CL500 W215 ‘Paid In Full’ Style

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Cxly

Active Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2020
Messages
103
Location
United Kingdom
Car
CL500 W215 ‘03
Hey Guys,

I hope I’m posting this in the right section, I’m still a new member and it’s all still new to me.

Heres my CL500 W215 ‘03 Facelift.

Bought this from my Dad as he started neglecting it as he’s got too many cars and this one was one of my childhood favourites!
When I got it about 4 weeks ago, the body and interior was in a state, scuffs, scratches, panels falling apart, wheel corroded etc...

Got some pictures at the beginning (Wish I took more now!!)
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The first task I wanna going to tackle were the Headlights - these things were cloudy, yellow abs rough as hell. I used the Meguirs stage 2 Headlight kit with some extra steps, I’ll write it out down below:

S1: Attach the scuff pad supplied and attach to a drill (Or by hand). Spray water onto the headlights and begin going at it at a moderate speed until you start seeing the yellow fade away.
S2: Wipe off the remaining residue, spray more water (Very important as this keeps the heat down and pick up and take away the old layers of plastic), turn up the speed slightly and get an even surface over the entire light - should have now yellow left.
S3: You’ll need a bucket with some water in with a 1500, 2500 and a 3000 if possible. Start off with the 1500 and begin sanding in straight lines, no circles or you’ll be chasing your self trying to get rid of your own scratches. As you work your way through each pad, when wet, you’ll begin to see the clarity return on each stage.
S4: Once the sanding is done, you’ll need a Compound Pad (I went with Foam as I believe it handles plastic better than a Microfibre cutting pad) and a Polishing Pad/finishing pad. With your Compound Pad, apply the Compound supplied in the Kit and apply 3-5 Dots and begin working it into the headlight at a moderate speed on your polisher/drill. Now this part is tricky if you have a different style of headlight as you will want to apply more speed and pressure but be careful of the angles your push on and you don’t want to have uneven pressure causing burn marks etc.. Once residue is beginning to go, wipe away. At this stage you will start getting excited as you see how clear it becomes.
S5: Move onto your Finishing Pad, now here I used my own polishing liquid as one wasn’t supplied and went with 3M’s Fine Finishing polish, works wonders. Same method as before work slow and gradually turn up the speed to accommodate your headlight.
S6: Make sure your headlights are completely clean at this point and begin masking everything around your Headlights as you’ll be getting ready to apply Meguirs Headlight Clear Coat.
S7: Begin Spraying - you all know how to spray here I’m sure but, I went light on the first two coats and then the remaining went quite heavy to get the Crystal finish. I left about 5 Minutes between coats.
S8: Let it sit for 15 Minutes, check your overspray areas on the tape to see if it’s tacky, if it’s tacky, start removing the tape carefully. Once removed, let the Headlights cure over night and you’ll be good to wash them, polish etc..
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After this step, I wanted to tackle the wheels. This was a bit out of my depth to handle so I took these over to Smart Car Detailing in Wolverhampton. They did an unbelievable job, took out two buckles, all the curb rashes, and the corrosion which were on the surface. Full Powder coated job and looks great! Highly recommend them.

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During the time the car was on jackstands when the wheels were getting painted, I looked at the panels I could save by paint correcting and save some money on the paint.
I did the Roof and Boot Lid the best I could, the before and after was a joke, it’s like a mirror.
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Now, it was time for paint! I opted not to have the doors (Didn’t have enough time to fit it into the schedule) or side skirts done as I’m planning on have the side skirts replaced when the bodykit I have in mind arrives. A5C16672-AC6C-4C7C-935C-F5FA1F6A334F.jpegD335BC82-7FD9-4366-93DB-1A6565E9FE2C.jpegFF2E9DB9-6C01-4330-8118-161A0E3C2BD0.jpegB9A4E658-142E-401F-9CA6-49C81F4D5F47.jpeg2AF2ACD9-9A87-4A2B-AF9D-8818804ED728.jpegC3CFB9A8-A739-4F54-BF7F-6C78E9E76D0C.jpeg82606A9D-F8DC-42FD-928C-23A4F600FBF5.jpeg90468E9F-FD3C-4D7F-955D-DEA73AB7498F.jpegAE9D26E1-1AB0-48A5-93CD-8279951E0ACE.jpeg
 
Back to the build!

After Paint, I began to sort out the Exhaust system. It already had a Custom Exhaust from a Company in London ( I won’t mention them due to the horrendous job they did which we’ll later find out) however, the brackets have free’d it self from the actual exhaust just causing an horrendous rattle between 2000-3000rpm.
About 2 weeks ago I went to Visit MSL Performance to run a diagnostic on the ECU to see what extra performance I can get but to also remove the TopSpeed Limiter🤥 and see if some snaps and crackles could be added (More on this in the next couple of weeks) As I was there, I had parked it up on the ramp to see if they could adjust the lowering links which were already on the car. Unfortunately, upon looking, they have formed rust on the threads which means another set is needing, oh well. But as it was still in the air and I was waiting around, I thought to chat to the guys at Torque Flow Exhausts and check out the exhaust with the rattling issue. He pointed out the issues with the brackets rusting away (Common problem) but then started to point out the horrendous fabrication the previous exhaust fabricators did. They had both pipes resting on the rear cross member and over bent pipes which led to exhaust hangers now being mounted vertically!!
Take a look down below.
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On the second photo, you’re looking at the rear drivers side, you can see how over bent the pint work is😂 When they originally did it, they never had it in the air to check the exhaust, it had just seem fine when revving and of course the excitement of an exhaust, you never think straight.
But anyway, TorqueFlow did a great job which they documented on their Instagram story and it sounds even better now by taking out two chambers and by making new brackets. I’ll try grab a video!
 
