beantownrich

I'm no pro, but I do like to keep my SLK ship-shape and bristol-fashioned. I thought I'd share the products and tips that I've picked up in the last few months that seem to work really well for me.

Now, I'll admit that I do spend rather a lot of time doing this - about 3 hours a week - but the results are superb and it's a lot of fun because I invariably end up having a conversation with someone about the car. Indeed, the owner of the car wash that I use has now decided to buy an SLK!

Against all recommendations, I usually start with the exterior first. This is simply because, I love to see the car shiny clean and can really enjoy it while I'm doing the interior... childish? You bet!

<b>Exterior</b>

I find the exterior to be much easier than the interior. Every Saturday morning, I do the following:

(1) Run the car through a "no-touch" car wash. I do not ask for any polishes or waxes, just your basic water, soap, rinse. Normally costs somewhere between $7 and $10.

(2) Using a chamois leather, I dry the exterior completely.

(3) Like it or not, the car wash will not have removed all the dirt, particularly around the wells and under the doors. It is also very unlikely that some of the more stubborn bug-splats will have been removed from the nose. To fix this, I have a small spray bottle of water that I use with a sponge to remove the last remanents.

(4) I then focus on the wheels. For the rims, I simply take some kitchen paper and wipe off the brake dust which normally comes off very easily. To make the tires look good, I rub on <i><b>Wet and Shine</b></i> with a large piece of folded kitchen roll. The instructions on the bottle say that you should spray it onto the tire, but I find you get too much of the oily liquid which flies onto the lower sides of the car when you drive it.

TIP: If, like me, you have AMG rims with the logo stamped into a spoke, then use a piece of kitchen paper to get the dirt out of the logo. It works well, doesn't take long, and makes a huge difference to the appearance of the wheels.

(5) Once all of this is complete, I park in a shady area and apply a coat of wax. I use <i><b>Mothers Wax</b></i> which comes in a red bottle and is VERY easy to use; I squeeze a drop, about the size of a quarter, onto a wax applicator (a little round white sponge). I then cover half a panel with the wax and immediately wipe it off with a large clean towel. This results in a deep shine which feels like glass when you run your fingers over the paintwork

(6) I then polish the windows with <b><i>Windex</b></i>. You can use a clean towel for this but to make it even easier, I bought a wide paint applicator from <i>Home Depot</i>. This is a flat wide brush with soft white bristles and costs around $4. I spray some foaming Windex onto the brush and then wipe it onto the windows. I then wipe and buff with a clean soft towel.

(7) To clean the chrome exhaust, I use a wet metal polish wipe. You can buy these at most auto-parts stores. They look just like wet-wipes but are a little thicker and are soaked (are you ready for this?) in a metal polish.

At this time, your exterior should be sparkling! You'll have a nice deep glossy shine and beautiful windows. The clean wheels will look fantastic with black shiny tires.


<b>Interior</b>

The first thing I do is put the roof down. This makes crawling around the cabin much easier.

(1) Empty everything out.

(2) With a damp towel, I wipe the seats, the top of the dashboard, the black roof cover around and behind the roll bars and practically the whole interior! I pay particular attention to getting into the storage compartments and cleaning out any little pieces of dirt that have accumulated there.

(3) I wipe a leather cleaner onto the seats, door inserts, steering wheel, and (if you have it) shift-stick collar. Immediately wipe this off.

(4) I then wipe a leather conditioner onto the same surfaces but do not wipe it off yet.

(5) Pull out the mats and vacuum the floors and the mats. Be careful not to rest your hands on the leather surfaces with the conditioner while you do this. Also, if you are at a commercial car wash, remember that the vacuum hose can be very dirty and you should avoid allowing it to rub against surfaces in the car.

(6) I then open both the doors, and clean the door windows using the same method I described earlier.

(7) Using a clean soft towel, I wipe the (dry) conditioner off the leather surfaces.

(8) After all of this is complete, I put the mats back inside and climb into the car and start using <i><b>Pledge</i></b> to polish up all the wooden components and the instrument panel.

(9) I then clean the inside of the windshield using my windex applicator and towel method.

(10) Now, the good part (and the one that gets lots of attention!). I start the engine and raise the roof about half way, so that the back window is vertical. I then kneel on the drivers seat and clean the inside of the back window - - - WARNING: DO NOT TURN OFF THE ENGINE, as the roof motors will disengage and the roof will sink back into the trunk - this could be very painful if your fingers are anywhere near the mechanism!

(11) Once done, I almost close the roof and clean the little side windows.

(12) Finally, depending on the weather, I either close, or open the roof.

A quick check over the interior and the exterior to see if I've missed anything and I'm all done. I make sure to wipe off any dried wax that has appeared on the black exterior components, or at the edges of panels.

Like I said, I spend around 3 hours a week doing this but I love the results and there's nothing like going out on a Saturday evening in my beautifully detailed SLK roadster!

Rich

LeCorbusier

Wow! Thanks for the tips!! I do a similar thing here in LA, although my ardent enthusiasm to clean the car every week has died off somewhat....

Anyway, can you provide some tips of owning a SLK in Boston? I might send the car to my sister who lives there now. What are some of the things I need to know? Is the SLK a okay car to own in beantown? How's the insurance like in Boston for someone in the 20s? Are vandalism very common along the streets in Boston? Here I am in LA, SLKs are very common so people rarely give it a second look.

