dsms detailed - Merc CLS 63 AMG...Black

Discussion in 'Professional Detailer's Studio' started by dsms, Sep 7, 2008.

  1. dsms

    dsms DB Forum Supporter

    This car was originally booked for a full wash and seal but upon picking it up at the owners house I saw that it was going to need some correction work. Having this beauty sitting in direct sunlight is the perfect way to show the owner its absolute need for polishing attention.

    I drove the car back to my house and let me say that the 6.2L (no its not a full 6.3litre) V8 sounds incredible. Mercedes did away with the superchargers and turbos when devolpoing the new 63's and IMO it gives the car the perfect throaty, resonant sound, then again im a sucker for naturally aspiritaed engines:headbang:... but dont we all love the sound of a McLaren F1 or a Carrera GT? Anyway I will say that in driving this car for a good 20minutes throughtout the day back and fourth from the owners house that its low end torque is a bit weak. Having spent tons of time behind the wheel of a 2006 SL55 (with the supercharger) I find that it really does make a difference below 4k rpm. I think you need to really push this car to expericnce its true potential but in all honesty I cant say, I didnt go faster than 40mph even on a main road, You cant be too careful with other peoples vehicles. When I returned the car later that night (around 11pm) I spent a good 20mins talking with the owner about the car, he was a very cool guy to work with.

    Anyways on with the detail, sorry but I didnt take a lot of before pictures.

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    The car was fairly new with only about 4k on the odo. With that knowledge I figured whatever "dealership prep" that was done on the car (ie. heavy glazes and wax) would still be on the paint, and I was right.

    After initial inspection I thought a light corrective polish would take care of the swirls but after stripping off all the old wax and whatever else may have been used i saw the true finish.

    I started with the wheels, as usual massive AMG brakes have a tendancy to cook up quite a bit of brake dust. After a thorough pressure wash of the wheels, tires and wheel wells I then sprayed a liberal amount of the P21s wheel gel to the rims and let it sit for about 10minutes. I always grab the P21s gel for delicate wheel finishes and cars with high performance braking systems to ensure no damage is done to either the wheels or brakes.

    The tires were scrubbed with the E-Shine APC and so were the wheel wells. Later I dressed the wheels with Adams Invisible undercarrige and the wheels with CG liquid dressing

    Heres a quick before shot


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    The after

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    Here is the hood before, you can see the hardened water spots left on the finish, good thing the owner opt'ed for my polishing services on this one!

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    Now onto prepping the finish

    I started out qith a P21s Total Auto Wash pre-soak to strip off all prior wax/glaze applied by the dealer

    Here is the p21s TAW dwelling

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    After that came the wash. 2 buckets, 2 shmitts and Zaino Z7 were used, followed by claying and then drying. I like to dry the car using a slick QD product in between to prevent streaking, in this case it was again Megs Last Touch.

    Then I took dozens of PTG readings, plenty of CC to work with. It was a new car so I wasnt expecting to many suprises. The car averaged 130-160 microns.

    Now it was time for the correction work. The process was as follows

    Gloss It Evolution Cut with yellow cutting pads on the Cyclo (x2 in some areas)
    Gloss It 1step Machine polish with white finishing pads on the cyclo (jeweling step)

    followed by an IPA wipedwon to ensure no filling and then inspection

    Here is the finish under the CM5300, the flake really began to show

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    I then brought the car out into the sun to make sure no holograms were left after polishing, sometimes I find garage lighting isnt enough to thoroughly inspect a finish

    Here is the hood in direct sun post polishing, No wax or sealant was applied

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    I then rinsed the car to remove any polishing dust and carefully dried it.

    Here is the car back in my garage after the rinse. Again there is no wax or sealant on it yet.

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    Now onto the interior which btw has some of the best seats around, thick bolstering ftw!

    Before

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    After

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    After

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    Center comsole re-organized

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    All plastics removed and properly cleaned using 1Z CP

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    door jambs cleaned and polished

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    windows/chrome trim polished using 1Z glas polish and adams metal polishes

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    The LSP of choice was Gloss It Signature Gloss, applied via cyclo with white finishing pads followed by a gloss enhancer QD wipedown

    Now for the final finish

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    This is the same picture I took post polishing only this time the LSP was applied. The finish now has more clarity and depth than before, you can see the P21s TAW label in the reflection from the shelf above

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    Taken down by the lower panel near the clear bra

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    Wheels all finished off

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    I always have this Bugatti EB110 in my reflection shots, this CLS IMO prodcued the clearest reflection of the picture on the wall I have ever seen

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    I just love this shot

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    Headlights were machine polished via the makita and PlastiX

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    I wish I could have had this car out in sunlight but I finished around 10pm

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    My favorite

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    Thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed
     
  2. detaildoc

    detaildoc Guest

    Awesome job!:worship2: Great work on those wheels.
     
  3. virtual

    virtual DB Pro Supporter

    Brilliant reflections, nice work!
    Now what kind of "chair" is that? The one with the knee pads on it?
     
  4. Deep Gloss Auto Salon

    Deep Gloss Auto Salon DB Pro Supporter

    Very nice work!! I am particularly fond of the direct sun shot and the after condition of the wheels... tops!
     
  5. P1et

    P1et Official DB Moderator

    Looks fantastic, what a car!
     
  6. dsms

    dsms DB Forum Supporter

    I always try to get shots in straight sunlight when possible, lets people see the real finish after polishing IMO
     
  7. 911Fanatic

    911Fanatic DB Pro Supporter

    Looks awesome!
     
  8. er1k

    er1k Obsessive Detailer

    Fantastic work dsms. Your prep work before the LSP is amazing!
     
  9. Denzil

    Denzil Guest

    Great work! I'm glad the owner opted for the paint correction, hehe.
     
  10. dsms

    dsms DB Forum Supporter

    I was about to refuse the job if he didnt:giggle: Honestly if I didn't correct the paint the car wouldn't have looked like it did, left with swirls and holograms all over. I feel like I cant guarantee my work on black cars if theres no polishing.
     
  11. slanguage

    slanguage OD On Detailing

    Nice!!!!!!!!!
     
  12. dsms

    dsms DB Forum Supporter

    Thanks!
     
  13. yukonon22

    yukonon22 Wax on..Wax off

    That looks amazing. You must really like the gloss it line. Love the car too
     
  14. matrix_808

    matrix_808 DB Supporter

    Very nice correction there. Paint looks great!!!
     
  15. dsms

    dsms DB Forum Supporter

    Thank Yukon! Yep I like gloss it, just got the rest of their line as well. Shampoo, clays and leather cleaners. My next detail will have reviews on that stuff as well.
     
  16. FMINUS

    FMINUS DB Pro Supporter

    great detail!!
     
  17. Grey Ghost

    Grey Ghost Jedi Nuba

    excellent job as always
     
  18. philttz

    philttz Any Rag Vehicle Washer

    nice detail, where did you get the crawler from? looks interesting.
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  19. dsms

    dsms DB Forum Supporter

    The rolling seat is a Racatac, I bought mine from toolsdirect.com. They have ones with larger sized wheel casters but the smaller ones on the model I have are better for down low work like wheel cleaning and polishing lower panels:headbang:
     
  20. Fox

    Fox Any Rag Vehicle Washer

    Great work! I'll have to try the racatac out, looks like it will make things a lot easier on the knees.
     

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