I have used a rotary Silverline on the wheels, ok but, I don't fancy using it on the bodywork. I gather a DA is safer but I only want to restore and polish the paint up not cut it back, and I'm confused but the many and various pads and potions available for them - any advise please?
I had a go at the bonnet today (before I read the last post). There are a number of scratches and stone chips. Colour is 189 Smaragdsswartz which is blue opal/black metallic, not green/black (doh!). I had clayed it a few weeks ago. It had been washed. Application by hand on stockinette and removed with same or mircofibre polyester :-
I started with Autoglym Paint Restorer, the cloth came away brown. The road film finally got removed, I would have expected the washing and clay and previous SRP to have done that but the Restorer did it better, the blue colour is now clearer.
Now a number of fine swirls apparent so I used Meguiars Swirl-X. Strangely enough this worked.
Then the Autoglym Super Resin Polish, usual suspect.
There were a few pimples and tiny brown spots so I spotted them with Meguiars Scratch-X 2.0 and my fingernail. This also improved the appearance of some of the little stone chips which the Restorer had left white.
and another coat of SRP.
Then a coat of Autoglym Ultra Deep Shine, which seems to be more waxy than the SRP. This wants to go on thin otherwise it leaves thick white sticky deposit which is indeed hard work. It does improve the depth of shine compared to the SRP.
I then gave it a light going over with Meguiars Tech Wax Spray, probably unnecessary but it is wet and it removed the last of the smudges and haze left by the UDS.
Finally a coat of Autoglym High Definition Wax.
Now I'm no expert, so I've probably duplicated effort but results look good with most of the scratches and stone chips disappeared.
When I move on to the side panels, there a deeper scratches that I shall need to touch up. I have got the Halfords 3-pen set, or some nitrocellulose which can be brushed, or sprayed when thinned with an airbrush. Naturally these are different colours.
- Does any one know what factory paint formulation is used on 1998 E320?
- Which is the most compatible paint formulation to use for touch up work?
There's a couple of acres left to do. How do you manage the roof, it's like the deck of an aircraft carrier ;-)