Thanks and I hope you can fill me with as much information as possible about the idiosyncracies of owning a SLK in Boston!

beantownrich

From a driving point of view, an SLK is a great car to own in Boston. Being small, it's easy to park and with it's good engine, you can cut through traffic very well. Being less common, it draws a lot of attention. I've lost count of the number of conversations that I've had with strangers about the car. When my g/f drives it alone, she gets alot of looks from the guys --- I don't let her drive it often

I've not had a problem with vandalism in the SLK or any other car that I've owned. I take the usual precautions: I don't park it on the streets overnight, I valet park it when I can, I don't park it in the city with the roof down. So far, it's not been touched.

The big plus for owning this car here is that it serves as a convertible and a coupe. The springs, summers, and falls are beautiful and this is the perfect car to enjoy those seasons with. The winters can get nasty but with it's hard roof and a good set of winter wheels your sister should be all set. The winter wheels/tyres will set you back around $1000 - $1400. It's even better if you have the heated seats!

Hope that helps.

Bruce SLK

(1) Don't use a real chamois to dry your car. They have a tendency to remove the wax that you worked so hard to put on. There are synthetic chamois like the ones made by P21S that work great, also The Absorber which is available at most auot parts stores.
(2) Kitchen towels are not the best thing to use on a car, even the wheels. They tend to put small scratches in the wheels clearcoat. I suggest you consider using a cotton wash cloth, eather damp or dry as the use dictates.
(3) To remove the dirt from the letters in the wheels consider a stiff paint brush. I have a round one I picked up in Home Depot that works great.
(4) Windex is great for windows, but I believe it contains ammonia, and that isn't good for painted surfaces. If you're careful you'll be OK, otherwise there are two products you might want to consider: Stoner's Invisible Glass, and Rain-X glass cleaner. I believe they are a little safer.

This is certainly not meant as a criticism of your methods, but some of the products that you are using are very strong for the average guy to use on his car.
I have been lucky enough to win something like 15 First Place trophies in Concours events with my '98 230 SLK, and one more with my '02 SLK 32. It's a hobby with me. As an example,preperation for one of these events includes the wheels comeing off and the wheel wells getting washed and waxed, even the springs and sway bars. Yes, I think I am nuts as well :-) .

beantownrich

Thanks the tips. I'm pretty new to "anally retentive" car washing so I'm more than happy to receive good advice! I'm particularly glad you told me about the chamois and kitchen towel.

Between your "serious" washes, what do you do to keep the car looking spick-n-span?

I have seen alloy wheel cleaning solutions in the auto-parts stores, are they worth the $$$? How do you use them?

jay_slk

great tips

any suggestions on how i can clean my chrome rims?

http://images.cardomain.com/installs...060_3_full.jpg

beantownrich

I found some great tips on chrome cleaning... first the basics:

Wash with sudsy water. Rinse and wipe dry to bring up luster. Do not use abrasive household cleaners on these surfaces because they may scratch. If there is sticky or gummy soil to remove, try rubbing with baking soda on a damp cloth or sponge, or wipe with vinegar, rinse, and buff dry. For difficult spots, you may need a metal polish made especially for chromium or other soft metals.

Some other products that work:

<b>Vinegar</b> To clean chrome, wipe with a soft cloth dipped in undiluted white or cider vinegar.
<b>Baby Oil</b> Apply baby oil with a soft cloth and polish to remove stains from chrome trim on faucets, kitchen appliances, vehicles, etc.
<b>Aluminum Foil</b> Briskly scrub rust spots on car bumpers with a piece of crumpled aluminum foil, shiny side up. Also works well on the chrome shafts of golf clubs.

jay_slk

thanx.. the vinegar and baking soda sounds like a 3rd grade volcano butt ill try it... the baby oil is a neat idea


thanx dude

Bruce SLK

Metal Finish - the best metal polish I've ever used. It's actually better then Eagle One Never Dul which I have used since 1963.
Metal Protector - Works like Finish First car polish, but on bare metal, like chrome or aluminum, great stuff.
Both are available through My Roadster:

http://www.myroadster.net/wheelcare.asp

I wash the car at least once a week and clean the engine bay with compressed air, paint brushes, and rags. Vinylex get wiped on the plastic and rubber parts. I hit the engine block with Vinylex to keep grease and oil from getting a foot hold.
I don't wax very often, but use Meguire's Show Car Glaze to polish the surface. When I wax I use Meguier's Gold Class wax, but there are other good waxes out there. Use what works best for you.
Hope that helps, this heavy duty car cleaning stuff takes a long time, and is really for those of us that don't have a real life...... :-)

Charlotte

I purchased my SLK230 last Fall and could not afford winter rims. I have dicovered what appears to be a clear coat on my rims that has been punctured with a number of circular discolourations on each rim. These spots are likely as a rtesult of salt on the highways. Any suggestions??

bigfathairybika

Re the Roof closing automatically....

The SLK should allow you to lower the roof half way without the engine on.

Then every 7 minutes it will start to bleep at you.

This is a warning of impending doom to your fingers..

Just flick the roof switch again and you have another 7 minutes.

Mark.

Bruce SLK

Filliform corrosion. It's a form of corrosion that grows worm like under paint and in this case the wheels clearcoat. There is nothing you can do about it, other then have the wheel (s) refinished. You are right about the road salt, the corrosion starts at any small imperfection in the paint surface and continues until there is no new surface is available. Sometimes it grows fast, sometimes very slowly. The cleaner and drier the area is the better off you are.