86 Mercedes turbo diesel 27 hours of polishing Barry Theal Presidential Details

**ten39** · 07-18-2009, 10:59 PM

That`s insane!

**toyotasuvs** · 07-18-2009, 11:14 PM

Incredible! My jaw dropped .......

**osoda** · 07-19-2009, 12:26 AM

noob question - so was the damage (oxidation) limited to just the outer/clear coat paint?

**imported_MBenz** · 07-19-2009, 01:02 AM

Hot damn that is a turn around! I though the paint was totally gone but i guess not.

6 polishing steps is insane. Just thinking about that makes me cringe. But the results are...

A W E S O M E !

**TSC17** · 07-19-2009, 06:50 AM

Nice work as always Barry. What we do isn`t just about transforming a vehicle, but it`s also about adding (resale) value to the car. Especially in challenging economic times, buyers and sellers alike will be more inclined to pay attention to our services if we take the time to focus on that aspect as well as educate them accordingly. If I were you I would dedicate a section on my website about this, and use this particular vehicle as a prime example.

Keep up the great work!

**Setec Astronomy** · 07-19-2009, 06:59 AM

I think you`re pulling our legs...that car is clearly blue in the indoor pics...and clearly black in the outdoor pics...I think you did a switcheroo :p

**maxepr1** · 07-19-2009, 07:04 AM

Autopia can we pause for a second and pray...... Buffergods can we find a place in the front of the line for Barry!! He trully is one we all should look up to!!!!! AMEN!! You are the MAN!!!!

**imported_Sludge** · 07-19-2009, 07:14 AM

You really increased the value of that car. Looks like it was always well cared for. Great job and turn around.

**Barry Theal** · 07-19-2009, 07:32 AM

Originally Posted by OCDinPDX

WOW...Barry that looks awesome!!!! :2thumbs:

I had no idea oxidation could get that bad. I assumed at that point the paint was FUBAR`d.

I thought the paint was fubar`d to Its one of them things I guess you never know till you try. I love a good challange and this one presnted itself.

Originally Posted by Legacy99

Barry, your the man. What a turn around. The paint looked like it had clear coat failure. Those wheels look better than new.

Legacy thanks for the kind words. yeah there was a few small spots where there was a little clearcoat failure, but for a 23 year old car it looks better. thanks again.

Originally Posted by Gianni D

I think this is by far the most incredible transformation yet ... I can`t imagine the owner`s reaction when he saw his car. You need to post this on your website and craigslist ad.

in all honesty he just looked at it for about a minute and stood still not making a movement or a word. he was shocked. thanks for the kind words.

Originally Posted by dsms

Your a machine Barry, incredible save!

Thanks dave for the kind words.

Originally Posted by David Fermani

OMG - Barry! You are the ````t car transformation detail God.

lol david pm sent!

Originally Posted by weekendwarrior

Barry, you are the man.

thanks man

Originally Posted by AuAltima3.5

Did you polish the wheels by hand? How long did each wheel take? Insane work.

Thanks man. no i used a 3 inch pnuematic polisher for the flat surfaces and a dremal and a felt wheel for the inner sections.

Originally Posted by chibchaman

is that the same car????

u are the man,,,

yes man it is!

Originally Posted by d00t

Great work! Especially love the wheels--What a turn around!

aaron, thanks man!

Originally Posted by ohiostate

Are you kidding me???? Barry GREAT work... Damn!!!!

No mike Im not kidding lol. Thanks man.

Originally Posted by Labster

Amazing turn around Barry! Did you take the wheels off for the polishing?

Labster thanks man, and yes I did. I took them off at first to spray the 3m undercoating and thought I `m gonna polish them and they started to comeout also so i kept going.

Originally Posted by itb76

I`ve seen some amazing saves on this site but this one takes the cake! What did you use on the wheels?

Thanks man, i used a 3 inch pnuematic polisher for the flat surfaces and a dremal and a felt wheel for the inner sections. with m205

Originally Posted by Peco

VERY NICE JOB. I could see a HUGE tip from the owner!!

thanks man!

Originally Posted by rydawg

Now that is an amazing save! I have done lots of those old Mercedes and I know how much work is involved.

Amazing work!

Rydawg thanks bro. I only hope to have the skills with a buffer that you do some day. Im working on it!

thanks man.

Originally Posted by ten39

That`s insane!

thanks man

Originally Posted by toyotasuvs

Incredible! My jaw dropped .......

well pick it up that could hurt lmao. thanks man

Originally Posted by osoda

noob question - so was the damage (oxidation) limited to just the outer/clear coat paint?

the majority oif the damage had penetrated the surface of the clear some etched threw at a few spots but when I ran my first step at 3000 rpms. not recomended unless you know what your doing. it began to shave some of it off. and i just kept going. thanks man.

