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Old 02-14-06, 08:20   #1 (permalink)
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ML 430, ML500, 740iL, Titan

The two Mercedes and the BMW I did this past weekend in upper 30s to around 50 degree temperatures and 20-35 mph winds. The way the owner's driveway is situated, the wind just kept swirling, sort of like working in a dust devil for about 15 hours over two days. Fun. Not.

I detailed all 3 interiors on Saturday along with the exterior of the ML430, and the exteriors of the ML500 and 740 on Sunday, finishing about 20-30 minutes before sundown both days. It was a loooooooooong weekend.

2000 Mercedes ML430. I've been taking care of this car (and the 740) for about 4 years now, once or twice a year. The owner is pretty meticulous about his cars, regularly QDs with either Meguiars Quick Detailer and Griot's Speed Spray. Anyway, other than some major polishing on the 7 when it went through the body shop at Moritz and was covered in rotary swirls a few years ago, neither has needed any major polishing.

I used Clearkote's Vanilla Moose v2 with a Lake Country polishing pad and applied Poorboy's Natty's Blue by hand. Simple combo, very wet finish.



This shot isn't out of focus, just the orange peel so common in the 1st gen MLs and the lack of a macro lens for close shots make the reflections less crisp.







===========

1996 BMW 740iL. Yes, a 10-year-old 740 which he intends to keep as long as Bangle does the 7 series designs.

A couple small scuffs, etc but nothing major. I went with Optimum Polish and a Meguiars polishing pad. I removed the excess with Optimum Car Wax and then sealed the car with Jeff's Werkstatt Carnauba Jett. CJ works very well over OCW, seems to glide on pretty easily. BTW, CJ is a touch tricky at first but the best method I have found to apply and remove it follows:

1. Use a Meguiars Supreme Shine Microfiber. Too deep a nap and the towel drags and tries to unfold.

2. Spray onto one section at a time. Using teh Supreme Shine MF, work CJ into the paint until is pretty much is residue free, then flip the towel for a final wipe.

Carnauba Jett seems to hold up well too. I've had it on a couple of black Chevy Silverados, one for 5 weeks, the other for 7 weeks now. Both are conventionally washed (hose washed) and both bead very well and the slickness is still very noticable. Seems on par with Meguiars #16 or Collinite 845 at the same point. No special prep on either, one had been waxed about 8 weeks earlier with Optimum Car Wax, the other hadn't been waxed in 6 months. The beading characteristics of the truck that had OCW on it are still really tight, typical of CJ, not the somewhat larger beads you get with OCW.

But I digress....





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Old 02-14-06, 08:30   #2 (permalink)
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2006 Mercedes ML500. First new ML I have done and what an incredible improvement Mercedes has made. First rate interior, noticably less orange peel and according to the owner, a much smoother ride. The back area is really nice, other than the leading edge of the rear door, no vinyl at all to dress!

The interior was pretty decent as expected from a vehicle only 6 months old. I used Woolite and water to clean the interior, Meguiars Interior Quick Detailer on the vinyl (believe me, the vinyl in the new MLs does not lend itself to anything shiny) and the leather got Leather Master's Leather Vital. Great product, got it from my Optimum distributor-but nearly $60 a quart! Really does a great job softening old leather and new. Here is a link to Detailer's Paradise for the 250 ml size in case anyone is interested in finding out more about it:

http://www.detailersparadise.com/Vie...2D691513519624





Save for a scuff on the right side of the rear bumper than got Optimum's Hyper Compound with a Lake Country cutting pad and Optimum Polish with a Meguiars polishing pad, the ceramiclear paint was in excellent condition. The pics don't show it due to the lack of sun where I was working (and being close to sunset anyway) but the paint is a metallic blue, not a solid blue. For that reason, I used the Werkstatt twins. Prime with a blue Propel finishing pad and Acrylic Jett by hand.







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Old 02-14-06, 08:35   #3 (permalink)
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2004 Nissan Titan. I have this one on a maintenance plan like all his previous vehicles...going back almost 11 years now! I figured since I see it every two weeks and it sits outside near a freeway during the day, it would be a good test vehicle for ValuGard's Finishing Wax (autoint.com product). Really nice wax, easy on, easy off, nice wet shine. Durability to be determined...







Thought I finished the roll with those pics, but I actually got a 25th picture, so I took this one of my car-washed and applied Carnauba Jett the day before.

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Old 02-14-06, 10:04   #4 (permalink)
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Scott, The 740 looks great!!!! Your results w/ CJ inspired me to go out into the garage at 1:30am and try some on the hood of the wifes 740. I used a green cobra MF that has average (IMO) nap to it. It seems that if I applied too much of the CJ the MF would want to fold like you said. So I used a little less and was good to go. The CJ worked on and off pretty easy IMO.

Appearance-Well this makes the 4th product that I have on the hood: Z2pro, NB, soverign and now the CJ. (Soverign was applied 2 weeks ago.) I finished it off with PB SW. No major noticable difference under the fluorescent lights in the garage. It still looks great.
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Old 02-15-06, 12:57   #5 (permalink)
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You mean Souverän...
 
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Old 02-15-06, 03:39   #6 (permalink)
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Your results on darker colours are excellent!

I like the flake on the Nissan not seen a grey like flake before.
 
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Old 02-15-06, 04:31   #7 (permalink)
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Just a quick question - do you tell your customers exactly what products you will be using on their cars? Reason why I'm asking is because if I was a customer, I'd want only the best products rather than being a test subject for new ones so to speak.
 
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Old 02-15-06, 04:34   #8 (permalink)
numa numa...
 
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In Superman's terms: Great Scott!

Amazing work, dude. Extra props to you for the 740. Damn!
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Old 02-15-06, 05:20   #9 (permalink)
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Very wet cars Scott. We wouldn't expect anything less.
 
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Old 02-15-06, 05:26   #10 (permalink)
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Scott,

Hawt MB ML and that 740 its soakig wet
Btw, its that a DSLR or reg 35mm SLR camera? What brand and model?
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Old 02-15-06, 05:49   #11 (permalink)
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Woolite for interiors

What is your method when you use woolite and water, I would like to try that.
 
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Old 02-15-06, 05:58   #12 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kb798
Just a quick question - do you tell your customers exactly what products you will be using on their cars? Reason why I'm asking is because if I was a customer, I'd want only the best products rather than being a test subject for new ones so to speak.
I only use new stuff on cars I see every week or two, so if the results are less than satisfactory, I can reapply something else. I also make them aware that I am using something new on their car and no one seems to mind. They hear "new" and think "new and improved".

klnyc-I have a Nikon N60 35mm camera and use Kodak's High Definition 400 ASA film. I get it developed at Walgreens and put onto a picture CD. I then use the professional version of the www.xat.com image optimizer to resize and compress the pictures for posting.

Phils Auto-I mix up 1 part Woolite to 6-10 parts water (depending on how dirty the interior is) in a spray bottle. I spray down the area I am cleaning, scrub (if needed) with a small nylon bristle nail brush, wipe up the excess with a clean towel. If I am cleaning fabric, I then spray down again with clean water, wipe, then wet vac the area.
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