Another delayed writeup from the Scottish Tag Team, I apollogise for the time taken here - its getting hectic with thesis writing and job/course applications! This exterior correction detail was carried out by Gordon and myself for the owner of the E220, who had recently purchased the car and was wanting her to look her best. In recent months, we as a team have been investigating different wash techniques as an aspect of our detailing, with Gordon pioneering a lot of the development into our detailing regime. Consious that the traditional wash process is not always possible (do you really want to be spraying snow foam around a classic car collector's garage? how can you safely wash your car in the middle of a showground? etc) we have been testing and beginning to implement different methods to suit circumstances. One of these is the use of the steam cleaner which was used on this detail to clean the wheels, in an indoor environment where a lot of water would not be possible to use. The wheels before on this car... General coating of brake dust and grime. The wheel was lightly sprayed with Bilberry (not ladelled on such that its poring off, sprayed through a foaming spray head such that is sits on the wheel, and a little then sprayed into the bristles of the wheel brush to minimise product loss). This was agitated with a brush while being "sprayed" with the steam cleaner to loosen and remove the grime... Using the steam cleaner until all chemical removed, a clean microfibre was then used to dry the wheel off... The same process could then be used on the wheel arches. Over the Christmas and New Year break we will be looking to do fuller writeups on our wash techniques we have been working with and why we are using them... We'll be using alternative wash techniques on our detailing where required, providing we are 100% confident in the safety of the methods. I'll admit that I was somewhat sceptical about certain wash techniques, and to an extent some of them I still wont personally use. But the steam cleaner is proving its worth, as is Optimum No Rinse (more details in another writeup) and what is becoming far more apparent is that the key, like machine polishing, is in development of the technique rather than the product itself. Back to the detail, the car was clayed and dried ready for the paintwork correction stage. The bonnet of the car had recently bee respayed, and the paint here was pretty much defect free!: The same could not be said for the rest of the car though: As always when correcting the paintwork of a car by machine polisher, we seek to find a polish and pad combination which maximises the achieved correction while minimising the paint removed. This is of particular interest for the lifetime of the paintwork - the thinner you make the clearcoat, which is a sacrificial layer, the less scope you leave for future correction and you can adversely affect the integrity of the finish by reducing the UV protection offered by the clearcoat. So we procees by assessing the paintwork by starting with the lightest abrasive combination and working up until we get the desired correction safely, constantly assessing the paint removal rates as we go. A test area on the passenger side was carried out by Gordon. Before: Working up through the polishes, Gordon settled on Menzerna PO85RD Intensive Polish applied using a regenerating technique where the lifetime of the polish is maximised to maximise the cut and finishing ability... In terms of rough passes, it goes as follows: Spread the polish at 600rpm for a couple of passes until evenly spread Begin working at 1200rpm to build heat into hte panel until rotary glides smoothly Step up to working speed of between 1500 and 1800rpm and polish with medium pressure and steady passes until the residue goes clear Reduce speed to 900 - 1200rpm and support the weight of the machine and make a couple of passes until the residue return slightly Step back up to working speed and continue until residue clear again Repeat a couple of times until residue does not come back Refine at 900rpm for a couple of passes Mercedes paint has a reputation for being hard though I beleive that every car should be approached as an individual with no prior assumptions being made. Intensive Polish here can be seen to effectively remove the swirls and minor RDS: And the finish by thoroughly working the abrasives is crystal sharp, a key factor of Intensive Polish being how well it does finish down with care and attention, Gordon carried onwards with Intensive Polish... The driver's side unfortunately was wearing some deeper RDS in the finish which Intensive Polish as above was just missing with the single hit... after assessing the removal rates from the above hits of IP to be within gauge error (<5um) I decided to step up to a slightly more aggressive combination. Meguiars #105 Ultra Cut Compound, nominally very aggressive, but using a 3M Yellow Polishing pad. With the SMAT abrasives, you can reduce the cut of a product using