C350CDi - is this one any better??!

[magic qcs]

Well after the success of my last thread , I thought I'd share some moar images of another C350CDi which had a more advanced treatment carried out.

* Single stage machine polish.
* Concours Car Care "Ceramishield" ceramic sealant on paint and wheels.
* Swissvax Crystal Rock.

Total time spent was 2 days, ~18hrs. Full procedure below;

• Vehicle rinsed then snow foam applied to suspend dirt and left to dwell for 5 minutes.
• ‘Magic Wash’ with wheel arches and wheels soaked in a degreasing solution.
• Wheels cleaned with a non-acidic wheel gel and a selection of special wheel brushes
• Panel gaps, door shuts, and badges cleaned.
• Paintwork decontamination process (3 stages to remove bonded contaminants).
• Vehicle re-washed then hand-dried using 'deep pile' microfibre drying towels and blow dryer.
• Record paint thickness readings, and mask all exterior plastics ready for polishing.
• Enhance paintwork using a single stage gentle machine polishing process.
• Apply Ceramishield to all paintwork and wheels.
• Once Ceramishield had cured over 3hrs, apply Swissvax Crystal Rock.
• Door shuts waxed for added protection.
• Interior fabric cleaned and vacuumed.
• Interior trim dressed.
• Door seals and rubbers cleaned and protected.
• All glass cleaned.
• Exterior glass sealed using Ceramishield.
• Tyres and exterior trim cleaned, conditioned and dressed.
• Stainless steel/chrome cleaned and polished.
• Quality control final inspection.

Some images of the paintwork damage on arrival;

This was uniform around the car. So it was decided just a single stage machine polish via Rotary would be the best option to remove all traces of light damage, and correct the paintwork to near 100%. The job description was to "do what you can to stop this type of damage returning". Obviously the best thing is to invest in some quality wash media and hone the wash technique, but in addition, Ceramishield is the latest and most advanced ceramic sealant which is ~2-3 microns thick when applied correctly and forms an outer skin barrier which is 50% more scratch resistant than the existing clearcoat.

Images after polishing, before any application of protective coatings;

The finished shots after Ceramishield & Swissvax Crystal Rock had both cured.. enjoy

Rock on boys


All the best,
Matt.

 

[Mr B.]

looks good mate

 

[MattDC]

wow.... the finish you've achieved there is pretty amazing..... I could looking at getting myself a snow foam lance but havent taken the plunge so far.... once i have that it'd then be the slippery slope with clay bars and expensive polishes and sealants......

 

[magic qcs]

Thanks chaps.

No haterz this time around? Must have done a good job

@ MattDC - slippery slope indeed. Once you start, you buy one or two things and think that's all you'll need, and then you discover you need something else and then something else.. and before you know it, you've spent £500.

 

[LTD]

That's looking mighty fine.

 

[MattDC]

Much like when i started down the car audio route.......

 

[martyz]

Looks great,not being picky but what's the score with the bonnet? loads better,but can still see the marks.(last picture )

 

[magic qcs]

Look a little closer

Reflection of the aerial masts...

 

[martyz]

Looked

zoomed in and up 500%, some of it is aerial, two blobs correspond to photo 1...anyway I can't see it for real just looks that way.

 

[magic qcs]

No, it's all aeriel. So those blobs are directly in line with the aeriel masts? What a coincidence! Why is it on an iPhone a blind man can see that it's the aeriel reflection but when you zoom in 500% you can't??

Full of hate and rightly so, with Ceramishield and Crystal Rock on it, paintwork protection just doesn't get any better. What's yours got on, Turtle Wax?

 

[MattDC]

Looked

zoomed in and up 500%, some of it is aerial, two blobs correspond to photo 1...anyway I can't see it for real just looks that way.

Why even bother posting this.... if you had access to the original image rather than the 800x533 jpg attached to the thread then you could maybe comment..... even zooming to 200% you start to get pixelisation of the image and anything higher you start to see artefacts from the way that jpgs work.....

 

[MattDC]

Just had a second look at the pre and post work images.... although the angles arent the same you can tell that the aerial reflection is nowhere near in the same place as the original damage....

Why do people post having a go at someones work without bothering to ensure they are being accurate.....

 

[magic qcs]

Thanks for the support and logical reasoning Matt.

He said it because in a previous thread he said;

"sorry, have you seen detailed's work? tough act to follow......... nice valet though"

Truth of it is, at this level of detailing the difference is like splitting hairs, and I think the work on this C350 proves that. He's a hater though, and probably even more so now because he's been made to look silly.

