Mercedes GL 550 - Paint Correction & Protection

[David Fermani]

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of working on this 2008 Mercedes GL 550. The truck was basically in like new showroom condition, BUT was not good enough for the owner (as well as me). The truck had a moderate amount of brake dust contaminants that started to rust throughout. Being white in color allowed these defects to really stand out. The entire exterior washed with HD grout sponge and Meguiars #00 car wash soap and then clayed with Auto Magic (AM) blue Clay Magic with AM Body Shine to remove all contaminants. Each section was checked with cellophane to insure detection of all contaminants prior to further prepping. Wheels, tires and wheel wells were cleaned with AM Magnificent.







In addition to prepping & cleaning the exterior, all the painted surfaces were then buffed via rotary to increase depth and shine and then sealed. Prior to buffing, all necessary moldings were covered with 3M blue painter’s tape.









I used Menzerna 106ff with EDGE green foam pad. Note the difference in depth and color.

































Then, after a 50/50 IA wipe down, everything painted white as well as the wheels were sealed with 1Z Einszett Glanz sealant wax and then coated with Zymol Carbon wax to enhance the protection. Carbon was kept chilled until application. One of the things I like about 1Z is that it’s very easy to use and can be wiped on and immediately removed without delay of cross-linking.











Tires were dressed with AM Super Dress It (water based).











Every square inch of the interior and engine compartment was also spot cleaned, washed and wiped with a heavy dilution of AM Special Cleaner APC. The carpets and seats were

Vacuumed and brushed out with BHB.



































Sun Shots:

[BigAl3]

nice job, looks great!

[cls]

Nice work!Why do you have to chill the zymol?just curious...

[imageautodetail]

good job, it is amazing the difference in the 50/50 on what is said to be new quality inspected paint

[baseballlover1]

Once again, an AMAZING detaiL!

[itb76]

Great work, very wet and shiny. It`s neat that it comes with a stress bar from the factory, but overall it does not look like the engine is easily accessible to work on?

[ScheerSpeed]

chilling zymol? never heard of that...



great job!

[Rickrack]

Looks great David!



How do you like the Carbon?

[Bigpoppa3346]

Very nice glow for white.



Great work.

[AP2TUDE]

Really good turn around, especially for a white car.



A lot of the zymol waxes work better when they are cold. That is why everyone keeps their Royale and Vintage in the refrigerator.



I wonder if Souveran would work better chilled?

[Slik560]

Sehr vorzüglich!!

[Accumulator]

David Fermani- Good job, shows that white really *can* look impressive when it`s done right :xyxthumbs



Yeah, rust-blooms do look awful on white. With any luck they won`t recur (if they do, I`d decontaminate it instead of claying again).

[Thomas Dekany]

Now it looks new! Excellent work.



This is my favorite car right now. I love the way it looks.



I want one!!!!!!

[David Fermani]

Thanks everyone for the compliments. I love working with Zymol and I feel that it applies much easier when it`s cold. I think doing this allows you to apply a thinner coat because your applicator won`t gouge into the jar and get saturated with as much product. As it starts to warm to room temp, you can definatelty notice a difference. It`s the easiest wax & best looking LSP I`ve ever used so far, especially with 1Z. Seems like a perfect match of sealant/wax.



Accumulator - I`ve never been able to stop rust deposits from re-occuring after total removal? It seems no matter how much protection you have, it still allows the metal particles (brake dust) to rust. I`d say the best way to minimize this from happening is to rinse the exterior at the end of each day so it doesn`t start corroding? Sad thing is that it mostly shows on light colored vehicles, but every one has this condition. I`m also a big fan of the ABC wash, I just hate doing it in sun light.

[Accumulator]

David Fermani- I think that everyone works with different conditions, so experiences are just gonna vary.



I just don`t seem to *ever* have recurrances of rust-blooms since I started ABCing vehicles when new :nixweiss I have no idea why I don`t get `em from brake dust (well, I *do* get it on wheels) or from snowplow blades, but I just don`t (insert reminder that most of our vehicles are silver, so they *would* show if I were getting them).



EDIT: It just occurred to me that all the spot-claying I do might get the ferrous contamination before it penetrates into my LSP :think: I dunno...but it might be an explanation.