As many of you know (those who read the
Teaser of the Year! thread), I have recently traveled over 1300 miles to work on a few exotic and luxury vehicles. One of them has nearly 80 hrs invested into it. The owner of that vehicle referred the owner of this Mercedes S430 to me.
The Mercedes S-Class has been the Gold standard for the luxury automobile for decades. It is also the world’s best selling luxury flagship sedan. As the pre-eminent model in the range, Mercedes has introduced its’ most advanced technology in its body. This particular model, the 2003 S430 (launched in 1999 as the W220 generation), debuted technology such as the Airmatic air suspension and Active Ventilated Seats. The W220 body also included a system which allowed the engine to turn off cylinders to conserve fuel – far ahead of any other manufacturer (to my knowledge). The 2003 model also introduced an All Wheel Drive technology known as 4Matic.
This particular example was owned by a wonderful woman from New York who took great pride in owning such a wonderful machine. Since she was without a garage, the S430 would wear a car cover each night – recently, she even bought an OEM cover from Mercedes and she showed me the stitching to be safe. Despite this, the finish of the paintwork was rough, almost like sandpaper. In fact, I’ve probably spent more time claying this car than any other – despite the fact it was merely a one-step correction.
The finish may look good from a distance…
but it's needs some tender loving care!
I started with a pre-rinse to reduce the amount of debris, dirt, and contaminants abrading the surface during the washing process.
I started off washing with two pristine, five-gallon buckets, both with grit guards. Both were filled with clean water and the wash bucket received 5 oz of Optimum No Rinse - the recommended amount for optimal cleaning and lubricity.
For wash media, a Grout Sponge was chosen for its ability to release grit and wash solution. Only one picture is shown for the wash process. This is due to wet hands.
To clay, a fresh bar of Riccardo clay was removed from its box.
The plastic which protects it inside the box is removed and ready for use.
Here I am using Optimum No Rinse at clay lubricant dilution with a high quality, chemical-resistant sprayer.
It's difficult to see but the following pictures show the level of contaminants removed from just the hood. In fact, the clay had to be re-molded at least 1/2 dozen times because of severe contaminant removal throughout the detail.
The next few shots show the quality of the finish after claying. It was sub
stantially improved!
The paint was corrected using a Dewalt rotary, Black
LC pads, and
Menzerna PO85RD.
This photo shows a quirk about the house. There were some electrical "issues" and very few of the outlets worked. I had to go inside (passing the laundry room plugs which weren't functional) and draw power basically from the front hall.
It should be fixed soon (at least I hope for their sake).
An upside-down bucket formed a great polishing seat for doing the doors, fenders, bumpers, and sideskirts. You can also see the great new microfibres I purchased from George @ DI.
It was a bit of an issue getting after-shots. There was virtually zero lighting (a wooded area which prevented moonlight) outside and the DSLR would not even attempt a shot. The lighting indoors yellowed the resulting photographs but I did my best to recover the original colours. They're also a little out of focus as you can tell. Perhaps because it was too glossy?
I'm doing a 1 step with M205 on my own little hatchback Focus and it's taking me about 10 hours for the whole deal...I need to work faster! 
Linear Mode
