06 Mercedes E350 corrected

Discussion in 'Show and Shine' started by mikenap, Dec 5, 2011.

  1. mikenap

    mikenap Jedi Nuba

    I had first seen this car last year after it had been "detailed" by another local shop. At the time, it was shiny and black...but still had some light holograms poking through. Some time had passed and those light holograms became less and less "light" so the client contacted me to come in and finally make his black car look right again. Surprisingly, after a year had passed, I still found TONS of compound residue in every conceivable area of the car.

    I grabbed a few before pics, but was ready to jump into it so a lot of them didn't come out too well.

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    One issue I ran into was the wheel barrels. They probably have never been cleaned since the car was purchased, and laughed off everything I threw at them. I started with Sonax, then moved to Brown Royal 1:1 and finally Meguiar's Wheel Brightener 4:1. When WB didn't make a dent, I just had to cut my losses and move on.

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    Not a huge improvement.:rolleyes:

    The car was foamed with Meguiar's Shampoo Plus, then pressure-washed off and brought inside to ONR wash and clay it. This was from behind the license plate, easily the dirtiest part of this car. Other than that, the car was pretty contaminant-free.

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    Correction consisted of a MF pad primed with D300, compounded with original version M105. Finishing was done with a B&S green pad with Menz 106fa. Machines used were a GG6 DA and Meg's G110. Most of the paint was healthy, save for the driver side fender which was very low. The following pictures are after compounding, before final polishing.

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    The following day, David Strum (aka weekendwarrior) came by and offered to lend a hand finishing up the car. Anyone who has met David will agree that not only is he a great detailer, he's also an all-around great guy and good friend. I'm always glad to get a chance to work with him. While I continued compounding the last remaining panels, David got to work finishing the paint. Afterward, we foamed the car with CG CWC (with some remaining Shampoo +, that's why the bottle looks blue!) and applied Meguiar's 26 liquid to the paint. Tires and wheel wells got Hyper-dressing 3:1.

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    Thanks for looking!
     
  2. P1et

    P1et Official DB Moderator

    Definite improvement, fantastic clarity on the last few pics. Nice work.
     
  3. Streetlife

    Streetlife Birth of a Detailer

    Good work Mikenap!
     
  4. cu2mike

    cu2mike DB Forum Supporter

    Looking good Mike!
     
  5. hamza7

    hamza7 Welcome to Detailing

    Great work Mike
     
  6. mike aesthetica

    mike aesthetica Jedi Nuba

    Lavoro ottimo amico. Ciao residui di cera.

    I wouldve looked at that and just said "seriously?!?"
     
  7. rwisejr

    rwisejr DB Forum Supporter

    Nice Job Mike . That looks great !!
     
  8. mikenap

    mikenap Jedi Nuba

    Thanks P1et!

    Thank you!

    Appreciate it Mike! I just saw that purple G coupe on Bimmerpost...incredible work!

    Thank you Hamza!

    Lol, Mike I tried translating that but google came up empty. I hope it's good though!

    Thank you Ron!
     
  9. WashingJosh

    WashingJosh Jedi Nuba

    Gotta love the prep work (lack of tape) by the previous detailer.
     
  10. Frankastic

    Frankastic Detail Photographer

    wow amazing turn around guys!
     
  11. kakeuter

    kakeuter DB Forum Supporter

    Awesome work Mike! The car turned out great.

    -Kody-
     
  12. mikenap

    mikenap Jedi Nuba

    Even though it was a mess, it may have helped me get the job. The other guys made it easy for me to pick apart their work!:giggle:

    Thank you Frankie!

    Thanks Kody. I saw that huge Ram you guys did on AF, incredible job man!
     
  13. Socal Brian

    Socal Brian DB Forum Supporter

    Great job Mike!
     
  14. mikenap

    mikenap Jedi Nuba

    Thank you Brian!:thumb:
     
  15. Stokdgs

    Stokdgs Detail Master

    Mike -
    Wow, amazing, perfectly clear work ! That black paint looked that good when it was first painted - your detailed, consistent efforts really made this paint shine!

    It was easy to see that the previous work was done at the "production" level - get them in and get them out, maybe think about cleaning up the compound, but probably not.
    And I totally agree, these Hacks definitely give us work ! :)

    Thanks for sharing the project and awesome pics !
    Dan F
     
  16. mike aesthetica

    mike aesthetica Jedi Nuba

    youre killin me mike!

    Lavoro ottimo amico. Ciao residui di cera

    Top notch work buddy. HELLOOOOOOOOO wax residue :D
     
  17. mikenap

    mikenap Jedi Nuba

    Thanks for the kind words, Dan!

    LOL, thanks Mike. I think somewhere an ancestor just rolled over because I didn't know that. I'm a bad half-Italian.:doh:
     
  18. teak

    teak Birth of a Detailer

    Nice work. Wow to the caked on compound residue.
     
  19. Danny

    Danny Nuba Guru

    Great work!
     

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