SLK - The results of a week of madness

[Goldfish11]

What do you do when you buy a new car? Drive it around alot? Not me, my sad CPD (compulsive Polishing Disorder) illness kicked in

I have been dying to put a few pictures on the forum of our new SLK. We picked it up on Monday and drove it back to the midlands. Here is a diary of what happened next.

The car is Benitoite Blue Metallic (or is it Green or maybe Black) it seems to change depending on the light conditions. Interior is Alpaca Gray leather. MB Chrome radiator fins fitted as extra (these are a must have and are quite cheap)

Monday Evening - All interior plastics exterior rubber seals were treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant (SPF 40 for plastic). This took 2 hours but brought the cabin to life, the silver trims look great and the alpaca really clean. This also means finger prints, bird muck, sick UV and anything else will not damage the plastic and can easily be removed.

Time 2 hours

Tuesday Evening - All interior fabric sprayed with 303 Fabric Guard, this is great stuff my kids now spray shoes etc with it. It is used on boats and makes fabrics really water proof and resistant to any stain. The Leather seats and other leather bits were treated with Meguiars Gold Class Leather Cream.

All body work was then washed using lambs wool mitt and NXT Car wash and clayed using "MagicClay" system (spray and clay).

Time 4 hours

Wednesday Evening - Out came the Power Polisher (PorterCable 7424). My intention was to use Sonus SFX2 Gloss Enhance Polish to remove some very minor swirl and marks on a Green DAS pad. The ceramic top coat used on the SLK is so hard this did nothing. Ended up using a SwirlBuster Pad with SwirlBuster Polish. Masked off rubber etc with masking tape to prevent staining. Wednesday night was hard work. I managed to do the off-side, roof and bonnet. All marks removed.

(Wifey now nagging saying she wants to take car out, I am behind schedule wanted it all finished for Friday but realised this would not happen )

Time 4.5 hours.

Thursday Evening - Back to polishing the remainder of the vehicle, hoping to put some wax on but by 9.30pm had finished and didnt want to start next stage.

Time 2 hours.
Friday
Friday, I was working at home , Got up early and polished complete vehicle with "Klasse All in one" (Carlack) which had been "Polycharged". Finally started to see the true gloss and finish of the paintwork. Used Porter Cable with Green Das pad to apply the Polycharged Klasse. When finished applied coat of Polycharged Klasse Sealant Glaze (SG), using a microfibre applicator. Had this done by about 9.30am. Applied a further coat of Polycharged Klasse SG at 2pm.

In the evening I cleaned the wheels with Klasse all in one and applied Klasse SG to these also.

Time 4 hours.

Saturday :bannana:
A final coat of Polycharged Klasse SG on bodywork. All glass polished wth Autoglym glass polish and then I had some Autoglym Glass Protector left over from a Autoglym LifeShine Kit that I applied to all the glass. Retreated and cleaned rubber with 303 Aerospace Protectant. Retreated wheels with Klasse SG. Fitted Philips Silver Vision indicator bulbs.

Time 1.5 hours.
10.30am Vehicle on drive and neighbours starting to gather to have a play, paintwork feels like silk and you can finally see the true colour of the paint.
Wifey is happy. Time to drive

The car is now like a mirror which is a bit of a problem as I have found a tiny dent on a styling line around the near side rear wheel this is so minor you can feel it and only see it if you look hard, I am not sure if the dent people could do anything on this. I have also found scuff on the small fin on the near side rear wheel this needs touching up. I guess if you buy a nearly new car you have to expect a couple of things like this. Sadly in the dealership it was impossible to see these their nice cheap waxes hide most minor problems.

So total time to protect and get the vehicle to Goldfish standard a staggering 18 hours. However I doubt I am now going to have to go to such lengths for a few years. The Polycharged Klasse results in an amazing finish. Sadly the pictures dont quite do it justice.

All polishing products and equipment as you can imagine I purchased from Autopia in the USA, (great exchange rate at the moment) so if you have 18 hours spare you can repeat the excercise. Upgrade bulbs from Ebay.
http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?autopia+MBWu4u+index.html+

 

[masqueraid]

It's gorgeous!
Well worth the effort!!

Hope you are lavishing as much attention on the W211 in the corner, the paving blocks don't seem to be reflecting quite as well, or perhaps it is pining.

 

[c955]

Very nice indeed.

Full respect to your dedication. It's very hard to strike the balance between keeping it in that 'fresh-out-of-box' condition and actually driving it!

PS. How easy is it to use the porter cable i.e., the combination of pads and different polishes etc. seem bewildering?

 

[Goldfish11]

Well spotted

The W211 was spottless last weekend and was used as a wedding car. Since then it has done 500 miles up and down the M1 and needs a good wash but my wife is also "pining" for attention so I think I better leave the E Class alone for a few days.

Here's a picture of her last week (the W211 not the wife) just so she does not feel left out.

