Baby's first Wax

Lee, I read with great interest your note on the newsgroup titled "How do you polish your MB?

I have a seven week old Silver 230C K that I'm ready to wax. From your message here's what I think I need to do. Am I correct?

1. Clean with shampoo.
2. Use Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze.
3. Use Meguiar's #26 wax.
4. Go over entire surface again with light spray of #34 Final Inspection.

Also, is there a good product for glass? We have very hard water and I already see some spotting?

Thanks for your help.
-rr-

Congratulations on your new "baby",
Your on the right track with the 4 steps you mentioned above. The only other thing I'd advise, and this is every bit as important, is that you use 100% cotton terrycloth rags. Burn test the edges to make sure you don't have any synthetics in the seams. I couldn't find any suitable towels/rags on the open market so I made mine. A good fabric store should be able to hook you up with A:100% cotton terry cloth, B: 100%cotton thread. If your S/O is domestically oriented (or you are!) you can make your own detailing towels that are worlds ahead of anything you can buy.

Bill Wood's reply to "3 problems with a 98 E320W" gave some very helpful tips on winshield/glass cleaning/care. It is copied below:

"As far as the windshield is concerned, here's what I would do:
1) Thoroughly clean the windshield with windshield stripping paste, Bon-Ami or toothpaste (paste not jel). You need something that is very mildly abrasive to remove the film that is there.

2) Next clean the windshield with rubbing alcohol or Windex. Always buff the windshield with a perfectly dry paper towel after cleaning it to prevent streaking.

3) Thoroughly clean your windshield wiper with Windex or alcohol. Clean your wiper each time you fuel your car to maintain it. You can just use a moist towel at the gas station.

4) For a final touch. Look for a product called "Vision Blade". And apply every 3 or 4 months.

5) Change your wiper blade each spring.

This process totally solved my smearing windshield on my E430.
Good luck.


------------------
'98 E430
MBCA-Peachtree"


That should take care of it, if there is anything further we can help you with feel free to ask.

Enjoy your new baby...Lee

Thanks for the help! I've bought three different bags'o'rags and found that the edges melt on all of them.

I have not used any rags on the car yet, just wool for washing and leather for drying (bought an Absorbor yesterday so the leather won't be used anymore).

My S/O takes shirts to the tailor for missing buttons, so I'm out of luck there. How about just buying the cotton terry cloth at a fabric store and using it without sewing seams? Will the fabric fraying cause a problem/scratches?

Thanks again.
-rr-

Ron,
I know exactly where your coming from with the store-bought "cotton" rags. That is why I elected to make my own. If you buy the terry, cut it yourself, then wash repeatedly to remove sizing, you will have significant problems with fraying. The frayed fabric wont be a problem as far as causing scratches, but...

However, it might look like you laundered the cat when you put them through the washer/dryer. If there is sufficient interest, we might sell some 100% cotton *throughout* detailing terry's... If anyone is interested, email me or post publicly...

Congratulations once again on your new Benz. I have heard the new Kompressor C230 is more fun than a C280 V6. If you have driven both what are your thoughts?

Lee

Lee,

I have driven both extensively. I opted for the C280 merely because the dealership offered me a good deal. I found the differences to be subtle between the two. I found that the C230K was slightly noisier when starting out from a dead stop. I also found the C280 to be slightly more refined when accelerating. Nonetheless, both are worthy of the Mercedes name.

Ronridd:

I hope you guys don't mind me throwing my 2 cents in on the polish/wax talk.

First off, with a new car, just about any of the good products on the market will do a great job for you. If my Benz was a newer one I would use Boyd's Products....Boyd is the guy who made the ZZ Top hot rods. From what I've seen, Boyd's does an awesome job on the newer cars....you could shave in the mirror reflection.

I am like Lee.....I am a fan of Mequiars. I have used all their products from the beige bottles (#7, #26, #34) to the black bottles of Medallion to their 3 System Maroon bottles.

When I talked with the Meguiars rep he explained that if your looking for maximum protection as far as wax goes...use Medallion. If your looking for maximum gloss (showing your car) use Gold Class.

We discussed this at the Mercedes Judge school last Saturday....and quite a few of us felt that we had the best results with the following:

1) Wash with Meguiars Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner.

2) As the "polish" step use: Meguiars Cleaner Wax (has polish in it)

3) For maximum gloss protection: Meguiars
Gold Class Clear Coat Car Wax.

4) For quick maintenance we felt that Meguiars Quick Detailer worked best.

I spent over $200 on different products last summer to find out the above worked best for me. I have an '86 with Smoke Silver (Champaigne) colored paint. It has a wet look gloss and at last years German Car Show in Cleveland, everyone was asking what kind of products I used to get that gloss.

BTW, I do everything by hand.

Just my 2 cents.
Mike

Lee and Mike:

I guess I can't throw in anything to address the C280, but I can say that I was going to purchase a 328i UNTIL I drove the C230 K. I should only need to point out that this is my first Benz to make you understand how much I like it. The K is quick, clean and solid. I just did not realize that I was suffering in the past driving anything else.

