Flex + Rupes vs Ceramiclear Paint - How to detail a Mercedes-Benz SL 550

[Mike Phillips]

That is so cool! I can see that coming in very handy for those wanting to monitor their health. What's a set-up like that cost?

The Jawbone UP24 is $150.00 Because it talks to your cell phone via Bluetooth, in order to stay connected 24/7 I had to get a Mofi 120 for my iPhone.

Can't recommend the Mofi extra battery charge case enough. Meghan here at work showed me hers and said they worked great and that was good enough for me.

Also, I noticed your wool pad. Usually when I use my W4000 pads they get a hole in the center of them starting when I first prep them by spurring them. Often this hole gets bigger during stages of a detail, but I didn't notice this hole in any of your pads pictured. What brand of wool pads were those?

Lake Country. I don't know the part numbers off hand I meant to get them and then add the links to them in this write-up.

The hole in your W4000 pads is by design. I've been told a majority of the holograms are caused by the fibers in the center of the pad so Meguiar's under Jason Rose had their pads made this way by design. The W4000 is a great pad in my opinion.

Love the write-up too.

Thank Bill, appreciate the kind words. It's been incredibly popular on my Facebook page.


Two very different worlds, the Facebook world and the Discussion Forum world.

[ducksfan]

Yeah, it helps a lot. Thanks for your time.

[Mike Phillips]

Beautiful work Mike

Thanks Pat...

That is another impressive work Mike! I envy you :-)

Thanks Rod...

Great work. Just love your shop!!

Thank you sir. I've worked in a lot of shops in my life and this is the nicest by far. While I was buffing the car out I had Velocity Channel playing in the background.

mike youre the mike tyson of auto detailing! way to knock this car out! thank you for the write up, very informative . i definitely have to invest in a flex rotary.

Thank you sir... you'll love the Flex PE14, such a pleasure to use.

I think you may have the hang of this detailing thing!
Very nice

Thanks Mike... been doing it while now and the passion for taking a diamond in the rough and turning it into a glistening gemstone never goes away...

Great job as always Mike, on the car, the write-up and the pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Frank...

Outstanding work Mike! That Mercedes looks incredible now!

Thanks for the thorough write up.

Thanks Mike, appreciate the kind words...

Very nice work Mike. Both on the car and the write up.

Very interesting and informative question and answers so far. It's nice to know about the complexities involving those heat extractors before hand through your experience with them.

Thanks Dave, always appreciate your comments...

[Mike Phillips]

Mike,

Thanks. The hood extractors on the R231 2013+ do not have wires and hoses running through them.

Interesting.

The new MB "magic vision" sends the washer fluid through the $125 laser drilled wipers rather than have fluid from the hood.

At one level the laser drilled wipers is very impressive but at another level it seems to almost be a bit of taking something very simple and over-engineering it.

That said, anything that gets the squirters off the hood is good in my book.

My car only has 2 torx screws and a couple of plastic clips holding the extractors on so I am planning to remove them. It now makes sense to me why you didn't. I will do a write up with pictures of all of that when I do it.

Lucky you and I'm already looking forward to the write-up.

The side extractors are a PIA to tape off so I may try your technique to buff around them.

I'm not lazy, just tried to be practical. Sometimes it can work to shove a microfiber towel into the openings to catch any splatter dots as long as you don't catch them with the spinning buffing pad.

Thanks for the details on the windshield. My glass is in really good shape so I will use the beach towel with the info you provided to cover it as well as the sunroof that is now in the SL550.

Sounds good. If I wasn't going to buff the glass I would have covered the windshield and wipers. Partly to cover the wipers but the other part like I explain in my how-to book is it seems once you get little dots of splatter on the glass it can be a paint to remove them as some of them seem content just to move around and not actual leave the surface.

Again thanks for the details. I am always trying to learn. My red SL550 needs some correction as it has spider web looking swirls, but no deep scratches so hopefully I can get the correction with a GG and some Menzerna 1500 or 2500.

The Menzerna SI 1500 should be more than able... keep us posted...

I am inspired by your post and the better weather that has come this week to Texas to get'r done.

Thanks for the write up and for your answers as I try to learn as much as I can before the work.

Remember to try to have fun doing this project and try to get a few good before shots.

[Caleb@ImpeccableImage]

Beautiful work

[Mike Phillips]

Beautiful work

I posted this to my Facebook page tonight because it's one of the most different types of projects I've done in a long time... by this I mean starting with a Flex and then switching to the Rupes....


Plus if a person reads through this complete thread there's a ton of information being shared via questions and answers.


Cool car too....

[Caleb@ImpeccableImage]

I posted this to my Facebook page tonight because it's one of the most different types of projects I've done in a long time... by this I mean starting with a Flex and then switching to the Rupes....


Plus if a person reads through this complete thread there's a ton of information being shared via questions and answers.


Cool car too....

Thats actually how I found this thread. I saw your post on FB .

[Tato]

I posted this to my Facebook page tonight because it's one of the most different types of projects I've done in a long time... by this I mean starting with a Flex and then switching to the Rupes....


Plus if a person reads through this complete thread there's a ton of information being shared via questions and answers.


Cool car too....

You Bet!,

I went through this thread again from the beginning, subject still actual and very interesting.

Well, even already leaving a comment and question in February this year, this thread can ever be considered Stunning, must be said.

Read my question and answer you gave earlier, you have no idea how much that helped and 8 months later I have such maturity to absorb the remaining I may left behind that date.

This is the only Forum I've participated that Bumping 'relatively old' Threads are always welcome, already lost the count how many info I've learned from older threads someone bumped.

I also would like the opportunity to ask a new question, for some guidance on the Rupes yellow pad and polish.

Which (in your opinion) are the sweet spots on the polishing cycle while working with this combination?

I mean, how do you manage to work the product in terms of arm speed, pressure applied, polisher speed and number of passes.

I understand a test spot can be the answer for all my questions, but being Brazilian, I couldn't formulate the question in a proper way.

i.e, when finishing a Menzerna SF4000 and white pad I tend to be even more gentle in the last few passes when I feel the cycle is ending. Is the 'Rupes System' sensible to those adjustments, or it's better do to work it for some 'straight passes' then let it go?

I'll be honored to hear your opinion on reasoning how to properly use the Yellow Side of Rupes System.

Again, sorry if it's a difficult to understand question,

Thank you in advance,

Kind Regards.

[Mike Phillips]

Thats actually how I found this thread. I saw your post on FB .

It's actually a pretty good tutorial on how and WHY to use a rotary buffer first followed by a dual action polisher for a swirl free finish.

[kosmetikwerks]

Great work as always! Really liked seeing the pictures of your rotary compounding process as I use the same method. Just find when I get in the compounding 'groove' it makes for quicker/easier work, when compared to buff wipe buff wipe panel by panel method.