the a softer pad and also by reducing the pressue and set length. Using the Double Zenith technique, an LSP ready finish was also achieved using #105 - not bad considering its cut level! Application: Spread at 600rpm until polish evenly spread Begin working at 1200rpm, light pressure and slow machine movements to build heat into the panel Work at 1800rpm, firm head pressure and steady machine movements until defects removed Reduce speed to 1500rpm, lightening pressure a little to remove compounding haze with cut level adjusted by pressure Refine at 1200rpm, light pressure and slow machine passes Burnish at 900rpm supporting weight of the rotary for very light pressure and slow machine movements Results... Not bad, considering this is a heavy cutting compound - this is the beauty of the new Meguiars polishes Onto the bootlid and an interesting set of defects here... Closer look... This looks like deep sanding marks or a defect in the paint... Checking with the thickness gauge reveals a repair definitely carried out here, not the difference between normal paint and below that the thickness over the repair region... This highlights a region where great care must be taken in correction as it may be a smart repair, part of the reading may be filler... The gloss black pillars were corrected using a 3M yellow polishing pad and 106FA Final Finish: To ensure an even level of gloss and maximum clarity around the car, the whole car was finished using Meguiars #205 Ultra Finishing Polish on a 3M blue finishing pad applied using a Double Zenith technique. The end results across the car after correction and refining: LSP of choice on this car was Chemical Guys 50/50 wax. The owner already has this wax and it is reknowned for its ease of use in application - the easiest wax to apply and remove I have come across, the residue seems to just glide off the paint. Reasonably durable too, and consistent with what the owner already has so he can top up with the same wax as used on the detail Tyres were dressed using Espuma RD50, our new favourite tyre dressing (more durable than others we have tried, nice water beading off the tyre too). Trim with New Look Trim Gel, wheels sealed with FK1000P. Glass with Stoner Invisible Glass. Arches dressed with All Seasons Dressing where not carpeted, protected with 303 Fabric Protectant where carpeted. Some "artistic" reflection shots from around the car after... And final after pics...
amazing work, Dave! I like your detailed write ups, and pay very close attention to rotary polishing skills. Question - do you prime your pads with a QD when polishing? I've been using Gloss it EVP pad prime (which is an oil) and it actually takes forever for residule to go clear. And while polishing the paint gets very hot to the point it makes me worry I'll polish the paint off BEFORE the residue goes clear...maybe I'm over-using EVP... Also how long on average do you polish a panel? How long does it takes for residue to go clear? TIA.
Nice work mates. I love your write-ups. very detailed. Nice color on that car. And I love the steam used on the wheels. What steamer is that?
Thank you VERY much for the time and effort in reports such as this. I've been wondering about a similar process involving solvents and steam combined, so this certainly helped answer some lingering questions! I look forward to more of your work in the near future. Keep up the great work!:applause:
I only use a spritz of water or quick detailer at the very start of the day to have a slightly damp pad while it is being primed with polish in its initial set. But once the pad is primed, I dont use quick detailer, or any form of pad prime as I personally find they make no difference to my rotary polishing experience. I read a lot about pad primes helping with sticky paint and helping with working the polish, but in my opinion it is better adjusting your technique and working with just the polish as this is how they have been designed to be used and some quick detailers and pad primes I find can interfere with the polishes more than help them. Perhaps just my polishing style, but this is what I am finding. Spritz the pad with water at the start of the day and then just use the polish from thereon in, no need for extra products. Adjust your technique to work with the paint you are polishing as all paints respond differently, and remember you can adjust machine movement pace and head pressure and speeds - all of these adjust until the rotary is gliding smoothly and you are into a rhythm with the machine, and then you have your technique spot on. I typically polish a panel for a good three to five minutes and it takes this long for the residue to go clear. Th steam cleaner is made by Nimbus.
Great writeup and excellent work!!!! I learn from your writeups and how meticulous you and your team are when polishing. Thank you for sharing:headbang:
HAHA i like the Big dog E63 Wheels on the lowest motor E220 < it's pretty cool still though Gorgeous car though and good job on the work
