REVscene Automotive Forum - Wes_R + Slk 55 [109 pics]

Hi everybody,

Todays write up is on a Slk 55. I did a full interior on this one minus a carpet shampoo and a 2 stage polish on the exterior. The owner had just bought the car and wanted to get it looking as close to new as possible plus treat a scratch on the trunk.

I must say the styling on the new Slk is gorgeous and I really like the Slr style hood and nose plus a V8 in this smallish car is insane. I was definitely admiring the car while working on it.

Anyways on to the surgery.

Here she is on arrival
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...ricksslk/1.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...ricksslk/2.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...ricksslk/3.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...ricksslk/4.jpg

Some dirty before shots

Typical caked up Mercedes rims
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...ricksslk/5.jpg

Dirty exhaust
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...ricksslk/6.jpg

Interior was really not that bad just dusty etc and just needed a thorough cleaning in all the tight spaces
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...ricksslk/7.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...ricksslk/8.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...ricksslk/9.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/10.jpg

I soaked the rims in P21s Wheel Cleaner to break things down while I cleaned the inside
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/11.jpg

I also soaked the wheel well with Megs All Purpose Cleaner to loosen up the dirt
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/46.jpg

Moving onto the interior I started first by dusting out all the tight crevices and spaces

Please forgive my bootleg brush, my Megs Slide Lock Brush gave out on me so I had to take the left over bristles and wrap them up in a rubber band. Thankfully they still did the job.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/12.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/13.jpg

I used my Megs Triple Duty Brush to get in between the cracks of the seat
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/14.jpg

After the dusting I cleaned up the pedals with Megs All Purpose Cleaner. No dressing though as I don't want them to be slippery
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/15.jpg

Here is a before and after of them

Before
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/16.jpg

After
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/17.jpg

Started vacuuming
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/18.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/19.jpg

I hate seeing dirty in between the seats
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/20.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...21whitebal.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/22.jpg

I wiped down the interior with Megs All Purpose Cleaner. Generally the reason I do this rather then going straight into dressing the interior is 1) I would like to have a clean surface to dress and 2) I look at it as sort of an anti bacterial cleaning of the surface(think about it how many times has some one coughed or sneezed in your car and no wipe down)
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/25.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/26.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/27.jpg

I leather cleaned and conditioned the seats with Gliptone Leather Cleaner and Conditioner. I have to confess this WAS the best leather treatment to me until I came across Leatherique this winter and experimented with it on my leather coat.

Scrubbing the leather seats with my Swissvax Leather Brush and Gliptone Leather Cleaner each seat broken down section by section.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...slk/28redo.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...slk/29redo.jpg

Here they are after.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/30.jpg

Applied Gliptone Leather Conditoner by hand, especially on perforated leather breaking it down in my hands first makes it so much more easier to deal with it because it doesn't build up in the tiny holes. As well applying it by hands allows me to work in the full conditioner into the seats rather then have it soak and waste into a microfibre cloth or any other applicator.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/31.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/32.jpg

Finally after everything I applied the interior dressing which was Megs Hyper Dressing. I honestly do not like shiny interior dressings(not gonna name any brands you know who you are lol) and one thing I like about Hyper Dressing is it is water based and can be cut with water for different levels of shine. You can have high gloss, medium gloss, satin finish, and natural finish. I like to have it cut somewhere in between satin and natural finish.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...slk/33redo.jpg

I cleaned the windows with Stoners Invisible Glass and my Glass Master Pro. Wiped off the remaining conditioner that didn't absorb into the seats and now here are the afters of the interior.