Now fast forward a week ago, I’ve begun tackling a secret I’ve kept away from you all till now, the dreaded fibre optic system... No sound at all. I’ve got two amplifiers, tested them both, still nothing.
Did some digging and started to learn about Fibre Optics in the Mercedes world and learned mine is the D2B Fibre Optic. I’ve also learned I could sort the problem out by looping a connection if there is a break somewhere. So fingers cross this works as I’ve been quoted £800 to rerun new fibre optic wiring through the car (Also £399 for a apple car play system which fills out the whole panel, which I’ll probably go for anyway). Only downside is the D2B loops are a pain to get ahold of as no one in the UK stocks them, so I’ve had to order from America - they should be arriving end of next week.
I just hope it works as I am missing music on long trips and would like to save the money😂.

Side note, if you guys have any experience with the D2B fibre optics, could you give me a message as any help would be major!
 
Congratulations on a job well done, a credit to you for bringing the best MB Coupe back to life. I do think the wheels work very well :thumb: Are they Vossen ?
 
Now fast forward a week ago, I’ve begun tackling a secret I’ve kept away from you all till now, the dreaded fibre optic system... No sound at all. I’ve got two amplifiers, tested them both, still nothing.
Did some digging and started to learn about Fibre Optics in the Mercedes world and learned mine is the D2B Fibre Optic. I’ve also learned I could sort the problem out by looping a connection if there is a break somewhere. So fingers cross this works as I’ve been quoted £800 to rerun new fibre optic wiring through the car (Also £399 for a apple car play system which fills out the whole panel, which I’ll probably go for anyway). Only downside is the D2B loops are a pain to get ahold of as no one in the UK stocks them, so I’ve had to order from America - they should be arriving end of next week.
I just hope it works as I am missing music on long trips and would like to save the money😂.

Side note, if you guys have any experience with the D2B fibre optics, could you give me a message as any help would be major!

As far as the fibre optics are concerned there is a Forum retail member, speak to Richard or Alfie www.commandonline.co.uk

Highly recommended.
 
Congratulations on a job well done, a credit to you for bringing the best MB Coupe back to life. I do think the wheels work very well :thumb: Are they Vossen ?
Thank you!

The wheels are actually Ispiri ISR5, it really changes the whole look on the car - can’t drive anywhere without someone complementing it😂.
 
Loving your work bringing back such a beautiful car back to life. The W215 is a thing of beauty, but I must confess not liking the sound of bodykits,,,,unless if is a OEM one from the AMG variant? ;)
 
Hi,
What makes you think you have issues with the fibre cables? are they damaged? they are only effectively a loop round the control units in the stereo, have you got Command 2 or Command NTG1 (Navigation Processor disc drive in the boot), damage to cables is generally only an issue at the termination points where the damage would be very obvious.
I have added Linguatronic to my CLS (NTG1) and had to break into the fibre network to add the Linguatronic module, and then that had to be coded in the fibre loop.
If the system doesn't power up at all it could point to a Wake Up system fault or if any control unit is faulty could shut the system down.
Where in the UK are you? I could have a quick look and probably have a fibre loop bypass if needed, I am going to be taking the boot linings out on my CLS so we could if needed swap a few control units around from mine to your car to attempt to eliminate the issue.
 
Loving your work bringing back such a beautiful car back to life. The W215 is a thing of beauty, but I must confess not liking the sound of bodykits,,,,unless if is a OEM one from the AMG variant? ;)
Thanks Abb!
Not to worry, I’m trying to keep it subtle but add something like the AMG bodykit adds. An AMG body kit would be perfect but finding one is unbelievably hard and quite expensive to source. I’m looking at Prior Designs bodykit, it gives an AMG sense but with a little bit of a modern touch - I’ll add a picture below. 8F2C47E8-7415-4A07-9B0C-375D2A0A29A1.jpegI’ve seen one a while back in Obsidian Black, and looked brilliant. I think it keeps the theme I’m trying to go for without going over board. Not planning to do this till next year sometime, no point in doing it during the Winter months.
 
Hi,
What makes you think you have issues with the fibre cables? are they damaged? they are only effectively a loop round the control units in the stereo, have you got Command 2 or Command NTG1 (Navigation Processor disc drive in the boot), damage to cables is generally only an issue at the termination points where the damage would be very obvious.
I have added Linguatronic to my CLS (NTG1) and had to break into the fibre network to add the Linguatronic module, and then that had to be coded in the fibre loop.
If the system doesn't power up at all it could point to a Wake Up system fault or if any control unit is faulty could shut the system down.
Where in the UK are you? I could have a quick look and probably have a fibre loop bypass if needed, I am going to be taking the boot linings out on my CLS so we could if needed swap a few control units around from mine to your car to attempt to eliminate the issue.
Hello,
Sorry I might come across a bit dim at this point with all the knowledge thrown at me but I think I have Command 2? The updated screen in the facelifts? I also have a CD Changer in the boot too.

That would be brilliant, I’m based in Birmingham and Shrewsbury, Westmidlands. Where are you?

Oh and also, what makes me think I have an issue with it is from speaking from
Numerous specialists and explaining what happened.
It was working then just stopped, when everything is connected, the CD changer powers up (Can hear it powering up), I don’t hear or see anything from the amp though? Also, I don’t see any lights appear too.

Thanks for the extra info!
 
Hi
I am in Southampton so distance might be an issue.
Does yours look like the one fitted in this link?
Or like the one in this link
Where does your sat nav disc go? Is it a CD or a DVD?
 

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