Black Label Diamond Paint Coating on a 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350

[Mike Phillips]

Black Label Diamond Paint Coating on a 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350

2012 Mercedes-Benz E350

Over the weekend I detailed my friend Jim's 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350. This is his personal car and his reward to himself for lifetime of hard work. I detailed his Mercedes-Benz last July before he went north for the summer. While he was away the car was parked outside all the time and while he washed it once a week, some type of air-born contaminants landed on and bonded to the paint.

The last time I detailed his Mercedes-Benz we used Wolfgang Fuzion for the LSP and the paint came out looking just like you want a Ceramiclear finish to look and that's clear and glossy. This is a beautiful color, it's called Indium Grey Metallic and like any metallic finish, in order to see the beauty of both the color and the metallic flake, the top, clearcoat layer of paint must be as clear as possible and that means as defect free as possible.


Here are the products and processes used in order of listing...




Detailer's Waterless Autowash - Clean car body panels, glass and wheels.

Detailer's Universal Clay Lube with Nanoskin Autoscrub Medium Grade Pad on Porter Cable - Decontaminate paint to remove above surface bonded contaminants.

Rupes Duetto 12 and Mini 12 with Rupes Keramik Gloss Fine Cut Polish and Rupes Yellow Foam Polishing Pads to remove any swirls, scratches, marring or other paint blemishes and create a perfectly smooth and clear surface to the Ceramiclear finish.

Pinnacle Black Label Surface Cleansing Polish - To gently remove any polishing oils or other substances that could potentially interfere with the bonding of the Black Label Diamond Paint Coating.

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating - To seal and protect the paint and create a slick, glassy crystal clear finish.

Pinnacle Black Label Glass Coating - Seal the glass and create a hydrophobic surface.


These pictures were taken after machine polishing with the Rupes Keramik Gloss Fine Cut Polish









Next all exterior paint was massaged with Pinnacle Black Label Surface Cleansing Polish to prep the paint for application of the coating. This has to be done carefully, thoroughly and with a focus on the task at hand...

















Next Black Label Diamond Paint Coating will be carefully applied to all exterior paint...















And here are the results...










Thanks Jim for trusting me with your Mercedes-Benz...




On Autogeek.net

Detailer's Waterless Autowash

Detailer's Universal Clay Lube

Nanoskin Autoscrub Medium Grade Pad

Porter Cable 7424XP

Rupes Duetto 12 - Coming soon...

Rupes Mini 12 - Coming soon...

Rupes Keramik Gloss Fine Cut Polish

Rupes 6" Yellow Foam Polishing Pads

Rupes 4" Yellow Foam Polishing Pads

Pinnacle Black Label Surface Cleansing Polish

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating

Pinnacle Black Label Glass Coating


Comments, questions and feedback welcomed and even encouraged...

[Evan.J]

Looks Amazing as always Mike!

Now for a question, Can the cleaning polished be applied by machine?

If not, any specific technique that should be used when applying by hand?

When you applied the cleaning polish did you do the entire vehicle before removing the polish?

[2shiny]

what a great colour! very nice work again

[281]

That is a nice color, nice work Mike!

[Mike Phillips]

For anyone reading this into the future, if you own a Mercedes-Benz or any other car that has a Ceramiclear Paint System,


1. Read this article before you detail your own car - Ceramiclear Paints - Be Careful


Specifically this portion of the article...


I called Dr. David Ghodoussi, who has either worked for or consulted for the majority of automotive paint manufactures for more information on this subject. Dr. Ghodoussi is more than qualified to talk about paint chemistry.

From Dr. Ghodoussi...

After the "cerami"clear top coat is sprayed, the nano particles of Fumed Silica (SiO2), which are synthetically engineered, migrate to the top 0.2 mils of the clear coat as it is curing.

If you remove this potion of the clear layer of paint, the paint under it will be much softer and will not polish out or react the same way the nano particle portion did or would.
You will at some level have compromised the the finish on the car.

2. Read the above article before you HIRE ANYONE TO DETAIL YOUR CAR.



3. Read this article before you take your car to a dealership, bodyshop, detailshop or even Paintless Dent Repair technician.

Holograms & scratches put into your car by someone else should be a crime


Factory Clearcoat Paints are THIN !!!






4. Read this article before you take your car to a dealership for servicing or to any place where with good intension, someone at the business would possibly wash your car.

DON'T WASH CAR !!!!!!!!!!!







5. You'll thank me after reading this article, lets hope you haven't made this mistake already. (See the part about

DISO = The Dealership Installed Swirl Option






6. And one more... when you see fund raiser car washes, pull in, give them $5.00 and then leave. Don't let them wash your car.


Scratch your car for $5.00






My comments...
Ceramiclear paint systems are wonderful paint systems but should anyone buff through the top .02 mils which contain the particles of Fumed Silica, (the part of the paint that resists swirls and scratches), the paint system will be compromised and harder to work on the rest of the service life of the car.


