorgeous car! Someone once said that to own a black car, one must be a "half glass full" kind of guy. Being a "glass half empty" type myself, my SL is white.

PAPA PA

Thanks for the compliments. What a great analogy!! Having owned both white and black sports cars, your half empty half full analogy is entirely apropos!

i actually started my search process with the goal of finding a white SL with a lovely red interior, but when I saw this one on the MB Auction site pop up, I couldn’t resist going with another black car. Each time I swear it will be my last! But my black cars are the ones that leave the most lasting memory in my mind. Both in terms of the effort to maintain and the results when on point. It’s a love hate thing!

I swear - the next one will be Blue! My SQ5 is Sepang Pearl Blue and is by far the easiest color I have owned to maintain!! Even filthy it stands out, but isn’t garish.

crobb65

There's something about black. WOW!

MBNUT1

Those shots really show off the lines of the facelift.

Streamliner

This car is stunningly beautiful in black, but that top photo shows my least favorite exterior design point of the face lifted R231 and that is the grille. The center bezel assembly seems to protrude too much and is too prominent, especially when viewed from any angle other than from directly head on.

PAPA PA

Thanks for kudos guys!

crobb65

Spectacular!! What wax do you use?

PAPA PA

Thanks! I have a pretty basic annual routine:
Meguiars gold class car wash with a foam cannon. Followed by a clay bar using a small amount of Maguiars wash and warm water. Repeat the foam cannon wash again and rinse with a microfiber mitt (two bucket method). Dry with clean micro fiber towels.

I use Zaino for polish, usually 3-4 coats of their show car polish and hardener (drops of hardener mixed with small amount of chosen polish), applied and removed with my Porter Cable polishing wheel. You can easily apply and remove Zaino by hand, but the wheel is faster and I think it gives a deeper shine. Then a final microfiber / damp cloth wipe down and buff. Takes about half a day.

The rest of the year, it’s just a Meguiars foam cannon wash and two bucket rinse. I occasionally use Zaino’s spray on detail polish (trigger squirt bottle and wipe off with microfiber).

Having black cars for years, I’ve gone overboard on more than one occasion both in terms of supply cost and effort (ceramics, multi layer polymers, wet sanding, etc) but I find this combo once a year is 9/10 of the look at 1/4 the effort. And it looks great when washed. Not mirror perfect with zero swirls, but looks fantastic from 5 ft away or above 5 miles an hour!