 

[Goldfish11]

Very nice indeed.

Full respect to your dedication. It's very hard to strike the balance between keeping it in that 'fresh-out-of-box' condition and actually driving it!

PS. How easy is it to use the porter cable i.e., the combination of pads and different polishes etc. seem bewildering?

The W211 does over 20K miles a year and is over 4 years old. I gave it a going over like this I have just done to the SLK about 2 years ago and spend a Saturday every 9 months or so with the Porter Cable to re-apply Klasse and and SG. I wash it every few weeks, this takes about 45 minutes and it includes a quick going over with Sonus Glanz that keeps it sparkling. So you can keep the "fresh-out-of-the-box" look going very easily. When I get my cars they are always nearly new which means someone will have done something to mess up the paintwork, either put it through a car wash or used a mucky sponge on it.

The Porter Cable is idiot proof. Very easy to use. All I do is use the Sonus products from autopia, they make it easy for you. The SFX1 pad is used with SFX1 polish SFX2 pad with SFX2 polish etc. There website gives great instructions and if you want to use Klasse they have details of how to do this. So in summary the Portercable set up was the best thing I have ever spent my money on, it allows me to keep the car looking great. Read the Power Polishing sticky thread I started for details http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=6997 but Autopia have made things so much easier in the last few years by pre selecting pad and polish/wax combinations to take the guess work out of it. Also clay technology has come in recently and this also makes life easier. Autopia also has some new products which are waxes and sealants that you apply and do not need buffing off, I have not tried these but in 3 years car care technology has moved on dramatically, Polycharger for example increases wax indurance by 400% and also increases shine. So you get an equivalent finish from 2 or 3 coats that previously would have taken 9 or 10 coats.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Stunning results!! Nice car too!!

 

[pint6x]

i put my car through the carwash every 3 months - whether it needs it or not !

 

[Goldfish11]

More Madness!

Just gave it wash this week popped a coat of Polycharged Carlack followed by a nice wipe down with Sonus Acrylic Glanz. A couple more pictures to show the finish.

Fantastic day for the top down, the Airscarf (heating around neck and head built into seat) really came into its own it was cold but my neck, ears and head were as warm as toast. When looking for the vehicle I was not convinced this option was worth it but I am sold on it now. In cold weather the SLK is great, turn on the heated seats and Airscarf and it is just like summer even if it is only 5 Celcius, neighbours really do think your mad (but little do they know)

 

[PaulE230]

Collinite 476 wax on top of all that will seal it all in over the winter

 

[Goldfish11]

Collinite 476 wax on top of all that will seal it all in over the winter

There is nothing harder than Polycharged Acrylic, this is sealed in, and will be good for 9 months or more. The collinite would give it more depth if layered on top but currently this finish is easy to maintain. I will try some collinite when I run out of P21S, my garage is slowly filling up with waxes so I am trying to be disciplined with further purchases

 

[pammy]

Sorry - not been keeping up with things lately

But do I hate you - in the nicest possible way of course!! Looks stunning.

 

[PaulE230]

There is nothing harder than Polycharged Acrylic, this is sealed in, and will be good for 9 months or more. The collinite would give it more depth if layered on top but currently this finish is easy to maintain. I will try some collinite when I run out of P21S, my garage is slowly filling up with waxes so I am trying to be disciplined with further purchases

I realise I am trying to teach my gran to suck eggs here but....
There are no cleaners in 476 so I cant see any down sides in putting a coat on top of the acrylic. All it will do is add more shine and more durability.

 

[Goldfish11]

I realise I am trying to teach my gran to suck eggs here but....
There are no cleaners in 476 so I cant see any down sides in putting a coat on top of the acrylic. All it will do is add more shine and more durability.

Totally agree, there is no down side apart from you are then locked into using 476 to maintain the finish. I am not concerned abut cleaners in the wax and agree Collinite would enhance the shine, but what I find is Carnuba wax based products do not have the resilience and ease of care of an Acrylic. The resilience of a polycharged acrylic is second to none. Once I put some Collinite on top it means my care methods have to change to maintain the great finish you get. On the SLK which is low mileage I could get away with this but on my other vehicles that do 25K per annum during the winter this becomes an issue. Currently I can just wash the car and add an acrylic top up.

Acrylics do not give the same finish as a Carnuba wax. Acrylics dont have the depth of shine but what the do do is create a very reflective bling look and in the winter with poorer light conditions they look great. To get the Perfect shine however you do need to layer on top of the Acrylic.

See http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=11481 for the perfect shine approach. However I should update this thread as I am finding claying reduces alot of the hassle of the early stages. In my old age I am getting lazy so dispite having some premium show car wax in the garage I only use it on special occasions because I know I will have to re-apply a bit more often. To maintain the look and the difference in finish is marginal.

Have you got an Acrylic sub coat on your vehicle or is it pure Collinite?