Haven't posted anything in awhile so figured I get back at it. I had this come into the shop about 2 months ago. He was a referral from a client who has the exact same car. This was in for a 2 stage correction and we were going to pull the wheels and detail the suspension as well.
Engine, jambs and body trim cleaned with Exclusive APC 3:1 and RG Brushes
Foamed with straight Exclusive APC
Washed with some cherry smelling soap I had kicking around LOL
Inner fenders were quite dirty so got Exclusive APC straight.
Wheels (faces and barrels) got Exclusive APC straight ( you'll see why shortly ) with the barrels on the fronts getting a bit help from a diluted acid to tidy up the nasty areas
Decontaminated with Iron X
Polished with PC / BS Yellow / Carpro Fixer and Green BS / Carpro Fixer
LSP was CG Blacklight / Exclusive Sealant
Wheels sealed with Blackfire All Metal Sealant
Tires dressed with CG VRT
Glass Polished with AG Car Glass Polish
Leather cleaned and conditioned with Raceglaze
Exhaust tips polished and protected with Britemax
Total time - approx 22 hours
The SLK upon arrival
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0174.jpg
Barrels were just filthy and would require a wee bit of elbow grease to clean up
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0175.jpg
The build up around the studs was nauseating
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0176.jpg
Lots of dirt build up around the trunk seal
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0177.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0178.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0179.jpg
Jambs, surprisingly, weren't too bad
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0181.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0182.jpg
Old wax build up on the hood grilles
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0183.jpg
Not too dirty but could use a little TLC
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0184.jpg
Wheel woolies.....not just for wheels anymore!
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0185.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0188.jpg
After washing the body, the car was jacked up to get the wheels off and get at the suspension. This is the ds rear before....
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0189.jpg
and after.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0194.jpg
Front before....
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0195.jpg
and after.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0198.jpg
After doing the suspension, I turned my attention to the wheels. This is the rear wheel before...
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0190.jpg
soaking in straight Exclusive APC....
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0191.jpg
and after.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0192.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0193.jpg
Front wheel before...
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0196.jpg
and after. I had to use some acid to clean up some nasty deposits on the back of the spokes and around center section
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0200.jpg
The entire car was soaked in IronX before claying.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0202.jpg
Nearly zero contaminants
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0205.jpg
End of day 1.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0206.jpg
Removing the grills on the hood to make polishing a lot easier
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0207.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0208.jpg
If you look carefully, you can see the crumpled sheet metal where someone was using a little too much pressure closing the hood. :(
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0209.jpg
Interior needed a thorough vacumming
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0211.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0212.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0213.jpg
Now that we had the car inside and out of the rain, we could finish the wheels. We pulled them again and started by soaking the tar spots in AG Intensive Tar Remover
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0214.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0215.jpg
All cleaned up.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0216.jpg
Wheels sealed with BF AMS
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0217.jpg
Calipers also received a coat of BF
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0226.jpg
Wheels torqued to factory specs
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0229.jpg
Carpro says you can use their polish ( Fixer ) to solve all of your polishing needs. We decided to find out. Started with Fixer / BS Yellow
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0230.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0233.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0234.jpg
After the yellow, I switched the BS Green with Fixer. Although it did work quite well, I think we may have gotten more gloss with a third step using a black or blue pad as well. For the enthusiast, Fixer is a great solution.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0235.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0236.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0237.jpg
After polishing, it was time to go outside for a bath to get rid of any polishing dust. I am happy to say that Fixer dusts very little when used with the PC.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0238.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0239.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0241.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0243.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0244.jpg
Interior all dialed in and looking as it should.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0245.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0246.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0247.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0248.jpg
Reinstalling the hood grilles
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0250.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0304.jpg
After applying a coat of CG Blacklight
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0305.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0306.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0308.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0309.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0311.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0312.jpg
Wheels looking spot on
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0314.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0315.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0317.jpg
Exhaust tips were polished and sealed with Britemax twins
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0320.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0322.jpg
After receiving a coat of Exclusive Sealant on the third morning. Actually started to rain as I was taking these pics. :(
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0325.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0327.jpg
Up next....
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...5/DSC_0328.jpg