C350CDi - freshly detailed, and protected with Crystal Rock!

[magic qcs]

Hi all,

Bit of an introductory post from me this one. I'm a detailer by trade, based in Altrincham, South Manchester, and have joined up on the say so of an existing forum member who is a friend of mine. I'm not sure of her username (yes, a female, and from Manchester if that narrows it down? ), but alas she pointed me in the direction of here!

I'm hoping I'll be able to answer a few detailing questions , and help you out with tips and advice regarding products and application etc. I recently held a Show & Shine day which went down a treat, just wish I'd known about this forum first, I'd have asked you along.

Anyway, here's what a C Class can look like in the right hands, using top products. This is her car, and she asked me to protect it with Swissvax Crystal Rock, which I'm sure some of you may have heard about!!!

So, the car arrived, some 5 days old (it's a new car), looking like this;









The car needed a surprising amount of work considering it was new and had just come from the dealership!!

Wheels being decontaminated after cleaning, to remove embedded brake dust and iron particles. Not much came off these;



Also had to remove, from all 4 wheels, leftover sticker residue;



Took care of those with some Autosmart Tardis.



Got onto the paintwork decontamination, starting with a snow foam mixed with a tiny drop of TFR to soften some of the more stubborn dirt;



Rinsed, and then washed. You can see here what little dealer protection was present;



I then clayed the car. This surprised me the most actually, with the car being new I wasn't expecting much but this is what came out;



Got the car inside and dried off using deep pile microfibre towels, and a blow dryer. Then applied, but not pictured, G|Techniq G3 glass sealant, cleaned the interior and all glass, dressed tyres, polished chrome tailpipes, and applied the "Crystal Rock"..



Outside in the sun she was looking lovely.













Zaino Z2, followed by Swissvax Autobahn was applied to the wheels for added protection..



She loved the car, and was so pleased. She can't understand why dealerships don't go to these lengths, as she said it'd help them sell more cars! Quite a nice compliment really. Hope the stealers don't one day grow a brain, I want to make my million first




I've done a few Mercedes, so if anyone wants to see some others, let me know and I'll post them up! SLK, SL500.. I even have an identical one of these C350's coming in soon!!

I am missing the jewel from the crown though - SLR is definately on my "to-do-before-I-retire" list, so if you know anyone near Manchester who has one and needs it cleaning properly, you now know who to ask

All the best,
Matt.

[neilz]

Would you say that ridiculously expensive wax is much better than, say, AG HD or applying GTechniq C1 and C3?

Great work, by the way - I hope what came off on the clay wasn't mostly from before collection!

[Redstev]

Wow that looks amazing.

I'm new to site too. Just got a 9 year old C Class and want to give it a good polish. What products would you recommend ? I'm on a tight ish budget and would proberly get stuff from halfords or supermarket.

Do you apply something after polishing to seal it ? And if so what .

Cheers

[paul.goffin]

As that's a pre-facelift <2011 C-Class and its brand new it must have been sitting around in a compound for some time.

It may explain the amount of fall out on the clay/

[magic qcs]

@ neilz - I have used a variety of different waxes and sealants, including all of those you mention there. The Crystal Rock is the best smelling, easiest to use, and I believe offers the best looks in terms of it's clarity and depth of colour. It's longevity isn't bad either, at ~6mths for a single coat, and can be layered as many as 4 times which would offer ~12mths total protection. The G|Tech products you list are both the same btw, but in any case, are classed as "Supersealants" or "Supercoatings". It's good stuff, but a bit trickier to apply than wax on wax off so to speak (though not rocket science). I stick to Ceramishield these days, better product than the G|Tech imho. Unfortunately, most of the debris you see on the clay bar was from pre-delivery. The car was subject to a stringent wash regime before I got down to the claying stage..

