Another black Mercedes.. S-320 CDi

[Jimmeh]

Mercedes-Benz S-320 CDi

After completing both the black 650i Cabriolet and the black GL420 CDi, the Father of the household wanted his (yes, you guessed it) BLACK S-Class doing. This time going through a single-stage machine correction..

Previous BMW and Mercedes report’s found here:

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?91148-Mercedes-Benz-GL420-CDi
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?92263-BMW-650i-Cabriolet-Dodo-Enhancement


And two images:

650i cab:

GL series:

Product

• AutoGlym Fast Glass
• AutoSmart G101
• AutoSmart Tardis
• Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel
• Chemical Guys JetSEAL901
• Dodo Juice Supernatural
• Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild
• IPA
• Jeffs Werkstat Prime
• LTT Auto Ultra Foam
• LTT Auto Ultra Protect
• Meguiars Last Touch
• Meguiars Wheel Brightener
• Meguiars Super-Degreaser
• Menzerna 203s
• Poorboys BlackHole
• Sonus Green Mild Clay
• Zaino Z8 Grand Finale


Before and After:

Inspection:

Hidden beneath the dirt, the paint’s looking a little flat.

After setting up base, I always start with the wheels/shuts.

Wheels/Tyres/Arches – Megs Wheel Brightener. AutoSmart G101. AutoSmart Tardis. Megs Super-Degreaser. EZ Wheel Brush. Wheel mitts. Vikan Long Reach brush. Envy Brushes. Sonus Green clay

Shuts – AutoSmart G101. AutoSmart Tardis.

I spent close to an hour on the wheels alone; the inner rim was far gone. The facings suffered from pitting in the corners, Sonus Clay and Tardis were able to shift the most of.


Snowfoamed > Washed > De-tar > De-contaminate (Clay!)

A selection of sap and tar being dissolved by Tardis:

This car had LOTS of tree-sap on. Little yellow specs that were an absolute ****** to shift!


Claybar after half of the bonnet: (yellowing from sap build-up)

After bootlit:

Car re-washed and water-sheeted over the panels to aid the drying stages.

Wash stage = 4 hours.

Once inside and garaged, the scale of the job became apparent.

A grey haze caused by a sea of swirls. But check out the above photo on the bootlid, some awesomely deep scratches on there!

Under the Brinkmann:

 

[Jimmeh]

Starting with a test section on the bonnet,

Menz 203s de-swirled the car, but, struggling with the deeper stuff.

50/50 on the o/s front door:

Bonnet 50/50:

o/s rear quarter before and after (a hazy grey, to black)

A big 50/50 on the bonnet under strip lights:

I think that was about the end of day 1.. Half the bonnet, drivers side and the half the boot lid complete. A long day ahead tomorrow!

50/50 in the morning on the boot-lid. LOTS of deep scratches.

N/S door 50/50:

Before/After:

Once complete, car taken back outside for a good blast with the pressure washer; lots of dust from the polishing stage to remove!

 

[Jimmeh]

Whilst dodging a brief rain-storm, I managed to again sheet-water over the car to aid drying.

…as seen, only a few dots of water left to collect now.


S-Class after being BlackHole’d.

Wax on, Wax off:

At this point, I quickly dressed the tyres as I wanted to catch the last of the afternoon’s sun for some photos. Windows, wheels, final wipedown etc yet to follow..

…and back inside before the rain returns! (Which it did)

Final exterior touches were finished..

Grille and other britework polished and protected with Jeffs Werkstat Prime.

After:

Alloys protected with JetSEAL901.

A final wipedown required to remove any wax gassing smears, but, this can wait till later as the interior needs doing yet.

Leather quite dirty..

Starting with a good hoover throughout. Leather then cleaned with LTT Auto Ultra Foam.

50/50 on drivers’ seat.

Notice on the next photo the left-hand side appears ‘shiny’ under the flash. (This is down to the engrained dirt)

Some funny patterns/stains spotted on the passenger seat; LTT’s Ink and Dye Removal Kit couldn’t shift these….?!

Once leather clean was complete, a damp wipeover given to clean any residues and hydrate things. When dry, Auto Ultra Protect used to, well, to protect!


Windows cleaned..

 

[Jimmeh]

Plastics, doorcards and dashboard wiped with G101. Scuffs removed off of the plastics on the seats with a JML Magic Sponge.

Wooden trim treated to Jeffs Prime. Pedals given a quick scrub. A last check over, and, interior finished. Pushing 8pm now..

Exterior received a Z8 wipedown and I began to pack away! 18 hours in total.

Turns out, the owner doesn’t actually use a solution (shampoo) to wash the car. “Why not?” In fear of stripping previous protection.. I can see the reasoning behind this, but, there are ‘wax-friendly’ shampoo’s out there (Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild as seen above for instance) and the idea behind a well “lubricated” and “slick” shampoo is to help prevent the ‘dragging’ of dirt over the bodywork during contact washing. I can only assume this is how the flurry of deep scratches have appeared..

Will leave you with this..

Thank you!
Jim

 

[JD09]

Superb as always chap. Mines turned into a nightmare, hence the lack of write up!!

 

[phoenixv6quattro]

Very impressive! Your work/threads, always inspire me.....Is that feline a detailing enthusiast? Admiring your work no less......:icon_thumright:

 

[Gops]

Again.. brilliant!

 

[S3 Rav]

good work bud

 

[MRYETH]

Another quality job!

 

[A3Tom]

Nice work Jim

 

[Nilz]

Great job again dude.....well done on the multiplicity skills as well

 

[N8]

Nice on Jim, I've done one of these, lovely cars.

 

[rasA4]

sweeeet

 

[The Maestro]

Hi Guys,

Being one to venture into DIY detailing, thank you for the step-by-step reality guide. It's a bit of a mine-field but posts like this make things easier to understand and are confidence-building.