Help with Black Mercedes

[VGx]

Hey all, long time lurker and AG customer, but I'm just now getting into more "advanced" babying of my cars. I picked up a Griot's DA during the Memorial Day sale and used it a few weeks ago on my G8GT, the results were awesome. Unfortunately, my wife's car is posing a much more difficult challenge. It's on 08 black ML and it has been outside almost daily for the past year. There is a pretty good number of water spots and spiderwebbing, so I started on it with the DA and some XMT #2 (which is was worked so well on my car before)...

after one pass, it was like I hadn't even done anything. went for a 2nd pass with the speed cranked to 6 and a little more firm grip (but not pressing down) and no dice. 3rd and 4th pass netted the same results... so I started reading up here. Seems like the clear coat on MB's is a little tougher than I anticipated. The light swirls are mostly taken care of but these marks are really kicking my butt at the moment. (see attached photo)

My question is this... Will Megs 105/205 combined with a 5.5 orange pad effectively take care of these marks? Or is this rotary level stuff? Looking through the info on polishes, it seems my 6.5 pads and the XMT polish aren't quite as capable as I had hoped.

Any help you all can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Dubbin1]

5.5" pads and the 105/205 combo should take care of it without any problems.

[flawbolt]

VGx...does your 08 have Ceramiclear on it? You might want to try Menz SIP or Powergloss...if you have 105/205 then that might work with the orange pad like Dubbin1 said...if not you can try Menz.

[VGx]

You know... I'm not really sure. I've read some comments saying it's the standard for black MB vehicles in the past few years, but I don't recall ever talking about it during the purchase process.

Either way. Thanks for the confirmation on the 105/205 combo. Hopefully that will work and I can post a better looking shot next weekend!

[mustang00]

let me know how it goes. i too have similar issue. black gl450.

[VGx]

Quick update. I've gone over the hood 2 times now with 105 and an 5.5 Orange CCS pad. Swirls are going away, but the oxidation is definitely not. I'm attaching two pics... the spots don't come up easily on the camera, but they are very apparent when you're looking at the car in person. I've been reading up a little more... perhaps running a wool pad with the 105 will work better than the orange foam pad?

Incredibly frustrating experience with this car so far. Stupid germans.

I'm probably just going to finish up the car with 105/205 and some Wolfgang paintwork polish enhancer. Hopefully some of these spots will blend in a little better after all of those products are applied.

[grantm]

Try out the Surbuf R pads and follow the "Kevin Brown" method posted here:

http://www.autopia.org/forum/machine-polishing/116878-surbuf-pad-paired-m105-pc-defect-killer.html

[Old Tiger]

Quick update. I've gone over the hood 2 times now with 105 and an 5.5 Orange CCS pad. Swirls are going away, but the oxidation is definitely not. I'm attaching two pics... the spots don't come up easily on the camera, but they are very apparent when you're looking at the car in person. I've been reading up a little more... perhaps running a wool pad with the 105 will work better than the orange foam pad?

Incredibly frustrating experience with this car so far. Stupid germans.

I'm probably just going to finish up the car with 105/205 and some Wolfgang paintwork polish enhancer. Hopefully some of these spots will blend in a little better after all of those products are applied.
Try a5.5 sur Buff instead and stop when the defect is removed.

[Dubbin1]

Quick update. I've gone over the hood 2 times now with 105 and an 5.5 Orange CCS pad. Swirls are going away, but the oxidation is definitely not.

Are you sure its oxidation and not hazing? Try a white pad and some M205 and see what happens.

[VGx]

I'm DEFINITELY not an expert, but the marks look a lot like oxidation to me... Basically just like small water marks that don't go away. They are still present even after the 205 and WG paintwork enhancer.

I'll try the SurBuf pad in a couple of weeks when I have time to work on the car again.

Overall the car looks awesome after ask this work, save for the marks on the hood and roof. *sigh*

Thanks for the advice, guys!! I'll report back when I give your recommendation a go.

[Mike Phillips]

Welcome to the Autogeek Online Forum!



My question is this... Will Megs 105/205 combined with a 5.5 orange pad effectively take care of these marks? Or is this rotary level stuff?


If the above combo with a 5.5 light orange foam cutting pad won't handle it then the Surbuf pad might... it's one of those things that,

"You don't know what you can do until you try"

The Surbuf pads cut fast but leave micro-marring, this is normal, simply re-polish with a less aggressive foam pad and light polish.


Check out the pictures in this thread...

Surbuf MicroFinger Buffing Pads now at Autogeek! (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/new-car-care-products/23927-surbuf-microfinger-buffing-pads-now-autogeek.html)


Removing defects is just about removing enough paint to level the highest points on the surface with the lowest depths of the defects you're trying to remove.

If the car is a daily driver then keep in mind that sometimes it's better to learn to live with the deepest defects instead of removing them because as you remove more and more clear paint you remove more and more UV protection for the basecoat or colorcoat.

A rotary buffer will remove paint faster than a tool with a Free Floating Spindle (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/23995-free-floating-spindle-assembly-story-behind-story.html)Assembly but if you work the DA Polisher correctly and with the right products and pads you should be able to reach a level of results that you'll be happy with.



Looking through the info on polishes, it seems my 6.5 pads and the XMT polish aren't quite as capable as I had hoped.


The XMT Heavy Duty Swirl Remover #4 is a true polishing compound and is completely capable of removing enough paint to remove the defects and like the Surbuf pad you'll have to re-polish using a less aggressive product to remove any haze.





I'm DEFINITELY not an expert, but the marks look a lot like oxidation to me... Basically just like small water marks that don't go away. They are still present even after the 205 and WG paintwork enhancer.


Oxidation is usually an "Uniform chalky or whitish appearance" over an entire panel, not small isolated defects.

Here are two threads I wrote with pictures of different types of defects, see if the Type II Water Spots pictures look like what you have in your car's paint in the first thread.


Tracers Tracers - RIDS - Pigtails - Cobweb Swirls - Rotary Buffer Swirls - Holograms - Water Spots - Bird Drooping Etchings - Micro-Marring (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/22234-tracers-rids-pigtails-cobweb-swirls-rotary-buffer-swirls-holograms-water-spots-bird-droping-etchings-micro-marring.html)

The Clearcoat Failure Photo Gallery Archive (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/rough-draft/19985-clearcoat-failure-photo-gallery-archive.html)

Here's a thread that shows very distinctly what oxidation looks like...

The power in the after shots is created in the before shots (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/21216-power-after-shots-created-before-shots.html)





I'll try the SurBuf pad in a couple of weeks when I have time to work on the car again.

Overall the car looks awesome after ask this work, save for the marks on the hood and roof. *sigh*

Thanks for the advice, guys!! I'll report back when I give your recommendation a go.


Sounds good!