2010 S450...a black tie event!

[richy]

Boy was I ever looking forward to doing this car. There is nothing as elegant as a big, black S class! The other things that had me excited was that I had ordered in CarPro Reflect specifically for this car to try. The last great thing is that this car was going to be the first thing I shot with my new Nikon D7100. Unfortunately the job got delayed a few times, but the timing ended up working out well so I got to do all the things I just mentioned. Fate is funny that way, eh?!?

This job was going to be the best of what I offer for exterior. Wheels off, coated along with the calipers. I really wanted this finish to be perfect. It's a 2010 that he bought 2nd hand in Toronto, so some of the chips, etc came before his ownership. Let's see what was waiting:



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First up was the wheels. German brake dust plus barrels that hadn't been cleaned since brand new. Hmmm...time to get aggressive!

The barrels & faces were first done with Tarminator.
That was followed by Megs WB.
That was neutralized and further cleaned with Zep Citrus.
They were then cleaned one final time with a demoted wash mitt and DG 901.

The tires were cleaned twice for good measure with Zep 505.

The wells were cleaned with LATA.


Next up was the foaming stage to loosen the dirt and agitate crevices and emblems using a strong mix of DG 901.


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1471.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1471.jpg.html)


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Next came hand washing using DG 901. That was rinsed and then it got a final wash with IronX paste and a grout sponge. I got the car a day early so after all this it was brought inside and blown completely dry with the Master Blaster, including the wheels, wells and tires.

The following night I used the CarPro foam block to decontaminate the paint. Now it was time to inspect the paint closely to see what challenges lay ahead:


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Obviously I was going to be spending a decent amount of time filling chips. (It equated to 1/2 a cigar I think). I was also trying some different settings on the D7100 during those shots too.


Now it was time to pull the wheels.



Each wheel was removed and I further perfected the barrels. Each barrel and face was cleaned with DG Squeaky Clean prior to coating. The barrels and faces got coated with Opti Guard. I even took a minute and cleaned the nuts with Colli Metal wax before re-installing them.

The front calipers got coated. The rears were in too rough shape to do so. The front wells, which are plastic, got coated with the DG beta trim coating. I have a new version to try and this version dries a little too quickly and looks a bit smeary. But, for this purpose, it is perfect as it will keep them cleaner longer and will make cleaning up easier too. Here is the work in progress:


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1491-1.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1491-1.jpg.html)


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[richy]

Now it was time to polish some paint! I was really stoked to try the Reflect polish. Prior to getting to that stage however, there were some swirls and light scratches to remove. The hood needed the most work and got M100 + TB black wool + Flex. Again, this combo, if worked properly, can finish down very well indeed. The side panels did not need to be done as aggressively and were done with a yellow B/S + M105 + Flex 3401. Now it was time to compare Reflect to my reigning go-to champ, M205. I used a white B/S pad due to the hard MB clear. Initially I tried working it as long as I do M205. It does not like a long working time. It was dusting on me doing so. They advertise zero dust, so I knew I was working it beyond its means. I shortened the working time on it and got results that were just as good, but faster with easy clean up. So, the product, when worked for a short period of time (or not over worked) produces great results and cleans up easily. But, the $1,000,000 question: How does it compare to M205. I split the hood in half and did half with another white B/S pad + M205 + Flex 3401. Looks are subjective, but I found the m205 side to have a wetter looking shine. Maybe it's because I'm used to the look, but I preferred it. I wasn't willing to stop there though, and then tried mixing a 50/50 amount of both to the pad and found I could get the best of both worlds: a wet, glorious shine with a shorter working time than 205 alone. I did that for the rest of the car. Head and tail lights were also polished as was the grille. Here's a few shots of when it was getting polished, prior to being coated:


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1497.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1497.jpg.html)


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1498.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1498.jpg.html)


The recommended product for this glorious ride? See for yourself:




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1564.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1564.jpg.html)


The windshield got coated with 2 coats of Fly-By-30 and the glass, lights, chrome and paint all got coated with CQuartz Finest. Each panel was cured via IR light:


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1542.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1542.jpg.html)



I was very pleased at how well the touch ups blended in and how the car came out. Coating the wheels, although it adds approx 4 hours, makes such a difference to how the car sets up. Here she is all done!!




