W208 Silver CLK Cabriolet Exterior Detail

[adam87]

W208 Silver CLK Cabriolet Exterior Detail



Just completed this lovely CLK. People always ask "Is Silver worth Detailing?" Hopefully this shows that it is, as any colour is worth detailing. It brings out the true colour of the paint and shows off the metallic sparkle.

Time was limited and took about a day and a half.



On arrival it was already clean and presentable to most people.

Then you start looking at the usual areas that build up dirt, the door shuts and and the bonnet.

After claying the car with Bilt Hamber Soft and some soapy water to remove all the specks and bits that don't come off when washing or de-tarring I then started the polishing. Most panels were hit(polished) with 3M Fast Cut Plus 2 or 3 times then finished off with a mix of Menzerna 3.02 and SF4000.







Swirly paint before.

After

Nice bush mark and a few swirls

After 3M fast cut plus

Finished Panels

Rear quarter before. Not only was the paint swirly but it was also a bit dull and not as clear as it should be.

After

The following day it was raining and luckily it was a Sunday so Olly kindly let me finish off in his workshop. This also allowed me to see it under some good lighting and showed everything done so far looked good.








Boot lid before

After

50/50

Before

After

The lights show how glossy the bonnet is now.

Couple of pics with a halogen light

Rear Quater Before

After

Waxed with Autoglym HD

 

[adam87]

Finished. Sorry for pics here but it was dark and raining outside last night and raining this morning.

Adam

 

[horgantrevor]

nice job looks great i love the result were the dirt builds up in the door jams and boot and bonnet corners looks new

 

[Will]

Nice job Adam

I think the trouble with silver cars is, because they hide swirls and marks quite well it's easy to forget that they need polishing properly. Hence they tend to look dull and lifeless when neglected.

I remember spending ages carefully polishing and waxing my CLK55 when I first got it, and it looked great. Nothing wrong with it at the moment, but I've been reminded how nice it would look again after some TLC!

Must make some time to give it a proper cleanup soon.

Will

 

[A210AMG]

Looks great

What tyre black do you use? I've heared mergures do a gell type one thats good.

 

[gbjeppm]

Great job Adam, I am well pleased with the results.

This is the first detail that the car has had in the 6 years that I have owned it (and I am pretty sure it had not been done before that)

It really makes an amazing difference, money well spent in my opinion.

 

[adam87]

Nice job Adam

I think the trouble with silver cars is, because they hide swirls and marks quite well it's easy to forget that they need polishing properly. Hence they tend to look dull and lifeless when neglected.

I remember spending ages carefully polishing and waxing my CLK55 when I first got it, and it looked great. Nothing wrong with it at the moment, but I've been reminded how nice it would look again after some TLC!

Must make some time to give it a proper cleanup soon.

Will

Cheers Will,

I'm guilty myself of thinking that because my own car is silver it doesn't look that bad even though it is in need of a clean and a good polish. Since owning a silver car I have to say that it is up there with black when it is fully polished and mint on a nice day with the black tyres, black plastics, shiney paintwork and shiney wheels.

Looks great

What tyre black do you use? I've heared mergures do a gell type one thats good.

Thanks,
I used Autosmart Highstyle on that. Meguiars endurance tyre gel? I used it a few times in the past and only really got on it with it when the tyres had a smooth outer wall and not all the little lines and grooves in most tyres(think it was a bit thick for my liking). I much prefer brush on or spray on products as it gives a good even coating with any excess wiped off when they're dry.

Great job Adam, I am well pleased with the results.

This is the first detail that the car has had in the 6 years that I have owned it (and I am pretty sure it had not been done before that)

It really makes an amazing difference, money well spent in my opinion.

Thanks Matt, I'm happy you're pleased with the car, it makes it all worth while.