ML320 detailed.

**imported_Jakerooni** · 06-15-2009, 07:52 PM

Have you ever had a detail that you just knew was going to be a pain in the arse from the get go? I have no idea why the little 320 are so popular around here but this was the 3rd one I`ve done this season so far. All of them silver all them trashed. This one had about 285,000 mile on the click. Some CC failure on the mirror. and the hatch had rock chips all over it...Still can`t figure out how the back was worse than the front with rock chips. baffels me I tell ya. Any who... The interior needed some help. And with almost 300,000 miles on a DD I knew perfection wasn`t in the cards for this ride. So Plan for it this morning the guy is supposed to drop it off at 9:30am... 10 comes and goes. I give him a call. He`s running behind and will have the car to me in 2 hours. Ugg.. Starting a detail at noon is pushing it. Noon... comes and goes... 1:00pm comes and goes. Ok fine this guy is just a no show something came up whatever it`s 80* and sunny. I can take the kids over to the pool at my cousins house down the road and chill out poolside for the day... Walk out to leave at 2:00 and he pulls in... ARGH!!!!!! Should`ve re-booked I know. But I felt I made a commitment and technically I had the day set for detailing. Time to bust A$$ and get this done. (time crunch is also the reason behind very few process pics so please forgive me) Dropped the kids off and got to work.

Start time 2:30pm

Befores:

How to approch this?? Man I had to figure out the game place quick. The issues that needed attention were all the rock chips on the back hatch One of the headlamps were oxidized over and yellowed and then the interior needed drastic measures.. So follow me on this one.

Process:

Wash hawaiian shine Auto Wash

Clay with purple clay (meguiars white clay wasn`t touching the massive amounts of rail dust accomping a paint job with 285,000 on it. Not a spec of wax was on it either)

Touched up all the rock chips in the back and the couple on the front.

While that was drying I went and started the carpets on the interior

Once the carpets were done I wetsanded the entire hatch and wetsanded down the headlight capsule filled again

Next up while the second round of touch up was drying Got to work on the leather and plasitcs

Steamed cleaned the leather and gave it the vodoo treatment

Finished off the interior and dressed with Meg`s HD diluted for interior new look

wetsanded the touch up again

Compounded with Synthetic cutting creame (still out of 105

)

Polished with 205 (getting really low on that now too)

dressed the engine bay with HD

Tires dressed

Windows done

Badda bing.

A good half and half of the carpets coming clean after years of neglect.

Once I got the interior done it was looking good again. Not perfect because it really looked like at one point in time someone tried repainting the interior in certian sections... odd really..

The engine bay all back to new looking specs..

And end!!!! Time was 7:00pm Talk about busting hump... And it`s only monday. Guy loved it and is bringing another Benz for me on Friday... Hopefully in better shape or he gives me more time. I hate working at that pace... Drives me nuts. But as long as he was happy and he booked another car I guess it was all worth it. Like i said far from a perfect detail but looking just a ton better than what it came in looking like.

Thanks for looking guys.

**imported_Jakerooni** · 06-15-2009, 08:18 PM

And the couple of pics I could get with the sun still hitting it...

**solstice** · 06-15-2009, 08:18 PM

Good job.

I`m just about to do the same with my own ML 430 (full brabus conversion), also in silver, but with 22" rims .. gonna be fun.

this is also the first time i am claying this guy, hopefully Meguiars clay works, as it is hard to get some decent clay around here without getting screwed over for import pricing.

How long did it take you?

**imported_Jakerooni** · 06-15-2009, 08:20 PM

well because of the time crunch I got it all done in about 4-1/2 hours.

**Barry Theal** · 06-15-2009, 08:38 PM

jake very nice detail i really like that 50/50 in the hatch area. looked good for four and a half hours. that busting *** there. good job man! oh and on my acura thread the owner wanted the badges removed. if you can suggest it and they go for it. its nice not to detail them lol. great work man!

**imported_Jakerooni** · 06-16-2009, 07:45 AM

Thanks Barry. I got one today that is really going to push my interior limits I think though... Defiantly going to be interesting LOL...

**HotRod68Camaro** · 06-16-2009, 08:15 AM

Jake, what did you use to touch up all the rock chips?

**TS_Detailing** · 06-16-2009, 10:02 AM

That`s some awesome work right there in 4 1/2 hours Jake, what did you use on the carpets?

**imported_Jakerooni** · 06-16-2009, 10:55 AM

The client had his own little bottle of touch up paint he provided. So that`s what I used on the rock chips. The carpets were a combo of Jet clean and Zeps Carpet shampoo with a good amount of elbow grease and the extractor.

**Labster** · 06-16-2009, 11:01 AM

Lookin great Jake! 4.5 hours for all that is just crazy!

**Scottwax** · 06-16-2009, 11:29 PM

I`m amazed you got so much accomplished in such a short timeframe!

BTW, I hate those 1st gen MLs. Always trashed and really cheap interiors for a Mercedes.

**Driven Auto Detail** · 06-17-2009, 05:31 AM

Looks great Jake, even better when you only had 4.5 hrs. to work on it. Great job.

**Thats Fresh** · 06-17-2009, 07:21 AM

i did a 08 expedition (long version) and it took me 4 hours just to wash/clay/seal 2x/wax including cure time. so props off to you!

**imported_Jakerooni** · 06-17-2009, 08:16 AM

Yea the time really came from crossing the processes like I did. It would`ve took me a lot longer if the paint was in worse shape But I got lucky that most of it was already ins really decent shape. So I just concentrated on the problem area`s first and foremost. The rest of the puzzle pieces just fell into place after that.