My Name is Phil, and I’m addicted to…

[HB]

Ya loony

 

[st13phil]

And now it's been detailed...

Well, that’s the last bit of the planned work to get the car to where I want it to be.

Based upon positive feedback from a number of MBClub members who have used, and do use, his services I contacted Ed at Divine Detail and discussed with him what I wanted done to the car. For a variety of reasons, I had to reschedule a couple of times which Ed was very accommodating about and eventually I took the car to him last Thursday, 31st March.

Although I’d spoken with Ed on the phone, this was the first time we had met and also the first opportunity he’d had to inspect the car. While he took a look around it we had a good chat and I must say that he came over as both a true automotive enthusiast and a thoroughly nice guy. I took the opportunity to point out a couple of particular issue areas that I wanted attending to as I work on the basis that it’s unfair to ask someone to agree to do a job and not be clear about your expectations. After looking the car over, Ed suggested that instead of the GTechniq Crystal Serum that I’d had on my previous Obsidian Black E63 and we’d discussed for this car over the phone, his recommendation was Kamikaze ISM + Kamikaze Overcoat. This was because he finds that the Kamikaze product gives more depth to light colours – this E63 is in Designo Diamond White – than the Crystal Serum, and improves the pearlescent effect without sacrificing durability. As he has much more experience than me of the different coatings, I deferred to his recommendation and settled on the Kamikaze products.

Ed gave me a lift to the car rental place (top tip if like me you live some distance from Ed and need a car while your is being detailed: Enterprise Rent-a-Car’s Caterham branch is 5 minutes up the road and offers some good deals if you book at least a couple of weeks in advance) where I picked up the Ford Focus I’d reserved and headed home.

Over the following days Ed provided daily updates on progress, complete with a few photos, which is a nice touch.

Roll forward to yesterday, Tuesday 5th and I headed back to pick up my car. We had arranged that I would call Ed when I arrived at the car rental place and he would come and pick me up, and that’s exactly what he did. Although the weather was a bit dull yesterday afternoon, I could immediately see the improvement to my car. There is now a real depth to the finish that wasn’t present before, and the pearlescent shading effect over the body contours is much more pronounced. It’s difficult to show in photographs, but in the flesh it’s really obvious. As I looked round the car it was obvious that Ed’s attention to detail is absolutely first class. There’s not a trace of any product residue anywhere and he even went to the extent of aligning one leg of each wheel centre star to point directly at the AMG logo on the wheel, and had positioned the locking wheel bolt in the same relative hole on each of the four wheels. He joked that it helped his OCD – at least, I think he was joking He took the time to point out the minor finish blemishes that I’d mentioned to him that he’d resolved, and also a small stone chip on one of the wheel arches that he’d found but that I hadn’t mentioned when I dropped the car off. In the interior, as well as cleaning and treating the leather and the fabrics, he’d even machine polished the wood trims on the door cards and dashboard to eliminate the micro scratches and leave a mirror finish.

This is the second car I’ve owned that I’ve had professionally detailed and although the paint on this car was in pretty good condition to start with, the improvement Ed has made was obvious enough that my wife commented on how much better the car looked when I got it home. The big bonus is that with the combination of meticulous preparation and the current crop of coatings that pro detailers use, future maintenance is much easier and simpler. Together with a very modest bill for the work he had done, Ed also gave me a USB stick containing photo’s of my car before, during and after the detail which is another nice touch. I’m delighted with the results that Ed has achieved. He’s genuinely enthusiastic about what he does and is a really nice guy to boot. His rates are very competitive, his attention to detail borders on the obsessive, and I thoroughly recommend him.

Here are a few photo’s from the USB stick for you to see what’s been achieved…

A couple showing what it looked when I left it with Ed:




Being washed:


Ed checks the paint depths all over the car before starting any polishing:


Front wing showing minor swirling. This is typical of a low-mileage car that's been washed with insufficient care:


And after first-stage polishing:


Rear door before:


And after first-stage polishing:


Rear lamp lens shows typical “dealer washing” marks:


…which have been dealt with:


Interior wood shows minor swirls from cleaning:


Looks so much better for machine polishing:


Wheel arches get cleaned too. 2,400 miles of road dirt:


Gone!


Every wheel rim showed some scratching like this, probably caused by careless use of a pressure-washer lance by the dealer’s cleaners:


Fortunately, they responded to polishing:


Water marks on Pano Roof:


Gone!


