Ceramiclear Paint Code Location on Mercedes-Benz

[Mike Phillips]

Ceramiclear Paint Code Location on Mercedes-Benz



Examples of identification tags showing the code for a Ceramiclear paint system.
















Non-Ceramiclear as the code starts with a zero.

[Mike Phillips]

If you own a Mercedes-Benz with a Ceramiclear paint system or if you're going to work on a Mercedes-Benz that has a Ceramiclear paint system, read the below information and always use the least aggressive product to get the job done.

If someone is asking you for help detailing a Mercedes-Benz because they are having problems with the paint. This should be a red flag to you and before taking the job interview the owner and inspect the paint for signs of compound splatter in door jambs. It could be the Ceramiclear surface has been compromised and if this is the case consider letting someone else have the blessing.



From my article dated 03-07-2012



Ceramiclear Paints - Be Careful

Had a phone call from Shawn Kelly at Premier Detailing about a problem he was having on a brand new Mercedes-Benz AMG with Ceramiclear finish.

The customer bought the car brand new but brand new from the dealership it came with holograms, buffer marks and compound residue everywhere.

Shawn is an experienced Pro Detailer and when he started having problems working on the paint he called me to discuss possible remedies. In our conversation he told me that he had heard from someone in the auto industry that the chemistry design of Ceramiclear paints is that the nano particles in the resin migrate to the top to form the scratch-resistant surface.

I told him that I've heard of paint technologies like this but had no concrete information that this is the case for the PPG Ceramiclear. So I called the Doctor.

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 and he confirmed that what Shawn was told is correct.

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.

Knowing this, my opinion is that this is bad paint technology because while it might work in the testing labs, in the real world it puts detailers and car owners at risk.

Dr. Ghodoussi said this is an example of over-engineering.

I agree. The paint systems on new cars should not be rocket science for detailers or even car owners to work on. Daily drivers see wear-n-tear and the way wear-n-tear, (swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation), is addressed is to abrade the surface using some type of compounding and/or polishing process.

Paint manufactures and Car manufactures, (the companies using the paint), should know the paint on the finished product is going to become scratched and swirled and then compounded and polished and they should be taking this into consideration and providing a finish on new cars with this mind.

To Paint Manufacturers and Car Manufacturers
Just to note... if there are any representatives from paint manufacturers or car manufacturers reading this, cars are often times polished more than ONCE over their service life. So start putting more paint on your cars and make sure the paint can be compounded and polished by both pro detailers and enthusiast detailers without having to have a degree in chemistry.


Choose wisely
Knowing all of the above I would suggest that any time you are asked to work on a car with a Ceramiclear finish to first find out the history of the paint, that is... has it been cut with a compound by someone else that has worked on the car previously. If you find out others have compounded the Ceramiclear paint then choose wisely whether or not you put yourself at risk doing any type of compounding or polishing work to the paint.

Regardless of whether or not the car has ever been compounded or polished, follow this advice,

"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done"



There's a famous line from a Kenny Rogers song called The Gambler that goes like this,

You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run

It could be that when it comes to cars with Ceramiclear paint jobs... you might want to as I say...

Let some other guy have the blessing...

[Mike Phillips]

For what it's worth...

I read all the time posts by others stating they find Ceramiclear paints to be rock hard.


My experience is different. I find the Mercedes-Benz paints to be exactly where you want them in the paint hardness and paint softness range and that's somewhere in the middle. I find they correct easily and polish to a clear high gloss easily.

I also find that like advertised, the resist marring that would scratch other paints.


FWIW

[Andr3wilson]

Just a note to add Mike!

Canadian Models have different labels and do not denote clear coat composition

[Radarryan]

Am I sensing the wife had you working on her car this week?

Thanks for taking the time to share little tid-bits, such as how to confirm if your MB is painted with the Ceramiclear on top. I know I sound like a broken record (not that I care ) but it is great when you not only share these little things from your own, let's say non-work related cleanings (assuming my first question was correct. My next guess would be you took these pics when you first detailed and Black Labeled the car a number of months ago and ran across them and figured it would be good to share) that show the other parts of car care. Also, probably my favorite thing is when you link to relevant articles or write-ups you have done. You can learn or refresh so much knowledge just by skimming the articles during subsequent readings.

Thanks for everything, Mike!

[Pinpoint_Precision]

Awesome Mike. I too think that ceramic clears are on the middle side of things specially the Mercedes one. Once again Mike, nothing but a great thread and I completely agree, meet the owner face to face, phone talk before hand doesn't count at all. I have learned that a long time ago.

[Mike Phillips]

Just a note to add Mike!

Canadian Models have different labels and do not denote clear coat composition

Thanks for adding this tidbit of information.


Too bad car manufacturers, especially high end manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz can't put some type of uniform protocol in place to make identification of their paint systems "Bubba-Proof".

[Andr3wilson]

I completely agree. Especially due to the fact not all MB cars are ceramiclear today - even though it is a universally thought they are. The new CLA AMG models are extremely soft. Not sure about the non AMG models though.

[Mike Phillips]

Had the pleasure to meet one of our local forum members, Emir aka 11B250.

Emir recently purchased this 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL 550






We inspected the paint code and I took this picture. For this car, the paint code is

183





Because there is no letter "C" in front of the number this is not a Ceramiclear paint finish.


Emir and I talked about the beneifits and drawbacks of the Ceramiclear paints and the only true beneifts are if the owner of the car knows what a Ceramiclear finish is and how to take care of it. Otherwise it might as well be normal paint.

[11B250]

Had the pleasure to meet one of our local forum members, Emir aka 11B250.

Emir recently purchased this 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL 550






We inspected the paint code and I took this picture. For this car, the paint code is

183





Because there is no letter "C" in front of the number this is not a Ceramiclear paint finish.


Emir and I talked about the beneifits and drawbacks of the Ceramiclear paints and the only true beneifts are if the owner of the car knows what a Ceramiclear finish is and how to take care of it. Otherwise it might as well be normal paint.

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to meet me today!

I got all 3 McKee's 37 products (Fast Compound, Fast Polish and Jeweling Wax) per your reccomendation, and also got the McKee's 37 360 to take care of the other daily drivers in our household.

I have some force hybrid pads coming, and I'll be getting to work soon on this car with my Flex 3401. I'll post up the thread when the detail starts with lots of pictures. Since I don't have the ceramiclear, this won't be as hard as I was thinking it would be.

Thanks again and look forward to seeing you at one of the events soon!