I'm interested in the Boyds product, but waxing time is near. Just bought #7, #26, and #34. . . I hope this is one of the best combinations for baby's first wax. If there is a compelling reason to think otherwise; please let me know. I want only the best for the best drive I've ever enjoyed.

My quest for pure cotton is slowing the process; I think I'll end up getting our tailor to make them *.

THANKS.

P.S. Mike, I cannot image letting anyone else, or machine for that matter, touch my little K. My hands are the only ones that will wash this baby's bottom. My dealer offers a free wash when I drop by...har, har, har, not with those grubby little hands (they have touched trade-in's)!

Thanks in advance for your valued advice.

-rr-

RR:

You just bought some of the best products on the market. The #7, #26, and #34 is probably the longest, most proven combination used by the Pro's on the market.
You should be very pleased!

My above combination was what I found to work best for me....it's just something to keep in mind. If the #26 wax doesn't give you quite the gloss you want, you could always apply the Gold Class wax later. =)

As for the towels....I found some white 100% cotton towels at one of the local car parts stores and have had awesome results...much better (and safer) than the baby diapers I used at one time...Of course because they are 100% cotton, they did shrink in the wash somewhat...oh well. lol

Good luck with your waxing, and let us know how it goes!

Mike

------------------
1986 300E 138k
Board Member
Western Reserve MBCA

On a brand new car, is the #7 really necessary to get the best protection?

Also, does the paste version of #26 protect better then the liquid, or am I just showing my age?

Even on a new car I would recommend using #7 glaze. The purpose of #7 is to clean and polish. It is very important that your car be very clean prior to waxing or the wax will streak.

Most of the professionals I have talked to at high level concours ONLY use #7 (or 3M equiv) and do not use any wax. This is on a newly restored car with a brand new paint job. Of course their cars never go outdoors or on the road so they don't need the protection that wax affords.

There has been an ongoing debate for years over the virtues of paste vs liquid. I have used both and have had good results with both but, I prefer liquid for one major reason. All too often, the paste gets contaminated with grit because you have to physically wipe your applicator pad in it. When I pour the liquid wax out of the bottle I know there's no grit there from the last time I used it.

------------------
'98 E430
MBCA-Peachtree



[This message has been edited by Bill Wood (edited 05-13-99).]

After about two weeks of trying, I've got half of the car done. What a difference it makes. When I washed it on Sunday, the half with the #7, #26, and glaze shed water like oil.

I parked the car outside over the weekend in Sonoma (the hotel did not have covered parking Sometime during the night the park sprinklers went off and were seemingly directed at my car, not the grass. I awoke to UGLY water spots. Lucky for me, the majority of the spots were on my newly polished and waxed hood. The spots wiped off with no effort! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR HELPING WITH BABY'S FIRST WAX!!! With this kind of treatment, I'm expecting the car will be less trouble in it's teens than a child.
-rr-

Ron,
sounds like you are sure on the right track. Do be careful when wiping off waterspots. ANY dirt on the finish could be ground in and cause swirls. If you use some Final Inspection #34 or (my fav) Slick Stuff when wiping the water spots you will find the spots disappear much easier and swirls are kept at bay. I'm glad you and your car are benefiting from this forum.

Lee

Lee- Looks like you found something not yet mentioned. What is Slick Stuff, and what is it used for? I just got back from Trak Auto with some Meguiar's #7 and the Gold Class Wax. I'll try it this afternoon and see if it's better then the Mother's I've been using. One more question do you think there is much of a difference in the last stage products, the sprays, for the final finish? Whatis in those last stage sprays?

Bruce,
Slick Stuff is the equivalent of Meguiar's #34 "Final Inspection". It works great as far as a final spray. These sprays typically are used for a finishing spray shine after a wash or for touchups in-between. They are the perfect tool to remove bird crap, tree sap, or water spots before they are on the finish long enough to become difficult to remove or cause permanent damage.

I do not know their exact chemical composition but they typically have lubricants that prevent the wiping motion from causing swirl marks, "feeder oils" that supposedly deepen the color and condition of the paint, and I *suspect* a bit of cleaner wax. They can be sprayed on to a lightly dirty finish then wiped off without scaring the finish underneath. While not even close to a substitute for washing they can extend the "just been detailed" look awhile. They are also a good tool for show cars.

In my experience and use of them (#34, Slick Stuff, 3M has one but I have not used it yet, Griot's Garage, etc) they work as advertised as far as cleaning/non-swirling properties but also they seem to dramatically prolong wax longevity/condition. Slick Stuff also has some anti-static properties which helps keep your car dust free much longer. The Meguiar's stuff is good, I have just seen superior results with the Slick Stuff.

As far as who makes it and where to get it..."Wax Shop" is the company who makes it, and you will occasionally see it at Pep Boys or other parts stores. If anyone is really interested I know of a mail/web order place as well.

Hope this helps...Lee

Yes Lee that helps. Thank you and all the others for their input this is an excellent "thread".