Advice on black new Mercedes paint

I am working on a new (<100 miles) black M-B C43. Sure it looks shiny, but washing by the delivering dealer (and probably the dealer in OH that originally got it from M-B has left a ton of very small scratches, let alone contaminants as it was built in January and delivered in June. For my tests so far, I have clayed those areas, of course.

Anyway...here is what I have done so far. I started with Rupes white pad and Rupes white extra fine polish. It worked well but did not get all of the scratches. I went on to Rupes Keramik (yellow) with yellow pad. Better yet. I am still not 100% satisfied (my car! LOL). I really did not think I would need to go to green for this new car. OR I am inclined to try UHS. I do have HD Speed, Menzerna 400 (too aggressive I think), and Megs AIO (can`t remember number).

Any suggestions as to what pad/polish combo would be a next step, besides the Rupes system that I have?

Jeff

jstover33- Welcome to Autopia!

Noting that I have zero experience with a) the paint on current Benzes, b) Rupes pads/polishes, C) HD Speed, nor D) Menzerna 400...

(Heh heh, so what *does* Accumulator have to contribute here?!? ;) )

IMO significant correction generally takes more than people expect, even with good equipment/pads/products/technique.

For the most part/for practical purposes it`s just a matter of taking off more clearcoat to effect a better leveling of the paint in question, right? Like sanding a gouge out of a piece of wood. Sounds to me like it`ll just take more of what you`ve already done, UNLESS the Keramik/yellow simply isn`t doing much of anything for the deepest marring. (If that`s the case, maybe you oughta think twice about how badly you want perfection..)

I`m wondering how many section passes (i.e., start-to-finish work on the areas in question) you`ve already done. Six? More/less?

While it`s hard to advise on specifics of this stuff over the internet, I bet you just need to repeat the Keramik/yellow a few more times, aiming for "significantly better" rather than "absolutely perfect".

And I`d even think twice about that unless you`re *absolutely certain* that you can keep it marring free for a reasonable period of time (as in, not just a year).

NOW...let`s hear from people who actually *KNOW* from current Benz paints and Rupes` stuff!

It was an older Mercedes, but I had excellent results on a black Mercedes that needed quite a few swirls leveled with HD Adapt and a microfiber pad. I`m guessing Menzerna 2500 would probably be a good choice, since Adapt has been discontinued. Not really familiar with the Rupes polishes and such to comment. Used UHS once and based off of what you said, I don`t know that you`re gonna level it all with that. It got out lighter swirls and produced a nice gloss but still left some swirling behind, and that was on Chrysler paint.

Thanks for the responses. I am going to try some combos with what I have on hand: Second run with Keramik (yellow) on that test area - before I did about six slow passes; UHS in another test area; HD Speed with a Rupes green pad; and Rupes green with green pad.

I like the results with the Rupes green pads but they are not "durable" - I am being kind here. They have a fondness to self-destruct; they are one Rupes product, IMHO, that is crap. A green pad, though, produces excellent results (with HD Speed, Rupes green or Menzerna 400) as long as it stays intact.

jstover33- Q for you...when you say you did "six slow passes", does that mean:

-You went over the area six times before buffing off the polish residue

-OR-

-You went over the area until the polish was done, and then buffed it off, and then repeated this process five more time?

Some aspects of this stuff lend themselves to multiple interpretations and I sometimes have trouble figuring out what people mean by seemingly simple explanations.

Based on what you have done and the results you have achieved I would step up to the UHS pad. I wouldn`t think the green would be necessary (I`m not a fan of the green pads either). Do a test spot with the UHS then follow with white to remove any micro marring and it should shine like new money.

Just spent 8 hours on a 2017 AMG, black that was a pleasant surprise compared to the others I have done. Much easier to work than the rock hard paint of old! Without seeing what you are doing and how, my best guess would use the UHS and work it longer. There is also nothing that says you can`t go over the same area twice. Mine had been done twice by a hack with a rotary. I used Griot`s fast cut on a microfiber and perfecting on a yellow foam pad.

Well, UHS is fantastic! I did the rear deck with just UHS; I plan to follow up with Rupes white, but it may not improve much from where the paint is at the moment. See below for two photos that shows the results. The before photo actually looks better than it really was.

I ordered more UHS pads...

Attachment 33590Attachment 33589Attachment 33591

I`m in the same boat as you and have a 2016 GLE350 in black that I need to polish. It`s my wife`s car that we bought slightly used. How do you think a megs microfiber pad would do with the black paint? I was going to try Megs microfiber cutting pad with 205 and if that doesn`t do it then step up to ultimate compound on the MF cutting pad. I plan to finish with a LC white pad and CarPro Essence topped with CSL and EXOv3.

I think the MF and 205 would be a pretty solid combo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jrock645

I think the MF and 205 would be a pretty solid combo

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Turns out, it is an excellent combo! I was able to play around with some different polishes and pad combos and the MF cutting disc with 205 is the sweet spot. It removes 95+% of the imprefections and finishes down quite nicely. I`m going to be fully polishing the car this weekend with that combo followed by Carpro Essence on a LC white pad, topped with CSL and EVOv3. I`ll post pics when I`m done.

Sounds like it will look stellar!