Finally, as if by magic, those marks have disappeared in this pic;

Funny that eh! The marks disappear when there's nothing but the sky and some clouds being reflected.. !

 

[MattDC]

Thanks for the support and logical reasoning Matt.

He said it because in a previous thread he said;

"sorry, have you seen detailed's work? tough act to follow......... nice valet though"

Truth of it is, at this level of detailing the difference is like splitting hairs, and I think the work on this C350 proves that. He's a hater though, and probably even more so now because he's been made to look silly.

Finally, as if by magic, those marks have disappeared in this pic;

Funny that eh! The marks disappear when there's nothing but the sky and some clouds being reflected.. !

LOL.... yeah but he may just counter with the fact that the marks have now moved over to the right side of the bonnet........

 

[martyz]

No, it's all aeriel. So those blobs are directly in line with the aeriel masts? What a coincidence! Why is it on an iPhone a blind man can see that it's the aeriel reflection but when you zoom in 500% you can't??

Full of hate and rightly so, with Ceramishield and Crystal Rock on it, paintwork protection just doesn't get any better. What's yours got on, Turtle Wax?

Not an ounce of hate in my body.as I stated earlier can't see it for real,only asked what the score with the bonnet was and complemented your work to receive a snipe of a reply.sorry lost interest.

 

[martyz]

Just had a second look at the pre and post work images.... although the angles arent the same you can tell that the aerial reflection is nowhere near in the same place as the original damage....

Why do people post having a go at someones work without bothering to ensure they are being accurate.....

YOU go on to slate me as a hater,strange behaviour why?

not having a go at anyone,as I said earlier can't see it for real.

 

[mikec32]

Just a small bit of forum advice bud. You have come here as a detailer, so you must remember everyone already expects to see the very best in automotive cleaning. So all that will be left is criticism. So try to respond with a professional reply as,

'Full of hate and rightly so, with Ceramishield and Crystal Rock on it, paintwork protection just doesn't get any better. What's yours got on, Turtle Wax?

'

is not going to win you friendly forum members, let alone customers.

Quick question though, why would you layer up a carnauba wax over the top of a crystal laquer? What benifits to do you personally see from this?

Cheers

Mike

 

[JohnEclass]

Just a small bit of forum advice bud. You have come here as a detailer, so you must remember everyone already expects to see the very best in automotive cleaning. So all that will be left is criticism.

There speaks the voice of reason

As a new member on here I've been highly impressed with the knowledge, help and advice offered. I was a member of the VW forum....I have to say they were pretty dull and not very interactive.......either that or they did not like me

 

[magic qcs]

Just a small bit of forum advice bud. You have come here as a detailer, so you must remember everyone already expects to see the very best in automotive cleaning. So all that will be left is criticism. So try to respond with a professional reply as,

'Full of hate and rightly so, with Ceramishield and Crystal Rock on it, paintwork protection just doesn't get any better. What's yours got on, Turtle Wax?

'

is not going to win you friendly forum members, let alone customers.

Quick question though, why would you layer up a carnauba wax over the top of a crystal laquer? What benifits to do you personally see from this?

Cheers

Mike

Thanks for the friendly words of wisdom. You know yourself that not every single job you do is a correction detail, so the critisism from some in my opening thread wasn't really justifiable, nor very welcoming. Saying that, it's nothing I haven't heard before. I just wasn't expecting it, since it was my first ever post

First time on a German marque forum tbh. At least now I know that nothing short of a 40hr detail on a black SLR will please certain people on here. Glad to have found a little support from a few people though, who appreciate a detailed Merc! Got a Type-R in at the moment, nightmare paint, soft, sticky, and just plain awkward - give me rock solid Merc paint for me to work my magic on any day over Honda!


In response to your question though, Mike, it was a customer request. The car was originally just booked in for a protection job and for 2 layers of Crystal Rock. When they arrived the sun was out and as I'm sure you're getting at the moment, when the sun's out everyone wants their paintwork sorting! So the job was changed to a single stage polish plus Ceramishield to help prevent the damage reappearing - they then asked if they could still have Crystal Rock layered on top. Personally my thoughts were that it added slightly more depth to the colour, but not much, and then it does offer added protection.

Best wishes,
Matt.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

What's yours got on, Turtle Wax?

What's wrong with Turtle Wax?