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1548.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1548.jpg.html)



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I thought this shot was cool!!


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1559.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1559.jpg.html)



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This colour has a very subtle amount of flake. It started to jump when I hit it with M100.


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1561.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1561.jpg.html)



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Some thoughts on the D7100. I know it's been 5 years since I got my D3000, but boy has this camera ever improved! It is so much more sophisicated. I've spent a few hours watching YT tutorials on all the settings, etc to try to understand everything it's capable of. It's capable of a lot!! Some of the shots turned out better than the others, but the more I play with this camera, the more I love it. A big thank you to Zach and his camera wisdom in helping me make my decision!


Comments, as always, are appreciated.

http://www.live2detail.com/images/smilies/pinkhappy.gif

[wompasaurus]

looks awesome keep up the good work. That flake really came out and looks awesome.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Fantastic work Richy! That big black sedan looks proper now.

Congrats on the camera upgrade. I know there is a lot to learn as im learning myself on an entry level Nikon D3200.

[VISITOR]

you always go above and beyond richy, nice job...

p.s. no rupes on this job?

[dad07]

Top Notch as always Richy!

Car looks Great! Pics look very good,look forward to your future pictures when you really figure out your new camera.

[Christopher.Brown]

Richy .. what can I say... you always know how to treat a lady right!

[vet]

Fantastic job, as usual, Richy!

[richy]

looks awesome keep up the good work. That flake really came out and looks awesome.
Thank you very much! I didn't even realize it was metallic paint until I started to polish it. It was quite muted.


Fantastic work Richy! That big black sedan looks proper now.

Congrats on the camera upgrade. I know there is a lot to learn as im learning myself on an entry level Nikon D3200.
Thanks. I will suggest the same for you that I've been doing...check out the tutorials on YT for your camera, and photography in general. I find them to be very helpful, especially on honing in on your specific camera's strengths.


you always go above and beyond richy, nice job...

p.s. no rupes on this job?
Thanks very much. Yes, I offended the Rupes Gods I'm sure!! LOL. The Flex was just doing such a good job on both stages, I decided to run with it.


Top Notch as always Richy!

Car looks Great! Pics look very good,look forward to your future pictures when you really figure out your new camera.
Thanks. There is a learning curve with it and I did botch a few shots up, but already since then I've learned quite a bit on it.


Richy .. what can I say... you always know how to treat a lady right!
Thanks! They always reward you when they feel that way...


Fantastic job, as usual, Richy!
Thank you very much!

[KillaCam]

Very nice job, and nice Mercedes.
Did you apply squeaky clean by hand on the barrels? I'm still trying to figure out why this product isn't on the duragloss website.

[richy]

Very nice job, and nice Mercedes.
Did you apply squeaky clean by hand on the barrels? I'm still trying to figure out why this product isn't on the duragloss website.

Thank you. Yes, by hand with a foam applicator pad. I know they were having issues getting their label done. You can order it directly from them by phone. AG does have a similar product as well.

[Klasse Act]

Wow!....now there's black and then there's BLACK!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online

[KillaCam]

Thank you. Yes, by hand with a foam applicator pad. I know they were having issues getting their label done. You can order it directly from them by phone. AG does have a similar product as well.

Hmm wonder how similar they are? Don't wanna spend $5 just to ship one small bottle of SC. And the DP prep polish is on sale!

[LatinFG2]

Looks awesome!

[richy]

Wow!....now there's black and then there's BLACK!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
Thank you very much.


Looks awesome!
Thanks for taking the time to comment, I appreciate it.


Hmm wonder how similar they are? Don't wanna spend $5 just to ship one small bottle of SC. And the DP prep polish is on sale!
PM sent.