Mercedes S430 full massage.. black paint and with a twist! (long story, lots of pics)

[35TH LE]

Well.. in all honesty this car kicked my butt! I was ready for smooth sailing but turns out this car had maaaaaaajor issues. I ordered some 106FF specifically for this car (which cost a grip by itself and 3day shipping) which ended up not doing the trick for me. I originally saw this car across the street from my home while I was detailing a Lincoln.. from across the street on a overcast day it looked nice. I ended up booking a date with the owner shortly after, hes a friends boyfriend. My friend set it up and she specifically asked if I could remove the swirls.. I said "of course" then ordered the 106FF and was prepared to do battle on the hard clear coat. :waxing: I got the car in the garage after washing and claying.. and 1) the car had a TON of contamination.. and 2) a TON, no a few TONS, worth of swirls!!! How does a scratch resistant hard clear get in this condition??? I immediately noticed something wasnt right when claying.. the car had been repainted, and it looked like it had been repainted in someones garage. So I begin using the rotary and after a panel.. my pad is turning black!!!! Holy cr@p this thing was reshot with single stage!! So much for the $18 for 3 day shipping on my 106FF bottle. The car had so many problems that I had to resort to a heavy Meguiars compound, #84. Which still didnt fix everything.. as I was intimidated by the single stage, Ive never worked on single stage and didnt want to beat it up too bad because the paint job was so crappy I didnt want to push to far and hit metal, so ultimately I settled with "OK".



Anyways..



Process:



Exterior

-QDed the car. (they washed the car prior to drop off)

-Megs clay and QD for lube

-Megs #84 with polish pad rotary @ 1500

-Megs #80 with finish pad rotary @ 1000

-Megs #21 by hand

-Megs #16 by hand

-Megs #38 for tires and trim

-Stoners for glass and wheels

-Flitz for emblems and grill



Interior

-Stoners on glass

-Zymol cleaner on leather

-Zymol conditioner on leather

-Megs APC+ 10:1 on doors and dash

-Megs APC+ 4:1 on carpet stains scrub by hand

-Megs APC+ 10:1 on all carpet scrub by hand

-Heated APC+ diluted through Bissell LGM for deep clean



Exterior Befores:















The whole car looked like this...





Interior Befores, this was the only bad part of the inside.. driver floorboard and the mats.:











Interior Afters:















Exterior Afters:



This was the best I could do. I didnt know the quality or depth of the single stage so I didnt want to push any farther. Deffinately 10xs better.



After #84.





After #80.





After #21.









Outside shots. After the scrutiny of halogens and flourecents in the garage I was pleasantly surprised when I took it out in the light.





































This sure is interesting.. after seeing this I was glad I didnt get too cocky with fixing the paint. I removed the plate to polish the rear and this is what I found. The "body shop", if you want to call them that.. Id call them crooks.. didnt even take the rear plate off to paint the trunk. Also.. ALL of the rubbers had paint on them, didnt even mask them off.







Sooo.. I guess I cant beat myself up too bad.. it turned out OK considering the before condition and the issues I was working with.

[TeutonicCarFan]

Hey...GREAT TURNAROUND! That car was gross before you got your hands on it, and the paint looks really deep and reflective. Question: after going through all the trouble of getting the 106, which is a fine polish for 3000grit swirls, why did you end up abandoning it? I realize the polish is for light finishing and you needed to go aggressive with the 84, but why not use the 106 instead of the 80?? Regardless, great job and the carpets look brand new !



P.S. does the cust. wear a lot of shoe polish?!

[35TH LE]

Thanks!



Honestly I decided to use #80 over the 106FF because after the #84 I wanted the benefits of a glaze to help fill what I couldnt fix while at the same time #80 would remove the slight hazing from the #84... I also want to slavage the 106FF for the cars that really need it. I only got 16oz of it (Blackfire bottle).



The customer just bought it... I hated having to tell her and him that they bought a repaint, and a horrible one at that.

[silvergray]

OMG! I`d be extremely pissed if I bought a repaint with such shotty quality. Excellent work on your part. Night and day difference!



What did the owners have to say after you broke them the news?

[MoneyPit]

NICE turnaround.. with your description, I was expecting like 60% removal.... far better. 21 and 16 is such warm looking combo.

[imported_AZ Ferrari Man]

Very good! What did you use on the carpets and interior?

[35TH LE]

Thanks guys!



silvergray.. the owner is pretty well off and didnt even know it had issues this bad. All he knew is he got a good "deal" on the car. He did a carfax and it was clear so he didnt think twice... I explained that a clear carfax in no way means youre in the clear. He said that until he can take the car in to be repainted I will be in charge of maintenance for his car. **wash/wax schedule**



AZ Ferrari Man... Meguiars APC+ on everything. The stuff is amazing!

[kyotousa]

did you talk to the owner about the paint job?

[kyotousa]

doesn`t car with clearcoat look wetter and stuff?

how can you or the owner not tell it`s only 1 stage paint?

[35TH LE]

doesn`t car with clearcoat look wetter and stuff?

how can you or the owner not tell it`s only 1 stage paint?

1) the owner is the average person.. doesnt even know there are different types of paint.



2) I was so focused on doing this car with the 106FF (see my threads on the subject) that I didnt even notice... the car was so swirled that I dont think I could have even noticed the difference. I detailed a S430 4 weeks or so ago and it didnt have single stage... so I didnt expect it.

[Scottwax]

What a pathetic excuse for a paint job. Just disgusting the level of work so many body shops turn out.



Really excellent job on that horrible paint. Believe me, I know exactly what you went through because I have dealt with the same crap.



Those after shots are just terrific!

[kyotousa]

^^^^

ic......i was just wondering

because I thought I could always tell if a car has clearcoat or not...and after reading this I was thinking maybe I am wrong...haha



at least after you are done the paint still look like a mirror.....

[kyotousa]

1) the owner is the average person.. doesnt even know there are different types of paint.



2) I was so focused on doing this car with the 106FF (see my threads on the subject) that I didnt even notice... the car was so swirled that I dont think I could have even noticed the difference. I detailed a S430 4 weeks or so ago and it didnt have single stage... so I didnt expect it.

^^^^

ic......i was just wondering

because I thought there`s huge difference between clearcoated car..and after reading this I was thinking maybe I am wrong...haha

I guess we all just assume that S430 will have clearcoat....



at least after you are done the paint still look like a mirror.....

[gav'spurplez]

that car may have kicked your butt,



BUT,



the finished product Kick`s A$$ :waxing:

[gmblack3]

Excellent work! you should be very proud!