The finished interior:


And one of the wheels (note alignment of AMG logo, locking bolt and centre star):


And a few of the exterior:






If you want to see it in the flesh, it’ll be at Charles Morgan’s Bicester Meet on Sunday!

 

[Red C220]

He's a nice lad isn't he. Takes a genuine interest in what he does and I felt quite comfortable leaving my car with him.

The only downside of using his services is the shine is so good on the car when it leaves it highlights the poor Mercedes orange peel paint. At least it does on my car, but I think it's worse on darker colours.

 

[daveenty]

Looks good Phil.

I won't be at Bicester unfortunately as I'm doing that West Midlands thing instead, and can't justify going another 80 or 90 miles down just to come back a few hours later.

I will be at PCS though, so keep it looking tidy till then please.

Glad you like it by the way, not bad for a glorified taxi are they.

 

[st13phil]

Best taxis on the planet, Dave

Enjoy the AMG meet & I'll see you at Olly's next month

 

[Deleted member 113659]

That looks out of this world Phil. And it'll be even better in the flesh as photos never do it justice.

Dream car for sure. Enjoy.

Ant.

 

[StuartK]

The E63 is a serious bit of kit. Perfprmance aside the detailing and luxurious touches on the interior are lovely!

 

[derekthetree]

Wow, great photos of some amazing work.

Is that an r26.r next to it?

 

[alymac]

Great pictures of a wonderful car , it's been really interesting reading through your post getting a small sort of insight into what it's like to actually own a beast like this, i'd love to think something like this would grace my drive one day, enjoy

 

[stumpy1]

Ed uses Kamikaze products on some of my cars and they hold up amazingly well considering they aren't garaged. Phil is also correct when he says that the car looks a different colour. It's hard to believe the difference until you see it. My dealer damaged the wheels on my Phantom by poking the lance inbetween the spokes. I had to pay half towards a refurb though. If only I knew Ed then!

 

[st13phil]

Is that an r26.r next to it?

It is. It's set up on track tyres and has deep bucket seats with full harnesses. Ed gave me lift to collect the rental car in it, even though strictly speaking I'm too fat to fit in it

 

[derekthetree]

It is. It's set up on track tyres and has deep bucket seats with full harnesses. Ed gave me lift to collect the rental car in it, even though strictly speaking I'm too fat to fit in it

Nice, I see them for sale from time to time and have to convince myself I don't need one. A future classic no doubt.

 

[developer]

Fab Phil, perfect for our bi corner on Sunday - oo-er.

 

[stumpy1]

Nice, I see them for sale from time to time and have to convince myself I don't need one. A future classic no doubt.

I offered to swap my Scud for it and Ed said no. It's a special car alright...

 

[Charles Morgan]

Looking forward to seeing it on Sunday!

 

[st13phil]

And I'm looking forward to seeing your W114!

 

[Cyclone1]

Great thread

 

[Cyclone1]

Can't reply to your pm Phil as your inbox is full.

Jules

 

[C43AMG]

Great thread Phil. I was very interested in your thoughts on the biturbo as I pick up my W216 CL on Saturday from Birmingham MB. I went up a couple of weeks ago to have a look and a test drive. Your thought's on the Quaife was interesting, when I had it fitted to the 55 the difference was amazing, the car felt so much more planted, so that could be it's first mod Having spoken to Bryan on the Forum re the difference between the 55 Kompressor and the biturbo, chalk and cheese he said. How right he was.
It's going in to Old School Windsreens for some subtle tinting on Monday and then on the 12th to Ed for the full Kamakaze treatment. Very excited

 

[C36fan]

Great thread Phil. I was very interested in your thoughts on the biturbo as I pick up my W216 CL on Saturday from Birmingham MB. I went up a couple of weeks ago to have a look and a test drive. Your thought's on the Quaife was interesting, when I had it fitted to the 55 the difference was amazing, the car felt so much more planted, so that could be it's first mod Having spoken to Bryan on the Forum re the difference between the 55 Kompressor and the biturbo, chalk and cheese he said. How right he was.
It's going in to Old School Windsreens for some subtle tinting on Monday and then on the 12th to Ed for the full Kamakze treatment. Very excited

Some pictures is mandatory!lol
Enjoy your new car ,I loved your old one one of the best looking 215 I ever seen.