If you want to hire a qualified, professional detailer then start a thread on our forum with a title like this,


Pro Detailer Wanted in Stuart, Florida


We have lots of knowledgeable and qualified detailers that read this forum daily and are up to speed with all the latest in pads, products, tools and techniques to do the job right the first time and in some cases, undo the damage caused by someone else and thus do the job right the second time.


You must join our forum before you can start a thread but it's relatively easy and it's also free.



Become a member of AutogeekOnline.net the friendlies Detailing Discussion Forum on the Internet



Factory clearcoat paint is thin. Thinner than a 3M Post-it Note. Next time you have a post-it note nearby, feel it between your fingers as this should drive home the point I'm trying to make with all the links to information above.



The first chapters of my how-to book share and explain automotive paint history and after making the point that factory clearcoats are thin it walks you through how to safely and correctly work on your car's paint yourself.

So if you want to be your own detailer, start by getting head knowledge first, learn something about the paint on your car before you start buffing.

Detailing How-To Books by Mike Phillips


Hope the above helps save someone from a bad experience down the road...

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Good lord Mike! That Merc looks stunning!

Keep improving all areas of your self and never let up Mike. You are an inspiration to us all to further ourselves in all aspects of detailing.

[Mike Phillips]

Now for a question, Can the cleaning polished be applied by machine?

Yes. Normally I do apply by machine but after machine polishing with the Rupes paint polishing system I wanted to be uber careful plus there are some areas of the car that are best dealt with by hand.

The most important thing about prepping the paint for a coating is to understand,

Once the paint is polished the last thing you want to do is work backwards by re-instilling any marring, swirls or scratches. So focus on the task at hand. You cannot get quality work, that is a person that is focusing on the task at hand from an entry level car washer/detailer. Since the paint on your car is thin... don't skimp on hiring a detailer and if you do it yourself, then be sure to focus on the task at hand when doing any work by hand or machine. It's all important.

any specific technique that should be used when applying by hand?

Yes and great question.

Coatings are new. Most people understand what a car wax is and what a synthetic paint sealant is but paint coatings like the one I used on this Mercedes-Benz are new to our industry and specifically new to the masses. Sure we on detailing discussion forums know what they are but were a niche demographic group of people, we are the exception to the rule.

So with the above in mind because I know people from outside the detailing world will be reading this write-up, here's the answer to your question...

The technique to clean the surface of the paint to remove any polishing oils and to prep the paint for the coating is to carefully apply, work-over and massage the cleansing polish is a gentle approach.

All you're trying to do is work the product enough to loosen and remove any residual oils or other substances embodied in any compounds, polishes or paint cleaners you use to first correct and polish the paint.

Clearcoat paints are very hard and dense, that is they are NOT porous or permeable, in fact they tend to be very impermeable or non-porous especially when they are still new and have not been cut by an aggressive compounding process or run through brush style automatic car washes.

(For those that don't know, traditional single stage paints are porous or permeable, at least more so than modern clearcoats.)

For this reason, you don't have to get aggressive and you don't want to get aggressive, you apply and rub the cleansing polish like you would apply skin lotion to dry skin and then after treating a panel carefully wipe it off. Your wipe off technique also must be gentle as clear coats tend to be scratch-sensitive. This means no rough-housing with the paint.

For the above reasons, this is why any professional detailer must charge more to apply a coating. It' not just as simple as applying a car wax. The pre-application work or prep-work must be done carefully. It cannot be rushed. The coating application must be done carefully, it cannot be rushed. You can't rush quality.

When you applied the cleaning polish did you do the entire vehicle before removing the polish?

Great question!

Yes. I applied the cleansing polish to the entire car and then I wiped the car down three times to remove it.

First time - Removed the majority of it using plenty of clean, dry soft microfiber towels. I fold the towels 4-ways to give me 8 sides to wipe with and also because the cushion created by folding the towel 4 ways spreads out the pressure from my hand. I show and explain this in almost all my how-to videos and even on TV shows.

I use small, overlapping circular motions to carefully remove the residue. Small, overlapping swipes overcome the surface tension between the polish residue and the paint making it easy for me and my microfiber towel to remove the polish without harming the paint.

Second time - I make a second pass around the car removing any residues or smudges I missed the second time. I stand for the top surfaces and I sit on the floor for the lower panels as you need to use light reflected off the paint to see when it wipes clear and free of any residues.

Third time - This is for the reason I share in my article called The Final Wipe and that is to use a slow pass with a clean microfiber towel to remove and ensure all traces of the cleansing polish are removed so all that's left is bare naked paint.

[Evan.J]

Thanks Mike thats exactly what I was looking for in terms of answers.

[feslope]

Incredible as always Mike, you set the bar and you set it high. I do have a question, Does the finish develop maximum gloss at the time of application or does it take some to cure and develop? I have noticed with UPGP that it looks great when applied but, over a 12 hour period the appearance improves dramatically. WEather and a health issue are preventing me from trying it on my own. I hope to be able to see all of AG the crew at Mobil-Tech.

[The Guz]

Looks great. No coating on the wheels?