2011 Mercedes C300 one step detail

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

I got a Mercedes C300 in the shop today for a basic interior and exterior detail. It lives in a garage when it's at home, but it does live at the end of an unpaved road as you might be able to tell in the before photos. This car was built in South Africa so I don't believe it has Ceramiclear paint. Process:

Wash wheels / tires / wheel wells.
Wash with CG Citrus Wash and Gloss.
Dry and inspect. Door jambs wiped down with GG Spray Wax.
Clay horizontal surfaces and bumpers.
CG Blacklight / V7.
Trim dressed with PB Trim Restorer.
Tires dressed with PB Bold N' Bright.
Interior vacuumed and glass cleaned. Mats cleaned with APC
Dash / doors / seats wiped down with PB Natural Look dressing.

Total time spent: 5 hours

The paint was in really good shape, no swirls to be found anywhere and scratching was minimal. This was my first time using the Blacklight and V7, it seemed like it would work well since the paint was in good shape.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0920.jpg

You can see the grime all over the front and mud splattered up on the doors.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0921.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0922.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0923.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0924.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0925.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0926.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0929.jpg

Wheel before...

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0930.jpg

Wheel during...

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0931.jpg

Wheel after...

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0932.jpg

This is how the roof looked after just claying. No evidence of swirling.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0933.jpg

Clay bad after doing the hood, not too much came off but I feel better for having done the top surfaces anyway.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0934.jpg

Hood after just claying. Again, no swirls or scratches.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0935.jpg

Close up of the crease on the hood immediately after claying.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0936.jpg

The only thing I "spot polished" was the scuffing and light scratching on the rear bumper. I used a GG 3" polisher with a tangerine HT pad and XMT#1 polish.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0938.jpg

Begin the glamour shots!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0939.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0941.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0942.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0944.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0943.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0945.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0947.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0952.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0953.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0954.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0955.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0956.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0957.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/Twingy/2011%20Mercedes%20C300%20detail%20July%202013/DSC_0958.jpg

Scuffs didn't come out completely but they blend in nicely now.

[Kevin Cullen]

Very, very nice! :)

[Chris@AutoCleanse]

Looks great. Very impressive. Very glossy.

[Marc Hufnagel]

Looks great. My '13 C300 was built in Germany. I turned down 2 different ones a dealer had on a lot as they were built in SA. Call me silly but if I'm going to have a MB, it's going to be built in the mother land!

[Shtexas]

Car looks great. Nice job.

Apparently Mercedes no longer uses their Ceramiclear on most vehicles. They use something called Glasurit made by BASF

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Very nice work on a basic detail package. Car looks fantastic now.

BTW, which Nikon did you shoot with?


Looks great. My '13 C300 was built in Germany. I turned down 2 different ones a dealer had on a lot as they were built in SA. Call me silly but if I'm going to have a MB, it's going to be built in the mother land!

I agree with you. If it wasn't built in Germany I don't want it.

[rmagnus]

Car and photographs look great. I like the camera angles nice work.

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Looks great. My '13 C300 was built in Germany. I turned down 2 different ones a dealer had on a lot as they were built in SA. Call me silly but if I'm going to have a MB, it's going to be built in the mother land!

I didn't even know MB built cars in South Africa. I was looking for the paint code to see if it had the "c" in front of it designating Ceramiclear. Thanks for the feedback!

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Very nice work on a basic detail package. Car looks fantastic now.

BTW, which Nikon did you shoot with?


It's a D40X, one of the older DSLRs. I use the kit 18-55 lens and I have a 55-200 VR lens which I used on a lot of these shots to emphasize the shallow depth of field. I like that effect when photographing cars. Thanks for the kind words!

[Marc Hufnagel]

Car looks great. Nice job.

Apparently Mercedes no longer uses their Ceramiclear on most vehicles. They use something called Glasurit made by BASF

How can one tell?

[Marc Hufnagel]

I didn't even know MB built cars in South Africa. I was looking for the paint code to see if it had the "c" in front of it designating Ceramiclear. Thanks for the feedback!

Mine is polar white but has no c. I think the c just designates clearcoat. That being said mine quite obviously has a clearcoat on it

[Shtexas]

I'm not sure how you tell what the clearcoat is now. According to an email from Mercedes they acknowledge Ceramiclear as an outdated technology. They say that the clear coat systems used now depend on the factory where they are built and complying with local enviromental regulations where the factories are located.
The new Clear coat is made of acrylate-type resins and isocyanate-type cross-linkers. This is supposed to offer superior UV resistance with the same hardness.