Tidying up new (to me) e63 estate

[jimjamiejames]

I recently bought a 62 plate obsidian black s212 e63. The condition is decent but its 9 years old with 85k so by no means pristine. I've given it a couple of good washes and can now see the true condition of the paintwork which is covered in swirls and scratches plus a few chips.
I decided it deserved the work putting in to bring it up to a decent standard and have slightly fell down the detailing rabbit hole lol.
Ive done bits of bodywork and spraying before but this is my first go at paint correction.
I was on nights last night and intended to spend the day polishing but by the time I washed, fallout removed and clayed the car I'm a bit behind lol lucky it's Bank Holiday, I reckon it might take all weekend ha.

Process so far has been
Rinse
Citrus snowfoam (gtechniq)
Rinse
2bm wash (gtechniq shampoo)
Rinse
Fallout (carpro iron x ls (not sure about lemon scent, still stinks))
Rinse
Clay mitt
Rinse
Dry
Menzerna 400 with mk1000 polisher on hard foam pad (am about a quarter of the way with this)


To follow will be menzerna 3500 then m + k pure pre wax cleanser then zymol titanium which is about 15ish years old but still seems OK hopefully, still soft not cracked.

Wish me luck, not had a car this nice for a long time so I'm committed to looking after it. What a task.

Couple of pics to show what I'm up against and early progress but with a lot still to do.

 

[Nightmage]

Looks great, keep it up!

 

[st13phil]

Looking good.

Couple of pics to show what I'm up against and early progress but with a lot still to do.

When I bought my Obsidian Black pre-facelift W212 E63 it was under two years old but looked like it had been washed with a brick

I took a chance that a full paint correction would get it looking ok as the price was very good. I had a pro-detailer do the job for me and he spent north of 50hrs multi-stage machine polishing it, but after that it really did look great.

 

[jimjamiejames]

Looking good.

When I bought my Obsidian Black pre-facelift W212 E63 it was under two years old but looked like it had been washed with a brick

I took a chance that a full paint correction would get it looking ok as the price was very good. I had a pro-detailer do the job for me and he spent north of 50hrs multi-stage machine polishing it, but after that it really did look great.

The cars look beautiful in the colour but show everything too. It's quite satisfying seeing the improvement but it feels like you could go on forever trying to get closer and closer to perfection.
I can imagine a pro job would look absolutely fantastic. I think I can get it to a decent level for a diy'er.

Going to spend a full day on it tomorrow and I think it will be something like.

It's frustrating that I have to stop today and pick up again because it will be dusty in the morning. Probably means another quick wash before I can carry on.

What do others do when the job takes multiple days? It has to be parked outside tonight.

 

[MrGreedy]

How's the car holding up @jimjamiejames

 

[jimjamiejames]

How's the car holding up @jimjamiejames

It's been fantastic and it's a pleasure every time I get in thanks for asking.

Unfortunately a radiator hose developed a leak last week and the part is backorder from Germany, expected 20th of August.

Its a shame after 4 months of ownership but just one of those things and could happen any time on any car really. I'm not too bothered other than the inconvenience of not driving it for a few weeks.

Got a trip plan towards the end of September with probably 10 hours driving over 3 days which I'm looking forward too.

 

[MrGreedy]

Of all the E63 cars that I've eyed up over the past couple of years, yours was one that really had me worried that I might pull the pin and buy it. I'm really happy you did, because it removed the temptation.
I'm super glad you are enjoying it

Regarding the radiator hose, would you believe it but my E350 also developed a very slight leak on the passenger side radiator hose a couple of months ago.
The Febi hose is about £20 from Autodoc, so I thought I would give MB Grangemouth parts department a call for a price. Something like £50 for a genuine one.
But the helpful parts guy (can't remember the name of the specific chap I spoke to) asked me where is it leaking, because if it's around the metal collar and not a damaged hose, you can buy the o-rings separately for each end for something like £2 each. (if you buy the hose itself, you get the hose and 2 o-rings in the packet).
Mine was leaking around the aluminium fitting/collar and the hose looks in good conditions, so two o-rings and £4 later, it's fixed

(I was buying some antifreeze and air con condenser o-ring at the same time, so the £5 postage wasn't so bad).

 

[jimjamiejames]

I was a bit in the same boat as you. I looked at loads but mine just stuck out for me and I kept getting drawn back to it. Only difference was I didn't have the will power to say no lol

Interesting point about the o ring. I never thought about getting that as a separate part. It's hard to tell where exactly it's leaking from but it is near to the rad, I thought between the metal crimped part and the rubber hose but maybe its running down. I think I will have a closer look or even try it for the sake of 2 quid. Cheers

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

More pics please!

 

[jimjamiejames]

More pics please!

Not got too many good pictures of the car but as requested

 

[Bigdrew]

Looks great you have done a good job

 

[jimjamiejames]

Looks great you have done a good job

Thanks. To be honest I've still got a fair bit to do but as often seems to happen other things have taken priority and the cars have to wait a while.

 

[Finbar]

Great job and looks amazing

 

[MidlandFox]

IMO you could have done this more easily with a good single stage polish, Scholl S20+ Black with a medium pad. No need for multiple polishes then, though you may get a better result, who knows

I absolutely recommend Bilt Hamber products too, their Auto-Foam and Auto-Wash, Wheel and Korosol are superb, double speed wax also a winner.

That being said, don't do all that work then apply 15 year old wax... Get some new stuff, you loon.

 

[btiratsoo]

I’m going to embark on something similar on my CLS. The paint has a hint of dullness in places but its worth persevering as Obsidian black when it is clean and gleaming is

 

[jimjamiejames]

IMO you could have done this more easily with a good single stage polish, Scholl S20+ Black with a medium pad. No need for multiple polishes then, though you may get a better result, who knows

I absolutely recommend Bilt Hamber products too, their Auto-Foam and Auto-Wash, Wheel and Korosol are superb, double speed wax also a winner.

That being said, don't do all that work then apply 15 year old wax... Get some new stuff, you loon.

Maybe I'm old fashioned but I don't trust products that claim to do it all. I can't imagine the scholl s20 would have enough cutting power for the deeper scratches. I've never used it though so maybe it would be up to it.

I take your point about the wax but it genuinely was in decent nick and I remember it was very expensive at the time so don't wanna waste it

 

[MidlandFox]

Maybe I'm old fashioned but I don't trust products that claim to do it all. I can't imagine the scholl s20 would have enough cutting power for the deeper scratches. I've never used it though so maybe it would be up to it.

I take your point about the wax but it genuinely was in decent nick and I remember it was very expensive at the time so don't wanna waste it

I think that is an old fashioned view. You can get a very good cut and finish from a single stage, the primary distinction with the cut is going to be how abrasive the pad is and how many passes you do.

Bare in mind polishing is a destructive process and you only have so much clear coat to work with. I'd always take a minimal approach, review and then focus on the areas of heavier defect locally.

As I said your result may be better so not undermining your work, but particularly as you don't have a covered workspace for multi-day sessions, in my view a single stage and time for a quality coating/seal is more optimal use of time.

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[gemiz]

Only having experience with Single stage and the Scholl S20 Black (used on a 2001 911), i can say it did a great job, but did leave the deeper scraches. I would not sacrifice more of the clearcoat to get the deeper scratches, as the paint in general looked great after the finish stage.