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How do you clean a car with a finish like that? you wouldnt want to rub too hard to remove dirt in case you make it shiney.

Lovely car though. :thumb:
 
You have to rub pretty hard, ie polish it as it's a harder coating than the ceramic lacquer on a normal finish.

You protect it by using products not containing silicons or waxes, then use a sealant with no gloss enhancers. I've used Nanolex. To clean it, you just wash it, then use a special matt quick detailer if not replacing the sealant. It is actually easier to look after this finish as there is no polishing or waxing to be done.

Lots of Yanks have this finish on their various AMG's now and the consensus is that the paint is no more hassle than standard paint just requires a different approach.

I'll of course let you know if I change my mind in a few months!! ;) First impressions though is that it's a lot different to other matt paints I've seen.

I'm still waiting for the car to be delivered.. appears the seats I ordered have not been supplied by the factory...... Expletive deleted.
 
At the dealer waiting to see if they can retrofit the right seat package. Trying to remain cool.. ;)

Luke at LG Autoworx does all my cars.
 
Lagerlout said:
At the dealer waiting to see if they can retrofit the right seat package. Trying to remain cool.. ;)

Luke at LG Autoworx does all my cars.

Any news on your seats?
 
Well I got my hands on the car today finally, and lovely it is too. Once I've broken it in and taken some proper photos I'll post back up again. Just loving the colour looks amazing. Smitten!
 
Lagerlout said:
Well I got my hands on the car today finally, and lovely it is too. Once I've broken it in and taken some proper photos I'll post back up again. Just loving the colour looks amazing. Smitten!

Great news. Did you get the seats sorted or did you go with what they deliver?

Look forward to a review.
 
It was the active multi-contour option they left off by mistake, decided I could live without it after a play with them in the flesh. They come standard with a load of adjustments that used to be only the reserve of the multi-contour seats. Basically the only difference appears to be massage and active bolsters which I can live without. I was most concerned with the lumbar/bolsters which are all adjustable anyway. I've got a bad disc in my back so it's pretty essential the seats work for me. God I feel old. LOL
 
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Just a quick update on the SL. I've managed to put about 700 miles on it already, mostly pootling around as I'm running it in, but the odd burst of acceleration as the mileage has been going up.

Firstly, the car is a bit quick. ;) Shockingly so I'd say, in the kind of blur your vision quick. So it's a bit of a giggle. Very much like a muted SLS but doesn't handle quite as well as an SLS. It has immense grip though and I'd say it's a lot quicker than a number of exotics through sweepers for example.

It's massively different to the SL500 I've also driven which is much more barge like.

It cruises incredibly well, the interior is just, well, beautiful. Stunning. Perfect. The seats are a work of art as is the dashboard. Great place to be and not cluttered like a 911 for example. It's doing 19 mpg at the moment. The looks which I thought were marmite are just growing on me every time I see it, it's such a game changer looks wise it's very challenging, but it just oozes modernity and sex appeal (!). Shame I can't say the same about me. LOL

Negatives? Virtually none, it is a bit laggy when in the wrong gear down low, and the autobox likes to be in a much lower gear when crusing than I personally like, but it's fine in Sport+. Manual is a bit of a waste of time really, it changes up too slowly especially if you're anywhere near the rev limiter. Sport + changes faster anyway. Bit odd.

Brakes are utterly immense, and require the slightests of touches. The ceramics are night and day compared to the steels, humongous difference. I don't think they're grabby, they just require a lighter pedal touch which is kind of the opposite compared to some other ceramic brands ie F/P which require more shove to get them to work.

Build quality is exceptional, just sublime, as it should be. But this really shows where Mercedes have been refocussing their talents.

Overall love the car, and it's being babied to the max. Only goes out when it's dry, and gets cleaned every time before it's put away. Sad, I know. ;)
 
lucky man!

the SL looks have certainly grown on me too. when it first appeared, I thought it terrible. now, I think it's spot on for the kind of car that it is.

the ABC does work amazingly well .. acej took me for a short burst in his SL63, and it cornered very quickly and almost completely flat.

I have ceramics on my 911 .. they are wonderful. You can brake very late and very hard, and response is near instantaneous -- unlike the CLS55's brakes, which takes a moment or two (comparatively speaking) to respond, as if asking, "what, me?" before reacting with vigour.
 
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Lagerlout


Cheers for the update and glad your enjoying it. I have totally fallen for mine and will save the feedback for my forum a month on update at the beginning of Sept.

I was also shocked by how quick it feels compared to my c63 and it handles better as well even for its size (2nd track training day booked the 1st was a revelation) :). I have the LSD but not ceramics but the stock breaks felt good your must stop before you've started.

J
 
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Can't stop snapping. ;) After todays shampoo and cut. Close up of the wheels for fellow wheel freaks. Car is run in now. Only just found the Sport button which is DSC off? Sounds fun. :bannana: or :crazy:



 
I love, love, really love the alloys :)
 
Well the car has 2k miles on him now, about to get the obligatory LSD diff oil change. Apart from that, I wanted to reassure anyone considering a Designo Matt finish (can't comment on non Designo matt ie Cerrusite) to just do it.

The finish is just as tough, I suspect tougher than standard gloss. It's easier to clean, I just snow foam it, pressure wash it, and wipe it down with a MF cloth. I also blow it dry which gets all the water off it and stops marking - especially if you use an inline filter for the final wash via a hose. Therefore I hardly need to touch the paint at all.

I protect it with Nanolex Matt products which add zero "colour" (unlike others like Swissvax) and make the water just bead right off as it's a nanotech coat over the car. Stunning stuff. Anyway, if you're worried about matt don't, just do it if you like it! It is actually easier to look after.

If you scratch it,you paint it, that's the only consideration to be aware of. As I never fix minor scratches anyway that doesn't bother me as I will paint a panel if the scratch is bad enough.
 

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