I have an '88 300E with the MB Tex interior. I have heard/seen/read postings on the differing products to use. What would be a good combination of products to use? Which are more/less user friendly (read: easier) to use? What are your thoughts/opinions on 303??

Thanks in advance.

Stephen Davis
1988 300E 90k miles - The "Cabernet Cruiser"

If you place ANY value on "ease of use" then Meguiar's wins over Zymol. Meguiar's, 3M, and Zymol are among the best waxes you can buy. Everyone has their favorite, but they all deliver top notch results. Meguiar's is by far the easiest to use, then 3M (being a bit more labor intensive than M's but still reasonable), then Zymol being the most labor intensive. It could be said that Zymol is for those who "wax for exercise".

Since you have MB-Tex, I'd have to recommend Vinylex (by Lexol). If you have certain stubborn stains that don't respond to Vinylex then just use harsher spray cleaners. For most stuff most people encounter Vinylex will do nicely. If your reconditioning a car that a family of 4 lived in with their 7 dogs whom all smoked (people...not the dogs j/k) then the Simple Green may be helpful in reconditioning it.

My vote in a nutshell: Meguiar's for exterior/paint, Lexol aka Vinylex for interiors.

Hope this helps...Lee

Lee-

Thanks for the speedy reply and the dashes of humor!! My wife and I got a nice giggle outta your responses.

We are off to the auto supply places most likely on Sunday to start on our interior/exterior endeavours. What about the use of 303 on the dash, etc.? Is there a way that you know of to keep the door handles black (not silvery-grey) after all these years? I heard mention of Auto Glym (sp?)as a possible solution.

Thanks again!!

Stephen Davis
1988 300E 90k soon to be "mint"..

[This message has been edited by CafcoTX (edited 06-05-99).]

[This message has been edited by CafcoTX (edited 06-05-99).]

As for the interior cleaner, I've had great luck with Meguiars Interior/Vinyl cleaner.
You can get it in a "black" bottle from your Mercedes dealer (as the "official" Mercedes Benz vinyl cleaner) or you can buy it in a "maroon" bottle at Walmarts. I use it to clean and also to prep for car shows.

On the dull gray door handles.....Meguiars Endurance tire cleaner (the new one) does an excellent job. I apply it with a q-tip and then rub with a cotton baby diaper. I put it on every 3 weeks...it makes it look MUCH better.....another car show "detailing trick"

Good Luck!

Mike

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1986 300E 138k
MBCA Concours Judge
Board Member -
Western Reserve Section

Hey - thanks for the great tips!

As far as the tire cleaner on the door handles suggestion goes - is it the Meguiars 'Gold Class' Tire Protectorant Gel (the stuff that smells like bubble-gum)??

Also, at my local Pep Boys, I found some Lexol-ph which was in the row where the Vinylex was with the stock number changed to the ph label. Is this some 'new-and-improved' Vinylex or did I buy the wrong item??

I did a thorough wash today and discovered more areas of chipped paint. My MB's colour is a maroonish-cabernet. Any ideas on using a touch-up paint? Wax?

Thanks again for the great tips!

Stephen Davis
1988 300E - Closer to mint now...

Stephen,
Your local dealer or independent should be able to supply you with a kit of factory base and factory clear in a "touch-up kit" size. Before you do any touch-ups you want the area 100% clean, and 100% wax free. A quick going over with #7 once clean will do the trick. Try not to use the touch up "brush" in the MB touch-up bottle unless Plymouth Rock has landed on your hood. You can get far better results with a toothpick. More patience and precision is required but it is worth the effort. I have always seen the best results from building up the stonechip in gradual layers vs just ladling on the paint in one big glob. If you get too much on and it is above the rest of the paint you may have to wet-sand. (2000 grit superglued to a 1" cube to assure precision) If you carefully build up the chip over several steps with something as sharp and precise as a toothpick you will get far better end results. Know your paint as well...on a newer car (say a 98 W210) there is a hefty amount of clearcoat and slightly less basecoat compared with a W124 of the same color. Meaning that if your car has mostly clean use a bit of colored base, then build up the clear. If yours is mostly base then build up with color and top it off with a bit of clear. Its usually better to err on the side of too much clear... Be patient, take your time, do the best you can on every inch. Cutting a few mins now will gall you every time you look at it later.

Your shade of red will want to fade on you. If there are no significant swirls then multiple coats of #7 followed by either #26 or Gold Class liquid Wax will keep it looking "wow". I have had mixed luck with the Gold Class on older finishes. On the newer/better maintained stuff it works great. The #26 has never disappointed me under any conditions. The Endurance/Vinylex/etc with a Q-tip works well with most any tire dressing. It also works well for the sleeve around the side rearview mirrors. My Vinylex is in a light blue bottle with a white top. The Lexol leather cleaner is in an orange bottle and the conditioner is in a brown bottle. Last I checked those were still the colors used. If there is anything else feel free to ask.

Hope this helps...Lee

Lee-

Great information - thanks very much.

Is there a way to determine what the ratio of base to clear there is on my vehicle?

The Lexol I purchased is in an orange bottle. Would you recommend I swap it out for the blue?

Thanks for all of your insight and tips!

Stephen Davis
1988 300E - close to 'paint-perfect'..

The Lexol-Ph in the orange bottle is great for leather but, useless on MB-Tex. If you have leather to clean then keep it. Otherwise swap it for Vinylex in the blue bottle to clean your MB-Tex.

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'98 E430
MBCA-Peachtree

Stephen,

The Meguiars product that I used on my door handles was Endurance. It comes in a box.
It is in a black bottle and comes with a neat applicator (for tires). As for the bubble gum smelling one...I think that is the tire gel in a "maroon/red" bottle. I did not get as good of a result with that one.

As for wax....I agree with everything Lee said above. I am a huge fan of using Meguiars Gold Class wash, followed by a coat of Meguiars Cleaner Wax (maroon/red)bottle.
Then a top coat of Meguiars Gold Class Wax.
I have tried (I swear!) 10 different kinds of wax and none of them gave me the wet gloss look like Gold Class Wax does! Mine is an '86 and yours is an '88, so you should have no problems with Gold Class on your clear coat.

Honestly, I don't work for Meguiars!

Good Luck!
Mike

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1986 300E 138k
MBCA Concours Judge
Board Member -
Western Reserve Section

Great! This gives me a great deal more than I expected - Thank you all!

I'm planning on trying some of the 'finer details' this evening.

Thanks again and happy Benzing!

Stephen Davis
1988 300E - Oh, please don't rain..