Hi Guys
Work has been very busy, especially with these crystal lacquer protections. With winter coming, it could not be a better time to have such a durable protection. With C1 it becomes the functional surface of your vehicles paintwork making it a covalent bond. This alone is much stronger then a physical bond that you would normally get with waxes and sealants. Along with a bio mimetic coating it really is the most durable style of protection to grace automotive paint.
So last week, MBClub member, ‘LoveDay’ bought his C63 AMG to have some love and attention placed back into is much loved car. This had been on the cards for a while, but with MB messing Mr Loveday around for nearly a year it got pushed back. Either way, nearly a year and the car made its trip from Kent, down to me in Berkshire. The service that was agreed was the following:
Complete correction detail.
Wheels off detail.
Complete interior detail.
C1 crystal lacquer for paint.
G1 smart glass nanocoat.
C5 wheel armour.
The first step was to remove the traffic film around the lower half of the car. For this is used surfex HD, which was sprayed and left to dwell for 10 minutes.
The next was to lift off all the bug splatter from the bumper, front of bonnet and wing mirrors. For this I used Poorboy Bug Squash. This was left for 5 minutes as it works incredibly well and lifts them from the paint, without have to rub hard at them.
Once completed it was time to give the car a full degrease with some elite car care snow foam. This was left for 10 minutes and then rinsed off thoroughly. This included all shuts, gaps, and grilles, badges, inside arches and under side seals.
The car was then washed using the 2 bucket method from the zaino twins along with G Wash and my brand new dooker mitt. These are by far my favourite mitt to date as well as being the most well made one I have ever used.
Once washed, the car was dried with one of my XL plush 70/30 drying towels. These are super absorbent and never need ringing out when drying a vehicle. I can even dry a range rover sport with this size towel once around.
I then proceeded with the warm air dryer to remove all the annoying water that drops from every gap. So all inside doors, mirrors gaps, shuts, grilles, inside arches and badges were warm air dried.
Once this was completed, it was time to clay the car. For this is used my choice of dodo juice gentle grey clay and meguiars last touch quick detailer for lube. This is by far the best clay I have ever used. I find a lot of clay bar fall apart but gentle grey seems to stay together very well. Best of all it doesn’t mar the paint which most clay does quite a lot.
Just a quick picture of the clay bar after the bonnet.
The car was then given a full IPA wipe down to remove clay sling and to make sure the car was free from old waxes and silicones. This revealed some interesting dulling on the boot. This really did look like the remnants of acidic TFR but I know the owner looks after his cars so there’s no way this was his doing. Either way it was going to be replaced with a swirl free, super glossy boot lid before this detail was finished.
A quick shot of the car after a full IPA wipedown.
The owner had requested the car be corrected with P1 and P2. This was attempted but with Mercedes new recently improved ‘Nano Lacquer’ it removes nothing. So it was time to get the big boys out. Megs 105 on an LC Pad was used for the entire compounding stage. Scholls concept s17 on a LC CCS orange polishing pad was used for polishing. Then G-Techniq P2 was used to refine the paint on a 3M blue pad. This product is great as it’s completely water based, therefore not needing an IPA wipe down to ensure a true finish.
Here are some shots from the correction.
Some interesting defects in the lacquer!
Once the car was corrected, it was time to de dust the car. Megs 105 on a wool pad creates a lot of dust. So a combination of the air line and a supernatural duster were used to get the car dust free.
Here is a short 720p video of the bonnet after correction but no lsp or protection. This is straight up alcohol wiped, silicone free paint finish.
Gemclean Detailing-Mercedes C63 AMG Bonnet - YouTube
Work has been very busy, especially with these crystal lacquer protections. With winter coming, it could not be a better time to have such a durable protection. With C1 it becomes the functional surface of your vehicles paintwork making it a covalent bond. This alone is much stronger then a physical bond that you would normally get with waxes and sealants. Along with a bio mimetic coating it really is the most durable style of protection to grace automotive paint.
So last week, MBClub member, ‘LoveDay’ bought his C63 AMG to have some love and attention placed back into is much loved car. This had been on the cards for a while, but with MB messing Mr Loveday around for nearly a year it got pushed back. Either way, nearly a year and the car made its trip from Kent, down to me in Berkshire. The service that was agreed was the following:
Complete correction detail.
Wheels off detail.
Complete interior detail.
C1 crystal lacquer for paint.
G1 smart glass nanocoat.
C5 wheel armour.
The first step was to remove the traffic film around the lower half of the car. For this is used surfex HD, which was sprayed and left to dwell for 10 minutes.
The next was to lift off all the bug splatter from the bumper, front of bonnet and wing mirrors. For this I used Poorboy Bug Squash. This was left for 5 minutes as it works incredibly well and lifts them from the paint, without have to rub hard at them.
Once completed it was time to give the car a full degrease with some elite car care snow foam. This was left for 10 minutes and then rinsed off thoroughly. This included all shuts, gaps, and grilles, badges, inside arches and under side seals.
The car was then washed using the 2 bucket method from the zaino twins along with G Wash and my brand new dooker mitt. These are by far my favourite mitt to date as well as being the most well made one I have ever used.
Once washed, the car was dried with one of my XL plush 70/30 drying towels. These are super absorbent and never need ringing out when drying a vehicle. I can even dry a range rover sport with this size towel once around.
I then proceeded with the warm air dryer to remove all the annoying water that drops from every gap. So all inside doors, mirrors gaps, shuts, grilles, inside arches and badges were warm air dried.
Once this was completed, it was time to clay the car. For this is used my choice of dodo juice gentle grey clay and meguiars last touch quick detailer for lube. This is by far the best clay I have ever used. I find a lot of clay bar fall apart but gentle grey seems to stay together very well. Best of all it doesn’t mar the paint which most clay does quite a lot.
Just a quick picture of the clay bar after the bonnet.
The car was then given a full IPA wipe down to remove clay sling and to make sure the car was free from old waxes and silicones. This revealed some interesting dulling on the boot. This really did look like the remnants of acidic TFR but I know the owner looks after his cars so there’s no way this was his doing. Either way it was going to be replaced with a swirl free, super glossy boot lid before this detail was finished.
A quick shot of the car after a full IPA wipedown.
The owner had requested the car be corrected with P1 and P2. This was attempted but with Mercedes new recently improved ‘Nano Lacquer’ it removes nothing. So it was time to get the big boys out. Megs 105 on an LC Pad was used for the entire compounding stage. Scholls concept s17 on a LC CCS orange polishing pad was used for polishing. Then G-Techniq P2 was used to refine the paint on a 3M blue pad. This product is great as it’s completely water based, therefore not needing an IPA wipe down to ensure a true finish.
Here are some shots from the correction.
Some interesting defects in the lacquer!
Once the car was corrected, it was time to de dust the car. Megs 105 on a wool pad creates a lot of dust. So a combination of the air line and a supernatural duster were used to get the car dust free.
Here is a short 720p video of the bonnet after correction but no lsp or protection. This is straight up alcohol wiped, silicone free paint finish.
Gemclean Detailing-Mercedes C63 AMG Bonnet - YouTube
I would like to say thanks to Steve for trusting me with his very very nice C63 AMG. It was a pleasure to work on and I’m sure he will take great pride in looking after it in his ownership. Also I would like to say thank you to rashman who is a weapon when it comes to an eagle eye with car detailing and for going over it with a fine tooth comb to make sure it was up to his standards. He is enough to make anyone come out in a cold sweat lol. Take care till next time guys.
