Hi, thought I'd say hello and post this up. My dad's thinking of going Merc (just retired) so I thought I'd join up here for the inevitable FAQ's he'll have about them!
I'd also like to post this up that we did a couple of months ago, I've blanked out all the web names and any possible name related stuff from the post as I don't want to get in trouble on my first day!
Think of it as a Interior cleaning FAQ, I always think its good to give something back to forums that provide lots of info!
Any questions about what we used or any other detailing 'how to's' then just ask, just please don't post up 'how much' etc as it's not intended as an advert.
Thanks!
--------------------------------
After a bit of a break for Detailing due to moving house, we were back on the band wagon with a belter! A 13 year old Mercedes 180E that's being smoked in for most of it's life. Mike, the new owner, had just bought it and wanted to be able to drive it without the need for nicotine patches every time he got out!
Our task was to completely clean the interior and get rid of the nasty yellowing that has stained pretty much every surface, from the dashboard, to the headlining. The outside was to have a basic wash and wax.
This is the state the 190 arrived in, just take a peek at the interior! Eeek!
We started off by cleaning the door/boot shuts and the wheel arches, thankfully no alloys to do this time!
For the door/boot shuts we used the ever flexible Meguiars Super Degreaser and a couple of soft bristled brushes to agitate the muck off. This was followed up with a gentle rinse from the Jet Wash. The foaming head was used for this as the De-Greaser tends to stick better when all foamy, thus cleaning the surface for longer.
The outside was then treated to a lovely soapy wash using the Gilmour Gun. For the solution we mixed up 3 plunges of Meguiars Hyper Wash (the gel type, not the new stuff) with warm water and stirred in with a fork!
Here's Harry squirting his load over the Merc! (Ahem)
After the mix was left to do it's work, we followed it up with another wash using Wash Mitts, 2 buckets and a few squirts of Meguiars APC in parts. We followed all this up by drying the car off with the usual spritz of Meguiars Last Touch and the lovely and soft Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towels.
Now the outside was clean we decided we couldn't put off the interior any longer! The first thing we did was take out the front carpets, boot carpet, floor mats and air vents (from the dash) to make it easier for us to clean, and ultimately dry!
This is when our friend George came into play! But before he could work his magic we sprayed Chemical Guys Fabric Clean onto the more stubborn stains and agitated them with a Meguiars Interior Brush. Following on from that we filled up George with carpet shampoo mix and started work!
Here's Harry working on the boot carpet and a picture of the water George sucked up after the front carpets were done! As the front was taken out of the car we could dry those inside next to a radiator.
As only one of us could use the wet/dry vac we also started working on the headlining and dashboard. For the headlining we used a mix of Meguiars APC or CG Fabric Clean with the Meg's Interior Brush, followed up with a clean damp cloth. For the dashboard we used Meg's APC and a Meguiars Slide Lock Brush, liberally coating it with foamy APC and wiping it off with a damp cloth. The door panels were done using the same method.
As some parts of the interior were really yellow they required a little more time and a second application of APC.
One dry, the dashboard was treated with the fantastic Einszett Cockpit Premium, which I have to say we're well impressed with. Imagine your typical interior spray but take out the silicone shiny effect and this is what you have!
Another product that we used to great effect (which smells great too) that we'd like to introduce to the forum is Holts Odor Kill - Anti Tobacco (in Peach). It just sprays on and does the job, kind of like Febreeze but in a range of different smells.
After working on the interior alone for some hours, we finished off the exterior with a layer of Meguiars #20 Polymer Sealant, followed by Collonite 476S, both put on using applicator pads. The tyres were dressed with Meg's Hot Shine Tyre Spray and the black plastic and rubber with Meg's #38. The glass was cleaned using Meg's Glass Cleaner.
Here's the pics and thanks for staying awake through all this!
Phew! Job done!
I'd also like to post this up that we did a couple of months ago, I've blanked out all the web names and any possible name related stuff from the post as I don't want to get in trouble on my first day!
Think of it as a Interior cleaning FAQ, I always think its good to give something back to forums that provide lots of info!
Any questions about what we used or any other detailing 'how to's' then just ask, just please don't post up 'how much' etc as it's not intended as an advert.
Thanks!
--------------------------------
After a bit of a break for Detailing due to moving house, we were back on the band wagon with a belter! A 13 year old Mercedes 180E that's being smoked in for most of it's life. Mike, the new owner, had just bought it and wanted to be able to drive it without the need for nicotine patches every time he got out!
Our task was to completely clean the interior and get rid of the nasty yellowing that has stained pretty much every surface, from the dashboard, to the headlining. The outside was to have a basic wash and wax.
This is the state the 190 arrived in, just take a peek at the interior! Eeek!
We started off by cleaning the door/boot shuts and the wheel arches, thankfully no alloys to do this time!
For the door/boot shuts we used the ever flexible Meguiars Super Degreaser and a couple of soft bristled brushes to agitate the muck off. This was followed up with a gentle rinse from the Jet Wash. The foaming head was used for this as the De-Greaser tends to stick better when all foamy, thus cleaning the surface for longer.
The outside was then treated to a lovely soapy wash using the Gilmour Gun. For the solution we mixed up 3 plunges of Meguiars Hyper Wash (the gel type, not the new stuff) with warm water and stirred in with a fork!
Here's Harry squirting his load over the Merc! (Ahem)
After the mix was left to do it's work, we followed it up with another wash using Wash Mitts, 2 buckets and a few squirts of Meguiars APC in parts. We followed all this up by drying the car off with the usual spritz of Meguiars Last Touch and the lovely and soft Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towels.
Now the outside was clean we decided we couldn't put off the interior any longer! The first thing we did was take out the front carpets, boot carpet, floor mats and air vents (from the dash) to make it easier for us to clean, and ultimately dry!
This is when our friend George came into play! But before he could work his magic we sprayed Chemical Guys Fabric Clean onto the more stubborn stains and agitated them with a Meguiars Interior Brush. Following on from that we filled up George with carpet shampoo mix and started work!
Here's Harry working on the boot carpet and a picture of the water George sucked up after the front carpets were done! As the front was taken out of the car we could dry those inside next to a radiator.
As only one of us could use the wet/dry vac we also started working on the headlining and dashboard. For the headlining we used a mix of Meguiars APC or CG Fabric Clean with the Meg's Interior Brush, followed up with a clean damp cloth. For the dashboard we used Meg's APC and a Meguiars Slide Lock Brush, liberally coating it with foamy APC and wiping it off with a damp cloth. The door panels were done using the same method.
As some parts of the interior were really yellow they required a little more time and a second application of APC.
One dry, the dashboard was treated with the fantastic Einszett Cockpit Premium, which I have to say we're well impressed with. Imagine your typical interior spray but take out the silicone shiny effect and this is what you have!
Another product that we used to great effect (which smells great too) that we'd like to introduce to the forum is Holts Odor Kill - Anti Tobacco (in Peach). It just sprays on and does the job, kind of like Febreeze but in a range of different smells.
After working on the interior alone for some hours, we finished off the exterior with a layer of Meguiars #20 Polymer Sealant, followed by Collonite 476S, both put on using applicator pads. The tyres were dressed with Meg's Hot Shine Tyre Spray and the black plastic and rubber with Meg's #38. The glass was cleaned using Meg's Glass Cleaner.
Here's the pics and thanks for staying awake through all this!
Phew! Job done!