@ Redstev - products from a supermarket is going to be tricky, as I only buy food stuff from there!! But a small 250ml bottle of Scholl S17+ works out at under a tenner, all you would need is a polishing pad for a few quid extra, and plenty of elbow grease which comes free! Some m/f work towels to buff it off with, and voila - job done for ~£20. After that, in fairness, you would need to seal/protect the paintwork, and this answers your last question; you would use a wax or sealant to do this and the choice is yours from a £5.99 Dodo Juice Sample pot to a £10k pot of Zymol Royale, ultimately they both protect your paintwork (though one is better than the other, and I wont say which )

@ paul.goffin - I expect you're right, and judging by the condition of the hubs (for the eagle eyed amongst us who also spotted them) I would say you were 100% correct and the car was likely stood around in a compound for several months before being sold. It was very poor dealer prep, for such an expensive car I thought.


Thanks for all your comments. I have another one of these to do in the same colour, and wanting Ceramishield (ceramic supersealant with swirl resisting properties) AND Crystal Rock.. that's an all singing all dancing detail with some machine polishing too. I'll post that up.

Best wishes,
Matt.

[Redstev]

Cheers Matt.

So I need to wash and rince car

Then polish

Then wax to seal

Is that right ?

How often do I need to do this to keep car looking good ?

Also what do you use to clean the windows ?

Sorry if I'm asking daft questions, I've always took previous cars through car wash at the garage ( I can hear your screams ) but I want to really look after my new old merc.

Thanks again.

[magic qcs]

Originally Posted by Redstev

Cheers Matt.

So I need to wash and rince car

Then polish

Then wax to seal

Is that right ?

How often do I need to do this to keep car looking good ?

Also what do you use to clean the windows ?

Sorry if I'm asking daft questions, I've always took previous cars through car wash at the garage ( I can hear your screams ) but I want to really look after my new old merc.

Thanks again.

Given your budget you would do what you have suggested, yes.

Rinse > wash > rinse > dry > polish > wax/seal.

How often you need to repeat the entire process is dependant on your choice of wax/sealant (protection). Some last longer than others. This is also affected by environment factors such as the weather or where you park the car etc.

I would at the very least try and get your car washed once a fortnight, even in the summer months where it stays cleaner for longer.

Re: glass cleaner - I used Concours Car Care 'Crystal', it comes ready to use in a sprayer and offers great value for money.

[Redstev]

Thanks again for your help.

Off to halfords and plan a bank holiday of polishing !!!!

[magic qcs]

Or try here; I4DETAILING - UK based online detailing & car care superstore and use coupon MAGICDETAIL at the checkout for a cheeky discount.

[Simon_M]

Originally Posted by paul.goffin

As that's a pre-facelift <2011 C-Class and its brand new it must have been sitting around in a compound for some time.

It may explain the amount of fall out on the clay/

The pictures were also taken back in 2011 too

[magic qcs]

Originally Posted by Simon_M

The pictures were also taken back in 2011 too

Indeed they were, November last year the car was bought. Which actually makes it worse, given that it had most likely been sat in a compound for several months before purchase, even when it was the current model..

[craig1912]

Originally Posted by magic qcs

Indeed they were, November last year the car was bought. Which actually makes it worse, given that it had most likely been sat in a compound for several months before purchase, even when it was the current model..

It wasn't the current model as I have had my C class since May 2011 and its the facelift version.

[MB-BTurbo]

You have missed two of the easiest but certainly worthwhile tasks. A tin of Hammerite of your colour (I prefer satin black or silver for a factory finish) and a sponge (again for a factory finish). After wire wooling down any rust use the above to dab paint onto the hubs and caliper block, masking off the Mercedes plaque. Straight forward enough with the wheels already off but offers significant enhancement.

Lovely job on the rest of the car though.

Originally Posted by magic qcs

[billywhiz]

Nice detail and great colour - I like the way this colour allows a very fluid look once they have been waxed, - Don't get too hit up on CR- it's an overpriced wax no more no less.

As for Zymol 10k wax... lol

[MB-BTurbo]

Heres how mine looked. unfortunately I dont have any before photos but the main hub and disc rim had unsightly rust that detracted from the cars appearance.

The calliper was a very dull greyish colour that looks much better with a strong colour.

I also did the bolts while I was at it as they were also very rusty.