Originally Posted by MBenz

Hot damn that is a turn around! I though the paint was totally gone but i guess not.

6 polishing steps is insane. Just thinking about that makes me cringe. But the results are...

A W E S O M E !

Thanks mbenz. its alot of steps but I often do stuff like that. It`s a passion thing I guess. I`m never happy and constantly trying to out do myself.

Originally Posted by TSC17

Nice work as always Barry. What we do isn`t just about transforming a vehicle, but it`s also about adding (resale) value to the car. Especially in challenging economic times, buyers and sellers alike will be more inclined to pay attention to our services if we take the time to focus on that aspect as well as educate them accordingly. If I were you I would dedicate a section on my website about this, and use this particular vehicle as a prime example.

Keep up the great work!

Todd thank you very much. Your right, coming from a high volume auction prep background I completly know what we can do for adding resale value on a car. One area I am working on is the education part of the business. I`m try to get my website going some more. I think it will be done in winter when things slow down ya know.

Thank you Todd!

Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy

I think you`re pulling our legs...that car is clearly blue in the indoor pics...and clearly black in the outdoor pics...I think you did a switcheroo :p

setec Ill take that as a compliment, but talk to accumulator I was sending him pics as I went. I knew he loves these old cars! Oh seriously where are you gonna find 2 1986 turbo diesal mercedes lol.

Originally Posted by maxepr1

Autopia can we pause for a second and pray...... Buffergods can we find a place in the front of the line for Barry!! He trully is one we all should look up to!!!!! AMEN!! You are the MAN!!!!

Thanks man, but its not about being the best. its about being a man amongst men!

**tom p.** · 07-19-2009, 07:59 AM

My god, that redefines "oxidation". I would have said you were wasting your time, Barry, on that one. Amazing effort. I hope you charged him 3X. This is one of the most dramatic saves yet!

**imported_Jakerooni** · 07-19-2009, 08:38 AM

Barry when you showed this to me when you were working on it I wished you all the luck in the world because you were going to need it on this one... Helluva save there man. I honestly thought the paint was gone on that one. You realize if you and me were to get together we`d be able to bring back all the turds out there LOL.. Gotta love the insane detailing! excellent job.

**rbruditt** · 07-19-2009, 08:56 AM

: wow, what an incredible difference!!!

**grungy** · 07-19-2009, 09:08 AM

Barry - Did you get any PTG readings before doing your test areas? I thought the CC was gone based on your pictures and that is more like extreme makeover autopian style!

**Barry Theal** · 07-19-2009, 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by tom p.

My god, that redefines "oxidation". I would have said you were wasting your time, Barry, on that one. Amazing effort. I hope you charged him 3X. This is one of the most dramatic saves yet!

Tom I hear ya there man! I was really surprised to see this type of oxidation on the clearcoat. I have seen it on singlestage, but this was a first for clear! thanks alot for the kind words.

Originally Posted by Jakerooni

Barry when you showed this to me when you were working on it I wished you all the luck in the world because you were going to need it on this one... Helluva save there man. I honestly thought the paint was gone on that one. You realize if you and me were to get together we`d be able to bring back all the turds out there LOL.. Gotta love the insane detailing! excellent job.

I have offened pondered those thoughts to jake! I love the insane type of stuff. conventional swirls get old after a while lol thanks bro!

Originally Posted by rbruditt

: wow, what an incredible difference!!!

thanks man!

Originally Posted by grungy

Barry - Did you get any PTG readings before doing your test areas? I thought the CC was gone based on your pictures and that is more like extreme makeover autopian style!

grungy I hardly ever use a paint meter grungy. I know ill get lectured on this alot. Im from the old school before they had a meter. I was taught its all feel and eyes. with a job like this one isn`t wasn`t a matter of removing to much clear. It was about saving what little clear that was left. It was thin. razor thin. thanks for the kind words!

**Accumulator** · 07-19-2009, 09:34 AM

As I think rydawg, MBenz, and Clean Dean, (and others I`m not thinking of) would agree, IMO to *REALLY* appreciate what great work this is you have to have some experience with Benzes of that vintage. The clear is lacquer, thin, and somewhat fragile under the best of circumstances. To do that sort of aggressive work on it without simply cutting through takes an incredible amount of skill

And heh heh, I`ve been giving bufferbarry plenty of those lectures about ETGing the paint

bufferbarry- Ah, now that I see things more clearly, the spots I was worried about don`t look so bad. That turned out even better than I`d thought, what a save!

Did it seem like the *oxidation* was what like a really hard layer on top of the paint? What I mean is, I never found the clear on those very hard, and the most aggressive of your steps would normally, IME, have cut off a *whole* lotta clear in no time :think:

Days later, I`m still amazed that you had to get that aggressive! When you told me what you were doing I was simply :nervous2: