Personal Mercedes GLA..."new" car detail

[merlin3008]

Hey all...I'm a relative amateur here and haven't really done a good detail in years. However, my wife and picked up this Mercedes GLA last week. It was a demo car and came to us with just over 1000 miles on it. Overall, it was in pretty good shape, but under the lights you could see some fine lines and a couple of deeper scratches. I figured, I had a free weekend so I took the time to brush up on my skills.

I washed the car with Dawn to remove whatever wax may have been on the car. I used Griots wheel cleaner to remove brake dust from the wheels and test the body for iron contamination. The body looked to b free from iron, so I went right to the Meguiar''s clay bar to remove any additional surface contamination. I played around a little bit with the rotary and D/A polisher. After some experimentation, the routine that worked best was a quick pass of M105 with a wool pad followed by M205 with a synthetic wool pad, both with the D/A. Here is the paint after polishing.

http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv262/merlin3008/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0400_zpsavbp0std.jpg (http://s690.photobucket.com/user/merlin3008/media/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0400_zpsavbp0std.jpg.html)


I gave the car a wipe down with IPA and the applied Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant. I dressed the tires with Optimum Tire Gel and treated the trip with 303 Aerospace. Used the 303 on the interior as well. I hope you enjoy. Please let me know if you have any comments on the routine. I'm always looking to get better since my Mercedes gets here in two months. :)

http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv262/merlin3008/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0404_zpsely3rpc7.jpg (http://s690.photobucket.com/user/merlin3008/media/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0404_zpsely3rpc7.jpg.html)

http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv262/merlin3008/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0403_zps5tlhnkxv.jpg (http://s690.photobucket.com/user/merlin3008/media/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0403_zps5tlhnkxv.jpg.html)

http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv262/merlin3008/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0402_zpsfan4dvnc.jpg (http://s690.photobucket.com/user/merlin3008/media/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0402_zpsfan4dvnc.jpg.html)

http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv262/merlin3008/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0402_zpsfan4dvnc.jpg (http://s690.photobucket.com/user/merlin3008/media/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0402_zpsfan4dvnc.jpg.html)

http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv262/merlin3008/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0406_zpsnthqqihy.jpg (http://s690.photobucket.com/user/merlin3008/media/Cars%20and%20Bikes/September%2018%20GLA%20Detail/IMG_0406_zpsnthqqihy.jpg.html)

[atgonzales]

Nicely done

[merlin3008]

Nicely done

Thank you, sir. My wife is happy. Gives me an excuse to work on mine, :)

[Paul A.]

Looks beautiful and I wish you guys the best of luck with it.

I have no comments on your processes, seemed fine for the results you got. My only comment would be to fully Iron X the vehicle. Depending on where you test spotted it I would have looked at areas behind the wheels, rockers and complete rear to fully assess where metals may be hiding. Especially on white paint.

Nice job on the GLA. What do you have coming?

[merlin3008]

Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to do better decontamination after the winter. I ordered a '19 C43 AMG in Selenite Gray with black interior. Pretty psyched. I got the night package just like this car. I'm going to run the same process when it arrives to get ready for the Illinois winter.

I'm very impressed with the Wolfgang Deep Gloss. Super easy to work with both going on and coming off. I was going to put a layer of natural over it, but it's so deep on this car that I probably won't see any difference on a white background. It might be different on a darker car.

[Paul A.]

C43 AMG!!! OMG. You'll absolutely LOVE it. The wait's a b***h though.

[merlin3008]

Thanks! Yah I'm pretty excited. I'm coming out of a BMW M235 which I love. It was time for something a little different. And the HP bump and new facelift on the C43 this year make it even more potent. It's going to be a long two months.

[Sizzle Chest]

Congrats on the new car! It looks great!

[merlin3008]

THanks...we love it so far.