A recent job I completed, thought you'd enjoy seeing the process!

This week we work on a jet black 2005 Mercedes K55 that is in dire need of some work. Follow through to see the process involved to bring this car back to life.

Main Issues:
Severe damage to front clear bra that needs replacing
Heavy concentration of swirls and wash marring
Water spots and other etching on the paintwork
CQuartz Finest installation to protect paint surface

Here is the starting condition of the vehicle, note the dense concentration of wash marring, swirls and scratches.









After vehicle was decontaminated and prepped for polishing, a test section was performed.





The results were outstanding, the combination I decided on resulted in a flawless finish.



From grey to black. One of the reasons paint correction makes such a dramatic difference is the way light reflects off the surface. On the left side here you can see quite a bit of damage that results in the panel almost looking grey. This is because all of the defects cause the light to refract in a thousand different directions instead of reflect. The right side has been polished resulting in a flawless surface that reflects every ounce of light resulting in a deeper, richer and glossier appearance. This flawless finish is permanent with proper maintenance.



The deck lid and the roof had some of the worst concentration of defects I have faced yet. Here’s an example of the dramatic difference after working on this section.



50/50 shot showing before on the high side, and after on the low side of the photograph.





Rear passenger quarter panel 50/50 in the sun. No matter how well the panel looks indoors, its paramount to check the work in the brightest sunlight you can find.



Here’s an example of the difference between “refracting” and “reflecting”. All these panels have been polished resulting in every micron of light reflecting back instead of all the defects refracting which would result in a dull, hazy appearance vs. This crystal clear reflection.











The roof was a key area on the vehicle, it needed a good amount of work to bring it back.



Driver quarter panel

Before


After




Look at that reflection!





Checking my work after polishing, each section is viewed under different light sources before moving to the next.





Flawless







After all polishing was performed the vehicle was then prepped for coating application. I’ve worked with alot of different coating products from Opti-Coat to 22PLE and from my experience nothing has come close to the durability and appearance of CQuartz Finest. To provide my client with the best, CQuartz Finest was chosen to protect this vehicle for years to come.

Finally what you have been waiting for, after 2 long days of work It was finally time to bring the car outside to snap some final shots. Enjoy!

























Thanks for viewing.

-Tim

 

beautiful! I need this done.

 

Great job!

 

looks great..........what combo did you use?........

 

Fabulous Job Tim. Always interested in the procedure. Did you start with 3000 wet sanding???

Gary Knox
West Chester, PA

 

Thanks for the compliments guys!

The polishing process started with a 3000 grit wet sand of the rear trunk and roof. Followed by compounding with HD adapt on a MF cutting pad, then final polished with Menzerna Super Finish on a black foam pad.

 

Wow, nicely done!

What is the approximate cost of having this done?

 

This whole process including CQuartz Finest coating ran about $1200 out the door.

 

Thanks. Makes it look like a brand new car so worth it.

 

Thank you! Exactly, on restorations such as this vehicle you are basically getting a better than new paint job for 1/10th the price.

 

What was the guy using to clean his car...sand-paper.
Does your process remove much of the clear coat?

 

lol No, just went to the car wash often. It does not, on average I'm only removing 1-3 microns with all of the steps needed. Average clearcoat is about 50-100 microns thick. The CQuartz Finest coating then adds another 3-5 microns in protective thickness.

 

Looks like swirl marks from hand washing. The sponge must have been covered in sand or grit multiple times. That's why I won't let the dealership wash my car.

$1,200 is really steep but if they are willing to pay the price....... It does look great though.

 

1200 /10 hrs per day(2) avg = 60$ per hr. add the cost of the materials as he is using some of the best in the business i.e.: Cquartz, mezerna etc plus tape, pads and microfibers and thats a great price in any part of the country. i know the work is hard as hell. the bending, the arms,(holding the polisher) the knees the feet all hurt like hell after just a few hrs on my car!

3000 grit wetsand on an expensive car is not for the faint of heart! push to hard and you can cut thru the clear coat into the paint in an instant! it takes yrs of work skill and patience to this without killing a paint job

 

Thanks for the compliments guys!

You are absolutely correct, and thank you for the compliments! Its very tough work and I definitely feel it for the next few days. lol All in all about 27 hours went into this car. At $1200 with CQuartz Finest this detail was actually pretty underpriced, but this is one of my biggest accounts so I do his cars at a discount. You must have some experience detailing yourself?

 

Incredible results.

 

This has been covered well above.........but that really is not steep at all for actual paint correction..........

this is not a $150 dollar filler polish out the door job...........with proper care should look good for a long time..........

 

Couldn't u have just used a rupes Bigfoot so u don't have to worry about burning the paint ? Use a aggressive cutting compound them finish with a good polish and pad ? I hear this can bring about 80-85% correction. This project must have been going for 100%

 

A Rupes 21 was used for the polishing steps, I chose to go with 3,000 grit on the really bad areas just because this resulted in a much easier compounding process as 98% of the defects were removed wet sanding then polished to remove the haze. I could have gone straight to compounding but would not have yielded the same results, and would have removed just as much clear and generated alot more heat in the process.

 

Great job I would love to do this myself minus the wet sanding. I'm a noob with a little knowledge on paint correction my car is no where near as bad of shape as the SL but it is black and could use a good cut and polish, just a little scared I might mess up being there are so many products of cut & polish and pads to choose from plus once I'm done I have no clue how to apply opti coat to help with more cleat coat protection. Great job again !

 

You just sold yourself on hiring a professional!

Great job btw...

 

Yes .... great job looks like new