1983 Mercedes E300D single stage paint using Meguiar's #7

[Knozzmoeking]

When I had my '83 240D in for an oil change a month or so ago, I noticed the owner had a 1983 E300D that was in need of some help.
I spent about 3 hours today doing some triage detailing on it, concentrating on the paint.
If I can get my pictures to post, I'll show you how it turned out.

I've got a photo attached of the paint as I found it.
One shot of the wheels as I found them.
One shot of the wheels with Iron-X on them.
One shot of the #7 sitting on the paint.
And one of the final result.
Don't judge me by the wheels, please. They weren't a priority today and after 2 rounds of Iron-X, I told the owner that they would be better handled if he could get them off the car next time.
Forgot to mention. The #7 was followed by BOSS Finishing Sealant and a coat of Collinite 845.

[briarpatch]

looked pretty bad...looking good now...nice work

[Mike Phillips]

Nice save for a classic Mercedes!

[LSNAutoDetailing]

Very nice! Nice choice in product line-up too. #7, followed by BOSS Finishing Sealant and 845!
Did you machine apply the BOSS FS & 845?

[Jomax]

Very nice work!!

[Knozzmoeking]

Very nice! Nice choice in product line-up too. #7, followed by BOSS Finishing Sealant and 845!
Did you machine apply the BOSS FS & 845?

I was a little rushed when I first posted. Some additional details.

When I took this on, it was understood that I would be able to use one of the three bays in his garage to wash, Iron-X, clay and then apply the #7.
As I've learned from you and the other pros on this forum, things don't always go as planned.
The garage was unavailable and I was relegated to outside work for 3 hours - 80 degrees or so and a light breeze.
No problem on the wash. Used Wolfgang Bodywork Shampoo.
Two rounds of Iron-X on the wheels and they still hung on to a fair amount of staining. I'll get those on a later trip.
Used Iron-X on the paint and was really surprised at how it "lit up" purple.
By this time, there was a good patch of shade on one side of the building so I pulled the car over there and started with the #7.
I did a small test spot first and was pleasantly surprised that the paint had very few blemishes under the greyish oxidation.
Here's where some of the compromising began.
When I did the #7 treatment to my own car, it was in my garage with temps in the 70's. I was able to apply and let sit overnight.
By the time I got the hood, roof and trunk treated on this car, the temp and light breeze conspired to start the #7 drying and "crusting" up pretty quickly.
So time for a compromise. I lightly recoated all 3 areas and began the wipe off after only about an hour of sitting time.
The results were still pretty amazing.
Not knowing how much improvement I could still achieve, I put a dot of BOSS Finishing Sealant on a terry cloth and hand rubbed a small circle on the trunk.
From the result, I knew I couldn't leave without at least doing the whole car with my G15.
The results were really impressive to me as an amateur. As noted by others, the working time was great and wipeoff was a breeze.
At this point, I had to reposition the car again to access some electricity for the G15. This was the first time the owner saw the car.
He and his 2 employees were pretty amazed. "You took 20 years off that car." "I bet that thing gets 5 MPG improvement." "Doesn't even look like the same car."
Not having enough experience to know how much protection the Finishing Sealant would give and spurred on by the compliments, I machine applied the Collinite 845 for some protection using a BOSS finishing pad.
The owner gave me a card good for a lube, oil and filter on my 240D in exchange for the work which I know from experience runs about $105.
So I guess I "made" about $35/hr. for the effort.
I appreciate the feedback and especially Mike Phillip's tutorial.

Added bonus - as I was packing up, the owner was taking a car cover off of a 1962 Thunderbird that they were getting ready to do an engine replacement on.
It has been sitting there for a while and it looked like single stage paint in need of some help. He promised me I could work on it after they were done before he delivers it back to the owner.
Pretty jazzed up at how the day went for this newbie.