hey ... any tips on truly getting the car's interior and exterior ultra new and shiny ? the matte dash is a really tough one ... what kind of leather conditioner do you use on the seats? any recommendations for the fabric? touch up paints?

 

welcome! zaino z-10 leather in a bottle for all leather.
microfiber cloth and water for dashboard and doors.
do a search for your topics and you will find a lot.
also try the 2 other mb boards:

slkworld.com
benzworld.org r171 forum

here is a link for manuals. enjoy

http://www.billsden.org/mercedes/slk/docs/#dtb

 

A 350 is not an AMG... but if you're talking about the AMG rims or body kit, and any special treatment that they need to keep them looking like new, then it's really just the same thing as taking care of any MB, be it an AMG or not.

I bought a citrus scented leather cleaner and conditioner from my Mercedes dealer. It's an official MB product. I rub it into my seats now and then. It removes stains and gives a nice texture to the seats, so far it has worked fine. It however doesn't really protect from scratches (i.e. it doesn't "harden" the leather to make it more resistant), but it does give the leather a nice matte look to it. Also works on the alcantara parts.

My dealer also gave me free of charge a little jar of paint touch up, it's ok but you can also buy special pens for detailing stone chip holes. Not easy to find the right color for it.

The rest of the interior can be cleaned with a little demineralised water on a lint free microfabric cloth (MB should have given you one free of charge with your SLK). Just wet it a little and rub the area clean. You might want to buby a gentle brush to remove dirt that is encrusted in the granular surface of the interior. It's pretty strong material, so you can safely brush it clean with a toothbrush or similar.

Finally, for dusting off the nooks and crannies, buy a duster thing with a handle, the kind that uses static electricity to attract dust particles. This will remove lots of the irritating dust spects that accumulate around the shifter, hand brake and roof switch... A can of compressed air (can be bought from a computer store or best buys, fry's, whatever), is very good at removing dust from everywhere. Open the roof, and spray away from a safe distance keeping the can upright so that it doesn't blow out the air in liquid form (happens when held upside down). At the same time, keep the static-electricity brush close by so that it picks up the dust particles flying around.

Body should be treated with a clay bar and proper wax or Zaino/Finish First. Instructions can be found by doing searches in google. This is the most time consuming stuff you can do if you wanna detail your car.

 

Meguiar products. Excellent and easy to use. Also, one does not need a PhD to understand the range like you need to understand Zaino!
I looked at Zaino's website and thought I had better things to do!

 

Although I can understand getting that impression, I'm going to have to stand up for Zaino's product line.

You can use Zaino finish products in anywhere from a casual to an obsessed fashion (and yes, I suppose I fall into that latter categeory.) But you by no means have to use every product, or every step along the way.

If you just want something to wipe on and wipe off, there is nothing more effective or easier to use than Zaino Z2 (clean smooth paint) or Z5 (if you have swirl marks). It is MUCH easier to apply than wax, does not dry to a white substance that is impossible to remove from body joints and small spaces around trim, and it lasts longer than wax. Adding their ZFX to either Z2 or Z5 just lets you use multiple layers within a few hours of each other; but it is by no means necessary. From my experience, just the fast simple coat of Z2 will match any carnuba based wax, with a lot less elbow grease.

As to the rest of their product line, they all seem to work well, and there is nothing special about applying their leather cleaner or their leather treatment, glass cleaner, tire dressing etc.

And there is one great thing I have found in their finish products: They all smell great!

 

For general car care I use ZYMOL (www.zymol.com)

For leather try "LEATHERIQUE" (www.leatherique.com), it is the best (since my opinion).

Jaime Lelo de Larrea.
SLK 350 DESIGNO 2007.

 

Thanks for your introduction to ZAino products and glad you understand my reaction. But I have just bought 200 euros (278 USD) worth of Meguiar products, so I am committed.
BTW, do you know the difference between being involved and being committed? Think about eggs and bacon. The hen is involved, the pig is committed.

 

Bien sur! $278 Yikes! Well slap me in the frying pan and serve me up with grits. I would feel 'committed' as well. I have been using virtually every product that Zaino offers for over two years, and I don't think cummulatively I have spent that much.

On the other hand, I just noticed that you live in Paris. I think that rather than car wax, I would be looking into armor plating. I took a European delivery on my SLK, and drove it all through Provence and the Dordogne before heading up to Paris to stay at my mother's apartment (I'm a dual national, USA & France). It was the greatest trip of my life, until I had to drive from the edge of Paris to the center, and then later from there to Charles de Gaulle, in the rain, at rush hour. That was the most terrified I have ever been in a car. (But the rest of the trip compensated for it.) The motorcycles zipping down the lane dividers on both sides of my new car in the middle of a traffic jam on the 'freeway' was only matched by the horror of 4 lane wide (without actual lane markers) round-abouts at 60 mph (100 kmph) with no apparent organization other than he who is on the right is in the right.

You must have nerves of steel to drive a well detailed SLK in those conditions. My highest regards to you!

 

No problems. I would not ride a bike in Paris though.

 

I started using Zaino on my car when I first got it 2 1/2 years ago. After using it for some time now, I wouldn't use anything else. It's actually really easy to use and the stuff works. I'm sure Meguiar's is very good also, but I'm so happy with Zaino, I wouldn't switch.

 

I buy some noname leather cleaner at Walmart. I think it works great. The leather looks soft and shiny.

 

I like Zaino, too

Started using based on what I read on this forum about 8 years ago and have continued to use it on the last 3 cars I've owned--great shine really catches looks

Use it on the wheels too

Just started Aquapel--haven't developed an opinion of it yet but it does seem to do what it claims from the first application

Leatherique cleaner and dressing for the leather is my choice

MF cloth towel and distilled water for everything else

Unlike others I'm not real big on tire dressings--just let 'em roll is my philosophy