SLS Wet Sand

[developer]

How about if we try not to rain on the OP's parade eh guys? - plenty of room elsewhere for disagreements .

 

[AshC63]

I will be detailing my Merc too very shortly & am taking a trip to Waxstock en of this month to get some tips.

I've seen some amazing finishes of wet sanding on detailing world , it recently been the new technique that more & more professional detailers are exploring .

Mikes ( Detailed ) made some brilliant points that would probably steer me away from wet sanding if the results cannot be gauranteed for removing orange peel.

I'm sure they can possibly test sample a panel to get an idea of a before,after to see if your best pleased with the results ?

The Gtechniq stuff is awesome!

 

[ChrisA]

And I thought the 2 bucket method was serious $hit

 

[st13phil]

And I thought the 2 bucket method was serious $hit

Judging by your car's cleanliness on the AMG trip it would benefit from seeing one bucket let alone two

Must say that the stealth look really suits it though. And I don't think there was a cyclist or pedestrian on the Alpenstrasse who didn't get surprised by the AMG "bark" (i.e. $hit themselves) after it crept up on them

 

[Palmball]

Sorry not much chance to update this and no pictures of the car clean since I got it back! I'll put some up when I've washed it.

I'm reasonably happy with most of the car. It looks fine across most of the body and a huge improvement on before. The Gtechniq Crystal Serum and Exov2 combo do leave a lovely wet-look and very slippery finish.

My only issue is the rear end - there's still too many light swirls on the back of the boot lid and rear bumper, which I can only assume means it wasn't done properly there. Also, whilst pretty much perfect in most light scenarios, in direct sunlight there is a patch on top the boot lid which looks less 'shiny'. Could just be poorly finished, or even no lacquer left - 99.9% of people wouldn't see it and you really have to catch the light right but I notice it so will have to get it sorted.

There's also a few swirls in the door shuts which I want to get rid of, but I'm sure this is much harder and more complicated to do.

In summary, I'm happy with 95% of the car and I'm being particularly fussy on the remaining 5% which most people wouldn't even notice. But I will get this 100% perfect!

I'll post some pictures when I've cleaned it. Subject to weather today, I'm removing the wheels so I can get them and the callipers properly cleaned and covered in Swissvax Autobahn, as well as cleaning the wheel arches properly. The great thing about having ceramic brakes is the total absence of brake dust (ever!), so when the wheels are covered in a PTFE product like Autobahn, they are extremely easy to keep clean.

 

[V12]

so when the wheels are covered in a PTFE product like Autobahn, they are extremely easy to keep clean.

I'll remember that little tip...got a roll upstairs somewhere.

 

[Palmball]

Ha, that's not quite the same product as I have in mind

Think more along the lines that it makes the wheels much like a non stick frying pan!

 

[jotter22]

I will be detailing my Merc too very shortly & am taking a trip to Waxstock en of this month to get some tips.

I've seen some amazing finishes of wet sanding on detailing world , it recently been the new technique that more & more professional detailers are exploring .

Mikes ( Detailed ) made some brilliant points that would probably steer me away from wet sanding if the results cannot be gauranteed for removing orange peel.

I'm sure they can possibly test sample a panel to get an idea of a before,after to see if your best pleased with the results ?

The Gtechniq stuff is awesome!

Worth a look.
EPIC WET-SAND: BMW M3 full orange peel removal by KDS Keltec - YouTube

Tony.

 

[Simon_M]

Pics man pics!

 

[AshC63]

Nice one Tony ... That's the one I was referring to from KDS

 

[merc estate]

I thought at first what a load of nonsense but WOW what a finish.

 

[Palmball]

Finally had the combination of time and good weather over the weekend to further perfect the SLS, which is now starting to look much like a brand new car. I took the wheels off to clean all the tar and sticky pads from the back of them and then coat them in Swissvax Autobahn - the combination of this PTFE wax and ceramic brakes means the wheels will now clean with just a jet wash.

I'm largely happy with most of the bodywork, save for the rear end which for some reason still looks a bit flat and swirly compared to the rest of the car, much like it was missed! I honestly think the boot lid might need a bit of paint as it has a dull patch....but it needs checking by someone with more expertise than me!

I couldn't really get the swirls on the back end to photograph but you can just about see an example of it in the last picture.

 

[Abdul]

Goddamn that is beautiful.

Ultimate spec too imo. Are you having the gearbox upgrade done?

 

[Palmball]

Goddamn that is beautiful.

Ultimate spec too imo. Are you having the gearbox upgrade done?

Thanks and yes, it's going back to AMG for quite a few things next month;

- Gearbox update

- New leather for the drivers seat

- Steering wheel recovered (still a leather/alcantara combo), with contrast tan stitching and a tan oversteer ring (exactly as per the GT-spec steering wheel but in a colour that matches my interior)

- New style gear lever, in tan to match the rest of the interior

- Retrofit of the integrated garage door opener (it's the only option the car doesn't have, and one which I would use if it had it!)

 

[Abdul]

Thanks and yes, it's going back to AMG for quite a few things next month;

- Gearbox update

- New leather for the drivers seat

- Steering wheel recovered (still a leather/alcantara combo), with contrast tan stitching and a tan oversteer ring (exactly as per the GT-spec steering wheel but in a colour that matches my interior)

- New style gear lever, in tan to match the rest of the interior

- Retrofit of the integrated garage door opener (it's the only option the car doesn't have, and one which I would use if it had it!)

Very nice, look forward to the updates.

I recall seeing it for a sale for quite a while at a specialist somewhere in the midlands on autotrader, I couldn't figure out why it hadn't sold, it's gorgeous and was priced well (relatively). Glad you got your hands on it mate.

 

[whitenemesis]

Not hologramed already??

That is one seriously beautiful car, in both form and colour.

 

[Palmball]

As I understand it, the trader had it on SoR so wasn't prepared to take a part exchange against it (at least not one at the kind of value that someone buying an SLS would trade in), which I guess limited the market somewhat.

I wanted this car since it went up for sale as it really has every option (aside from that garage door opener!) and I love the colour of the interior which is really unusual - most SLS's are black or red inside. I'm delighted it was still available (and lived up to it's promise) when I was in a position to buy it.

 

[Palmball]

Not hologramed already??


That is one seriously beautiful car, in both form and colour.

Thanks ...but what are holograms? As I see it, it looks like the detailer missed the back end as it has swirling, albeit relatively minor.

 

[V12]

Wow!

 

[Rashman]

Looks great, Andy
The only other thing you need to do is give the right side of the engine cover a tap.
I suspect that it's not quite clipped down and is sitting slightly higher than the left side.

Then the car has Rashman's approval