Black Mercedes CL63 AMG by dsms **

[dsms]

2009 CL63 Mercedes booked for a 3 day correction detail.

A car that is only a few weeks old really shouldn't need this kind of detail yet, and the reason being?

In under a month this car was detailed TWICE before it came to me, the first time it was a botched dealer prep job and the second time was a detail (by another detailer who claims to fix swirls and scratches) to polish out the scratches put in by the dealer prior.

Upon arrival the car already appeared clean and the wheels were in great shape, until I saw the inners which were still filthy. I know knew what kind of "deatiler" handled the car before me so I figured I had a good amount of work ahead of me.

Enough babbling and on with the detail ;

my little setup for wheel cleaning, the rubbermaid cart is really useful during the wash process

Gloss It wheel gel
Megs APC 3:1 (tires)
Stoners tarminator (tires)
Autosmart Tardis



brushes of choice



Using the new daytona wheel brush I must say I wasnt overly impressed. Yes the design is much more sturdy but the bristles seem too soft to heavier scrubbing and the "sling" problem is still very annoying, yet not many other brushes get behind the spokes and calipers as well





After a quick pre-foam I washed the car using CG CWG and the clayed with Sonus fine green clay, after the clay I did another quick wash with the CWG to strip off some of the protection layed down by Megs last touch QD which was used as clay lube



Sheeting off w/ some DI water



Recently began using an electric blow to aid in the drying process, works well for the mirrors and crevices but still a light wipedown with a WW is necessary to get the paint completely dry



Pulled the car inside for to take some readings and see what we need for correction. Readings were very inconsistent, not suprising because I know the car was just "compounded" by another detailer... he seemed to do a fantastic job, thats why the owner needs to get it re-corrected just days later :

The car didnt have a lot of fine defects, mostly just rids and scratches







After doing a test panel with a few different combos I landed on the following for correction:

Menzerna P203s w/ a Mirco Surface tuf buf black wool pad in various sizes
Gloss-It evolution Cut or P203s again w/Gloss It green polishing pad
Menzerna PO85rd w/ Gloss It blue finishing pad

The wool actually finished down pretty good ( I must thank Rick "RickRack: for pointing me to the tuf buf pads and powerfinish combo)

I wanted to get the paint to 98-100% BEFORE the jeweling stage, so later on I could work at lower speeds and really refine the finish without concentrating on further correction.

Working the power finish w/ wool



Refining the wool holos and finer swirls (Evolution Cut and GI green polishing pad)



After



Before



After



50/50



The rear decklid had some deeper RIDS which required 2 separate passes with the tuf buf wool to fully remove at 2100rpm using moderate pressure



Other side corrected, this is after the wool and polishing stages, notice there are still holograms in the paint (after 85rd the holos were refined out, wait for the later sun pics as the garage was too dark to capture a clear shot)





After 85rd



Inisde the license plate area recieved the same 3 step process as the rest of the car, the little 3" gloss-it BP and tuf buf wool pad worked great for the RIDS in tight corners



After jeweling with 85rd



Opened up the garage in hopes to get some sun shots

[dsms]

Head and tailights were corrected w/ Gloss It one step machine gloss and a 3" polishing pad

under the LED



The lower panels were a bit more hacked up, tired my best to capture the defects



After
under the LED



The CL had 4-5 scratches which needed wetsanding, this one was treated with 2000grit followed by 3000grit

Before






After under the infratech



Little 3" wool helps on areas such as side mirrors and around door handles







Finishing up stage 2 of polishing



Last sun shot after correction before applying the LSP



Since the car was new the interior already was in great shape, a through once over wall all it needed.

No leather cleaner was needed
Gloss-it satin leather polish (conditioner) applied
P&S express interior cleaner on plastics and wool trim

Afters





The wheels were treated inside and out with Rejex sealant (x2) for durability, the tires were treated with 2 coats of Gloss It Signature tire gloss



Dressing the engine bay w/ Gloss It TRV



After



50/50 of the tailpipes, treated with Noxon metal polish and #0000 steel wool



All finished



LSP of choice:

Gloss It signature gloss sealant x2
Gloss It Concourso gloss
Gloss Enhancer QD wipedown

[dsms]

Some final shots, I tried to get as many sun shots as possible









The trunk (no more holograms:thumb

































My favorite (if only the owner was not standing in the shot, I blurred his face)



Thanks for looking

[stiffdogg06]

Awesome job dsm. I love your click N' brags man. Finally a real detailer gets his hands on the car.



- Andy

[bufferbarry]

dude got sun shots? wowzers great correction! very nice david! flawless!

[mburns813]

Great correction. So you liked the Daytona Brush?
Could you PM me your techniques on wetsanding or where you learned how to? I'm trying to figure out how to do it and you had great results.
Thanks

[tdekany]

I love your details but this car is just awesome!!!!! I love it.

How long did it take you?

[craigdt]

Very nice! Great writeup.

Is that the Flex lightweight rotary? I havent seen many of those around

[snowskate]

Great write up! Super correction, looks like you hit the color Black out of the park!!!

Have you shared info on that small kneeling stool you have at the beginning of the write up?

[JeST]

For being only a few weeks old that paint really took a beating. Great job on the car.

[Auto Concierge]

Sigh, ANOTHER FREAKING CORRECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!! "SUPER CLEAN". This is how it's done gents, the obvious stuff taken care of but more importantly the little things that add up to three days of hard work.

Dave and I talked during the correction and this was by no means a "day at the beach". True correction and attention to detail.

[Got_Leather]

Great detail man. That car was trashed. Ever hear back about the NSX??