A New Car Prep--Autopian Style!

Bill D

Bill D

Hooked For Life
I arrived at the dealer and began the process of removing the Rapgard from my mom’s black 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 Cabriolet.



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Per Automotive International’s instructions, I sprayed some Valugard New Car Prep onto the Rapgard. For each panel I was removing it from, I let the solvent dwell for three minutes. Then I wiped it with a MF, sprayed some more and began peeling the Rapgard away from the panel. It came apart in pieces so I was careful to take my time and gently peel away each. Following this procedure the removal took me about 40 minutes.



I sprayed and wiped New Car Prep onto the revealed paint to get rid of heavy left behind adhesive residue. I then used S&W and QDed the paint with a fresh MF. After my scrutiny of the finish with a Brinkmann Dual Beam Xenon spot light as well as my 30X magnifier ready to go and inspecting the undercarriage for any film removal necessary, my mom drove the car home. It sure is good to be in contact with a brand new car marring and swirl free from day one! I finished chatting with the dealer sales reps and left. I completed the prep upon the car’s arrival to its new home.



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Guess who sat in seat with the plastic. :o



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The car was washed with 1z Perls via foam gun with Eurow sheepskin mitts. It was dried using Final Detail as a lubricant,with a Pak Shak WW MF and the new Meguiar’s WW MF, which is quite nice and comparable to the Pak Shaks but has better edging. I didn’t get to order the Finish Kare decontamination system in time :wall so I may go ahead and do that at a later date, having to remove all those LSPs I plan to put on the car.:o :D



I clayed it with Clay Magic and some left over Final Detail as the lube and inspected it extremely thoroughly. I spent some much time with my nose just about up to the paint looking over every square inch of the paint, when I finally looked up, my eyes couldn’t focus normally momentarily! :o :D Good news, no left over embedded contamination or fallout was present. The clay was absolutely pollution free! I’ll continue for monitor for any signs of that closely.



I spent quite a bit of time removing spot Rapgard residue with AIO. It was a pain because just when I thought I got it all, I found more. It’s clear now to me more than ever before: AIO=godsend. It’s such an easy product to use and with such great results every time! :bow



My dad installed OE polished aluminum door handle guards. They really look sharp and set the car apart from the crowd nicely. :xyxthumbs.



I inspected the car indoors with 1000 watt halogens and 200 and 300 watt incandescents. The paint needed no blemish correction :clap: I then simply applied AIO X2 via PC on speed 2 with a black 6� LC finishing pad. I added two layers of Wolfgang the first night by hand via Meguiar’s Even Coat MF applicator, allowing for each to fully dry. They were buffed off with a DF Towel. Yep, starting to get rather late by the this point. I’ll add some more over the coming days or so and plan to spit shine coats of Souveran as often as I can.



The interior received a quick wipe down with 1:6 Woolite:water solution followed by a light coat of 303. The glass was cleaned with Meguiar’s NXT Glass Cleaner and a Norwex glass MF. It was sealed with AIO. The cabriolet top beads like crazy so I added no protectant. The tires received some Z16 on both sides. Mercedes logo valve stem cap were installed.The wells and undercarriage panels got my still-strong Meguiar’s Engine Kote. :up The engine compartment was dressed with 303. The next day I applied Mothers’ Clear Coat Polish topped with Collinite Insulator Wax to the wheels.





I estimate across Saturday and Sunday I spent thirteen hours prepping the car. Ten of those were on Saturday.
 
I hope to see this car well on its way to an Autopian life. :D :bounce



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Below is a shot of the pile of protective material, inspection slips, etc. With uncooperative, intermittent bad weather,I didn’t have the space to lay all of it out for display but I do have every piece of Rapgard,plastic, cardboard, sticker, etc. He he he, it’s not even my car and I still want to hold on it! :D The materials will be stored in a plastic tote.



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I love that car. Your mom is a very lucky women. And you, well, you're lucky too! You get to clean the thing... and hopefully drive it every now and then.



JJ
 
Excellent work Bill! :bow



You are a maniac in the best OCD use of the word here on Autopia.



Have you purchased the jar of Pinnacle Souveran for your new baby?
 
Great job prepping that car! Having it in your own hands prior to the stealership hacking it to death has got to be comforting. I'm sure it gets you off on the right foot to your relationship with the car :p . I can't wait to see it frequently in Click & Brag!
 
Thanks everyone. The procedure was great. Definitely not something that can be enjoyed every day.





SilverLexus said:
Excellent work Bill! :bow



You are a maniac in the best OCD use of the word here on Autopia.



Have you purchased the jar of Pinnacle Souveran for your new baby?
Click to expand...



There's some Souveran, distilled water and a small spritz bottle of Crystal Mist sitting in the fridge.....:D
 
Bill, Looks beautifull. and a lot of work. I looked at a few new MB's at the dealer today and most of them were rain dirty as we had a good storm here last night. I looked hard and did not see any OP, swirls or cobwebs but thought most colors were a little dull and needing polish, how did you feel once you got the protective rapgard removed.
 
pdsterns said:
I looked hard and did not see any OP, swirls or cobwebs but thought most colors were a little dull and needing polish, how did you feel once you got the protective rapgard removed.
Click to expand...



The paint on this car is extremely impressive. It really makes the OP on my Audi stand out. I'm jealous. :chuckle: You really have to strain to see the OP on this car and when you do you'll notice it appears, the best way I can describe it, as "more flat and more square" than typical OP, which looks more "raised" and "round in overall look. Basically, it's atypical OP. I'm not sure if the fact that it is Ceramiclear has anything to do with it.



Once I got the Rapgard removed it was great. At one point , there were a few sales reps watching me, the Saturday morning spectacle :o
 
Bill: That's just stunning the work you put into that!





Imagine doing that too all of the newbies :).





Did the sales people think you were insane?





When I get a new vehicle in about a year from now, I am planning on something very similar :).
 
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