2013 Mercedes SL550 - Big Red

[Centexhokie]

What I learned from detailing my car this weekend.



Good detailers are underpaid. It took me about 15 hours to do the car.
Using a Fenix HP11 Light shows a lot of defects. Ignorance before I started was bliss.
The Porter Cable can really not spin 6.5" pads. I had to go down to a 4" for corrections.
The SL550 is hard to mask off.

What I did..


Washed the car with CG Honeydew and a Foam Gun
Clay Bar the car with Pinnacle clay
Examined the car surface to determine what correction needed to be done. The paint was worse than I thought with a lot of "spider webbing".
Used Menzerna FF 3000 to clean up the paint. Tried 6.5" pad, went to 5.5" pads and finally 4" pad to do the clean up. Had to do several areas three times to get a clean surface. The car had sat in the Texas sun on the dealer's lot.
Wanted to use Menzerna SF 4500 for a final finish, but was too worn out to add this step this time. Instead I cleaned the surface with KAIO and the PC.
Waxed the car with Collinite 845.
Used Gummi Pflege on all of the seals. There are a lot of seals on the convertible.
Put PW Wheel Sealant on the wheels. The dust from the MB brakes is unbearable.
Cleaned the interior
Cleaned the windows and sunroof with Stoner's.

Here are a few pictures of the car.


http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv266/VATECH82/image_zps4ef531a7.jpg


http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv266/VATECH82/image_zps19eaf157.jpg

http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv266/VATECH82/SL550Inside_zps15db179c.jpg

[HateSwirls]

Look into the Griot's Polisher, it has twice the power and will work well even with the larger pads.

I did a Benz last year with my PC, it took all weekend.
Great job though, love the car.

[Centexhokie]

Look into the Griot's Polisher, it has twice the power and will work well even with the larger pads.

I did a Benz last year with my PC, it took all weekend.
Great job though, love the car.

Thanks. I was thinking about going to a Flex. Is the Griot's better than the Flex?

[HateSwirls]

No it's not but I used one doing a detail and was impressed with the tool but just as impressed with the GG6
It's very powerful amd works well for half the price of the Flex.
I have no plans in upgrading anytime soon.
Yeah,I'm happy with my GG6




Thanks. I was thinking about going to a Flex. Is the Griot's better than the Flex?

[Jpatchley]

That's a great looking car! Good job and way to hang in there through the trial and error process :)

[custmsprty]

Beautiful car, congrats.

Go with the Rupes 15.

[Centexhokie]

That's a great looking car! Good job and way to hang in there through the trial and error process :)

Thanks. I actually thought about throwing away the Fenix because it did too good of a job of showing the defects. Car would look good until further examination. ;)

[Jpatchley]

Thanks. I actually thought about throwing away the Fenix because it did too good of a job of showing the defects. Car would look good until further examination. ;)

Don't worry I've gone/am going through the same with the brinkman! I too have a gg6 and have obtained great results with the wlfg uber compound and 5.5" hydro tech pads.

[Sicoupe]

Great job! Sweet ride:)

[Shortspark]

It is always great to see another Texan here (I live in the Piney Woods area of East Texas). My Benz is much easier to care for because it is Diamond White and does not show all the defects you found. I am sure there are a few but the color masks them making my job a bit easier than yours. BTW, great job and a sweet, sweet ride!

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Nice work on a sweet ride.

Pick up a 3401.

[Pureshine]

Great job car looks great :buffing:

[FD2R SG]

Now that's wicked! I'm so jealous! Great job buddy!

[Love's Auto]

Mercedes is using ceramic paint on their later models, a porter cable will take forever. Use a pro tool.

[Centexhokie]

Thanks for all of the kind messages. I have never regretted money spent on good tools so I will either buy the Rupes or the Flex. I do this as a hobby because I like my cars to look good and I enjoy the satisfaction of the results. A good tool always makes that type of work more enjoyable for me.