I met my match.

06-20-2002, 10:49 PM

Well I detailed a 1998 Mercedes-Benz E320 on wednesday. This car has gone through automatic carwashes ever since it was brand new. This car was swirled to hell, I mean mega swirled. I tried FI2 with a yellow pad, didn`t even touch any of the scratches or swirls. I then slapped on the wool pad and some more FI2, barely even touched the swirls. This is how the car looked before.

This is after AIO, SG and P21S carnuaba wax.

made a huge difference and the owner is really happy with it.

**imported_Intel486** · 06-20-2002, 10:51 PM

Well, you made a serious dent in the amount of swirls.

Great job!!!

Looks like it was a job for a rotary.

06-21-2002, 01:19 PM

here is a pic of the whole car after everything.

**C. Charles Hahn** · 06-21-2002, 01:22 PM

yeah a job for rotary and some harsher-than-FI2 compound...... :scared

Personally I wouldda glazed the h#ll out of it and slapped on some strong carnauba (blitz) to protect it.

That is alot less swirls though I can tell.

**2wheelsx2** · 06-21-2002, 01:23 PM

Wow! That looked like it was a HUGE job? How long did it take just for the swirl reduction, prior to the Klasse and wax? Did it trash your PC pad? I recently detailed a couple of really neglected cars, a camry and a sequoia, and by the time I was finished, chunks were coming out of the foam pad. Mind you the pad is over a year old and had done a dozen or more cars already.

06-21-2002, 02:47 PM

Originally posted by 2wheelsx2

Wow! That looked like it was a HUGE job? How long did it take just for the swirl reduction, prior to the Klasse and wax? Did it trash your PC pad? I recently detailed a couple of really neglected cars, a camry and a sequoia, and by the time I was finished, chunks were coming out of the foam pad. Mind you the pad is over a year old and had done a dozen or more cars already.

It took a long time to do, at least 3 hours on the swirl removing step. Man, black car, black polo shirt, 90 degrees out... wasn`t smart. It was a tough job, but the owner was very pleased, and in my book customer satisfaction is #1.

**2wheelsx2** · 06-21-2002, 03:21 PM

Man, that must have been brutal. But nothing like a job well done to ease the pain! :xyxthumbs

**G Money** · 06-21-2002, 05:23 PM

I went through that very same scenario about 6 weeks ago with a friend`s black car.

I spent all day on it and probably (2) hours with a rotary.

My results mirrored your pictures.

I saw the car again this week and the Blitz is holding up well and the owner is still pleased.

**MikeLS** · 06-21-2002, 07:57 PM

Well, it certainly looks better than when you started! That before shot looks like someone used a beach towel full of sand and pebbles to wash the car! What a shame...

That looks like a job for some 3M Fine Cut Compound, or Meguiar`s Fine Cut, or Medium Cut Cleaner, IMHO. The lesser 3M products are just too mild to tackle that kind of job. But, judging from the after pix, I`m sure the owner was pleased!

**E30 325i** · 06-21-2002, 08:10 PM

Wow those are some bad swirl marks. So you guys are saying to really get all of the swirl marks out you need a rotary buffer? That`s scary. And I don`t even have a PC! Oh well, I guess I`ll have to spend a lot of time trying to get the swirl marks out by hand.

**imported_Intel486** · 06-21-2002, 09:18 PM

Originally posted by AlBoston

Man, black car, black polo shirt, 90 degrees out... wasn`t smart

Yhea, I know. It is hot here too. Sometimes I strip down to a speedo so I can hose myself off to keep cool. For some reason not as many people come up to talk to me on those days. Maybe they are just trying to get inside to the AC. :nixweiss

**scottybob1** · 06-21-2002, 10:55 PM

A really nice job for what you had to work with from the start. I have a Black F250 SD and Black Honda Civic that keep me busy year round. I`ve went through all the 3M products, found my best results with Fine-Cut rubbing compound and a orange pad from Griot`s. I recently purchased the Griot`s Machine polish series, three bottles from fine - heavy cutting. So far, I`m really impressed with the product line, doesn`t cost much more that if your purchased all the 3M stuff together.

It amazes me that someone would spend $70K on a car like the Benz you did, and run them through a carwash. You`d think if you had that kind of money, you could at least have it professionally done 4 times a year. Oh well, their stupidy is money in our pockets.

06-21-2002, 11:13 PM

Originally posted by Jav

A really nice job for what you had to work with from the start. I have a Black F250 SD and Black Honda Civic that keep me busy year round. I`ve went through all the 3M products, found my best results with Fine-Cut rubbing compound and a orange pad from Griot`s. I recently purchased the Griot`s Machine polish series, three bottles from fine - heavy cutting. So far, I`m really impressed with the product line, doesn`t cost much more that if your purchased all the 3M stuff together.

It amazes me that someone would spend $70K on a car like the Benz you did, and run them through a carwash. You`d think if you had that kind of money, you could at least have it professionally done 4 times a year. Oh well, their stupidy is money in our pockets.

nah, the customer isnt stupid at all. A very smart business man actually, he just didn`t know that it was bad for the car finish, until he saw what it did over time. He doesnt do it anymore.