No shiny here everything has a nice natural glow
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/34.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/35.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/43.jpg

Complimentary AMG shot
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/42.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/38.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/37.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/41.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/39.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/40.jpg

Artsy fartsy carpet shot. It is looking clean though
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/36.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/44.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/45.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/24.jpg

Moving on to the exterior I started with the engine

All of these are just after shots
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/50.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/51.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/52.jpg

Cleaned the wheels with my EZ-Brush
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/47.jpg

Did the rim face with my microfibre mitt
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/48.jpg

I usually clean exhausts with Chemical Guys Grime Reaper but I ran out so I applied the P21s Wheel Gel to the exhaust and scrubbed it with 0000 steel wool. I must say that I was pretty impressed with the out come using the wheel gel and as I think about it now I may use this on some after market exhausts that come my way seeing as it is ph balanced and non acidic making it safe for all finishes
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/49.jpg

It was a cloudy day to begin with but when the sun peeked out for a bit I found some surprises on the hood, roof, and trunk

This is an example of bad polishing and the perils of putting a rotary polisher in the hands of the non experienced. Buffer trails all over the top end of the car and what a hack style to. Instead of polishing the whole car they just tried to get away with polishing the hood, roof, and trunk but I guess it is better they not polish the whole car anyways
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/53.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/54.jpg

This is just terrible, it looks like they just went wildly back and forth with the polisher
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/55.jpg

Anyways on to the washing using the two bucket method and a lambswool mitt. Soap was Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Gloss mixed with Prep Wash to strip anything that was on the paint wither it be wax, glaze, etc so that I could have a clean bare surface to work with.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/56.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/57.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...slk/58redo.jpg

Dried the car with my waffle weave towel and brought it in to clay. Clay was Riccardo yellow clay and lube was Megs Last touch diluted 25 lube 75 water.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/59.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/60.jpg

Measured the paint to look out for any low spots and to inform the owner of any repaints that they might not have known about prior to purchase
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/73.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/74.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/75.jpg

Masked up all the trim etc
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/72.jpg

And began to polish with a black lambswool pad and Menzerna Super Intensive Polish using the Zenith Point Technique

Here are some befores and afters

Before
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/61.jpg

After
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/62.jpg

Before
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/63.jpg

After
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/64.jpg

Before
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/65.jpg

After
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/66.jpg

Before
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/67.jpg

After
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/68.jpg

Here is a shot of me polishing
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/85.jpg

This is the deep scratch that was on the trunk
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/69.jpg

I wetsanded it out with a 2400 grit sanding disc and my Porter Cable then passed over it again with a 4000 grit disc
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/70.jpg

And finally polished it all out. I was not able to completely remove the scratch but definitely improved it

I put a little arrow to show what was left
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/71.jpg

My camera died but I did the second stage of polishing with a white Lake Country pad and Menzerna PO85rd

After the jeweling stage I wiped down the paint with a plush microfibre cloth and ipa alcohol to clean off the polishing oils and clean up any left over dust
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/77.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/78.jpg

I checked over my work with my 3M Sun Gun(I hate the battery life on this thing)
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/79.jpg

Here are some afters of the jeweling process and just before wax. I don't know if it is the ceramic clear coat or just me but the shine was looking really crazy to me, you be the judge
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/80.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/83.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/82.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/81.jpg

Applied Swissvax Concorso
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/84.jpg

In the meantime while the wax was curing I dressed the tires with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel, cleaned the outside windows, and polished the exhaust with Megs NXT metal polish
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/76.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/86.jpg

Now after 2 days of work here are the money shots... drum roll please

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/110.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/112.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/100.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/101.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/88.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/103.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...slk/87redo.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/89.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/90.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/104.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/91.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/106.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/92.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/94.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/109.jpg

Here are some sun shots to show the condition of paint under the light of truth. The metallic flake was looking beautiful to if I might say
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/108.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/98.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/107.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/99.jpg

Remember how the hood looked under the sun with all those buffer trails
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/95.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/96.jpg

And how the roof looked to with all those buffer trails
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icksslk/97.jpg

Finally my two favorite shots
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/111.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...cksslk/102.jpg

3:09am here in Toronto and finally finished my write up

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it and any comments or questions are more then welcome

Cheers,
Wes