2002 Mercedes S500 AMG and 2005 Range Rover HSE

[BuffMe]

Well, this would be the first C&B I've posted, but I think it's about time and these two cars were prime candidates.



I struck a deal with a couple to do both of these cars (one hers, one his). They had a baby 8 months ago and it had been trashing both of these cars (if this baby were on the Menzerna polishing scale, it would be at least SIP, if not PowerGloss strength). The least trashed of the two was the Mercedes, so I will start with that.



This car got a complete interior cleaning as well as exterior light polishing and wax. I spent a total of 11 hours doing this one, 2/3 spent on interior and 1/3 spent on polishing/wax.



Interior:

Meguiar's APC 10:1

DP Carpet + Upholstery Cleaner

Meguiar's QID



Exterior:

Wash

Clay

Menzerna IP/Orange

Collinite 845 (since this car is kept outside and protection/durability was the main concern)



Before Pics:

After Wheel Cleaning and Bug + Tar + Paint Splash Removal:

Interior After:

Exterior After:

And one night shot just for kicks...

The following post will be the Range Rover...

 

[BuffMe]

So, next up was the Range Rover. This thing was absolutely trashed. As you will see, the wheels looked like they were powder coated black and interior looked like two milkshakes had a fight and bled milk on the seats and grease and dirt on the carpets/doors/seats.



I spent 12 hours on this beast, 9 hours on the interior and 3 hours just doing a clay and wax (I didn't charge enough to even begin polishing this thing).



Interior Process:

Vacuum

Meguiar's APC 10:1

DP Upholstery + Carpet Cleaner

Tons and tons of scrubbing via MF's and Leather+Carpet scrub brushes

Meguiar's QID



Exterior:

Wash

Clay

Collinite 845 (again, for durability as it sits outside)





Before Pics:

Interior After:

Carpet Before:

Carpet After:

Rear Pillar Before:

Rear Pillar After:

And, I also like to point out the things I was not so succesful in removing, such as a couple stains in the rear. I tried multiple applications of both APC and DP with some decent scrubbing but they just would not come out. So, here are the before and afters...



Before:

After:

I certainly lessened them, but obviously did not remove them. (If anyone would like to chime in on what I could have done to better remove these, I would love to hear suggestions)







After cleaning front wheel only (can you tell?):

After Collinite application (nice reflection):

I finished very late at night so I only have street light pics for the full exterior afters...

As always, comments/criticisms welcome. Enjoy.

 

[Rickrack]

That is some top notch work on 2 tough vehicles!



Range Rover interiors are a total PITA to detail. I am amazed how well you made it look. Great attention to detail!



Nice work!

 

[RedlineG37]

Very nice work

 

[whitejavaS500]

Great work man, esp. on the Range. Lol, I have that drill wheel brush as well, and it is a HUGE part of my routine. Must cut time 70% on the rims. Owning a Range, the interior is a huge task, so I can see wher you had to spend so much time on it. Haha and owning an S500 as well, isnt it a pain how those front mats bunch up?



Awsome job.

 

[BuffMe]

I have that drill wheel brush as well, and it is a HUGE part of my routine. Must cut time 70% on the rims.

That thing is a God-send. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I typically don't use it all that often b/c it can be pretty abrasive, depending on the wheel finish, but these certainly required it. It took 3 separate soakings with All-Wheel Cleaner (semi-rough stuff), brushing with drill attachment and both wheel brushes to get them clean.



Thanks for all the compliments.

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Great work, thanks for sharing!

 

[imported_artikxscout]

wow on the wheels on the range... great job.

 

[Thomas Dekany]

Both cars look excellent now.

 

[Rickrack]

Huge turnaround on both cars



The interior on the Range Rover came out surprisingly good



Nice work!

 

[BuffMe]

Thanks for all the compliments, guys. I really appreciate it.

 

[imported_Yal]

Nice

Love the turn around on the LR interior :cooleek:





Pssst its not an AMG, sorry as a Mercedes owners it just annoys me to no end when people do that, at least they didn't slap an AMG badge on there :nono

 

[BuffMe]

Oh, oops. You're absolutely right. Thanks for the heads up. I spent enough time on the wheels staring at the AMG on them that I think it ingrained itself into my head.

 

[imported_themightytimmah]

Great work! I really like the night shots, what camera/settings did you use to get them? I like the unusual white balance.

 

[BuffMe]

Thanks timmah. I can't remember off the top of my head but it was something like 200 ISO, f5.0, with about a 4-5 second exposure with my Rebel XTi and the 18-55 cheapo lens that comes with it. I can post up more info when I get home and take a look again. I thought the night shots with a sort of sepia overtone would be a bit different than those we're used to seeing in the direct sunlight.

 

[ReLoaDeD BuLLiT]

great work. where can I pick up one of these drill wheel brushes?

 

[BuffMe]

Here's where I got mine...



AutoSport Catalog - Power Brush - Power Brush 800-953-0814

 

[Slik560]

Nice work! Make that excellent work. Glad you were able to help them out. Family cars are definitely not show cars. What is trashing to some is just life to the rest of us. At least they think enough of the cars to have a specialist in to restore cleanliness and order!! Now if someone could just come up with a way to kid-proof car seats.....