AMG E Power

I figured I would share a quick video with u guys to show u how a black cars paint should look I decontaminated the surface with a clay bar and went to work removing swirl marks, rids (Random isolated deeper scratches) I love black cars but they r so F ing hard to keep clean and swirl free but when they are to me it's a hard color to beat in terms of gloss and and depth in the paint. I have 7 hours so far of work done and probably have 8 more

e500slr

If you dont mind investing some money get yourself a pressure washer, a foam cannon and an air dryer (or even a leaf blower). It's basically a no touch system, you spray, hose off and dry without even touching the car. It'll drastically reduce swirl marks. If you really wanna go crazy to avoid water spots then buy some distilled water and use that to rinse or even to wash the whole car. There's a self wash car wash near my place that actually uses distilled water. Apparently they distill the water using reverse osmosis. I was surprised as i thought it was quite a slow and energy consuming process.

http://www.cardryer.com/air-force-blaster-car-dryers

mercedes4ever

HOTTIE!! What are they selling?

novae500

I have a porter cable model #7820? and a few sets of different pads and meizera products that i try to wax my cars 2x a year. Sure takes alot of time and patience to do!!! But end result is so great looking.

moosejaw

I just recently detailed my lexus this weekend
I started out by using dishwash detergent to get all the old wax off
I then clay barred every surface. I spent 4 hours doing this last saturday

Went out to the bar with my girl for a few drinks
SO im lit up.
Car is in the garage and its 12am in the morning.

So i begin the compound process with Blackfire SRC Compound which you need a rotary polisher for
It removes 2000 grit scratches. i finished up early Sunday Morning after i got some cuban coffee.
Next step was the Mezerna SF400 superfinish finishing polish
Third step was the Blackfire wet diamond sealant.

I didnt take any before and after photos. But the next step will be Blackfire Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Paste Wax and then another coat of sealant.
Its a must have for a black car.

Keep in mind I bought this car for $2000. Even with megan ez coilovers its as comfortable as my E55.
Too bad its not track car though......Bumper will be resprayed and new headlights and foglights are ready to go.
I will 3M the bumper after our local interstate is finished with the new asphalt. All the rock chips are from the road construction.

55fanatic

An S65 I did a couple years ago...

Started like...




finished like...

55fanatic

some 30 hours of paint correction on that car... what a pita

AMG E Power

I feel your pain man. that s65 is same color as my e55 jet black is the worst !
If I ever get black again it will have to have some metallic flake in it to help hide the swirls

ArmoE55

WTF!

I came in here looking for a girl with paint corrections on her body...

moosejaw

Straight up black is definitely the best color
I did a lot of research on how to make my black pop.
Now i have to maintain it

55fanatic

its easy, don't touch it, like ever...

Use lots of silicone filled soap

AMG E Power

ya thats is the problem maintaing it. If u look at black wrong it will scratch lol

moosejaw

I use the three bucket method
one bucket for wheels
one bucket for washing dirt offf
one bucket for soap

I also wash my car twice with two different mitts
one for dirt rinse
and one for a final clean

Then i dry with a airblade and then with a cobra xl towel that comes in its own bag.

starbrite

@55fanatic.....those are some pics. Wow, just wow!!

I'd love to get my '04 Tectite grey corrected, when I have the time. It's not horrible, however I'd like to see the big improvement that correcting can do, even to clear coat.

Jawzey

Nice job. My CLS is black and it's a b**** to maintain. Like someone before me said, they key to maintaining it is not touching it!! lol

AMG E Power

Finally after 16 hours of work I'm finished ! Here are some pics to try and show the clairity and gloss in the the the paint of course pics don't do it justice but here they are

SheriffDep

First---- AMG E Great job, definitely showed by final result. Yes black is hard to keep swirl free.

Moose---- Perfect system (Metro Blaster) is the best under 100 item I have in my arsenal. 9 months running and not touched the car with a towel drying it.

75% of scratches come from drying your vehicle. If you can prevent that you are miles ahead. Another suggestion, if using a microfiber towel to dry your vehicle, then use a Spry detailer or wax along with it to increase the lubricity to help prevent swirls. The darker the color of paint the more care you have to give.

Jawzey

This exactly! Very valuable advice here gents. I wonder if you (and other members here) are a member of Autogeek and Autopia forums?

SheriffDep

Maybe this is the right area to help out some fellow owners, If you care about your car finish, and want to improve it and keep it nice then here is a huge suggestion.

AMMOnyc.com is where you need to go. Larry has videos for all types of cleaning processes that are hugely helpful. He does not really plug his products, his care is helping us learn the process no matter what we are using. Larry does know what he is doing and from what I could find, he is by far the most helpful person out there for doing this kind of work. I have used his products personally after using tons of other professional products. They work, and that is what counts the most. Are they better?? Opinion counts here for some. The big part is chemically all his products work together. Makes sense so why not. Take a look, if you like them try them out. It is worth it.

Detailers image and autogeek.net and Chemical Guys are three other places to get products. PLEASE do not use most items found locally. Some are ok, but a lot of the basic products (even by meguire's) are junk, or watered down, or actually harmful. Car wash soap is the biggest issue. Cheap basic ones strip all the sealant off the car. Some just take longer to do it.

Start with good basic products for your wash. MooseJaw is doing it right. Then move into doing more as your wallet allows. Its not cheap to keep a car perfect, but once you find your good products you like, and what works on the car, then its not financially bad at all.

Please request more info if there are questions you would like to have answered. I am sure the OP and several others can help out immensely. Paint Corrections ae a huge undertaking, that has incredible results.

Take a peek at Modesta Glass coatings along with 22PLE products. You might just want to do them at some point.

Hopefully helpful

PS--- How do you embed the pictures like the posts above (not attachments)

AMG E Power

^^^ photo bucket app for my iphone, just click the image code and paste I def need to get a nice foam cannon and a soap that will not strip wazes or sealants

Jawzey

Thanks for the helpful advice. I am actually already subscribed to Larry on YouTube, and he does make fine videos. If other members here want to get into detailing their own car, they should also watch Junkman2000's videos on YouTube. The guy is funny and he gets his point across easily, an excellent teacher. Junkman has a series on how to machine polish a vehicle. I highly recommend people check it out.

berti_00

help me do mine

AMG E Power

I will but dont expect it to be done quick lol took me 16 hours total for the whole car ! I just broke it up in to 4 hours a day for 4 days

Denroll

Any of you all ever use CQuartz?

What about removing badges to do the paint correction... overkill? I am about to do a paint correction on mine and am quite fussy over the small details like that.

AMG E Power

didnt u say a while back u spent like 900 bucks to have urs done ? u should only need a 1 step polish by now if u maintain the car correctly. remember u only have so much clear coat so u dont want to be using aggressive compounds and pads on your car to much. has for CQuartz, I Would use opti coat pro instead. I didnt use either just a good sealant. just mask of the badges