PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

MikeTangas · #5 04-07-2002, 05:18 AM

I spent most of the day working on the "base" for the 560.

The PO had neglected the paint, as a result the hood and roof are toast, and need to be repainted. We decided we will get the whole car shot, probably early next year. But today I made some real progress and the hood, while still needing new paint, looks 200% better.

All the flat surfaces had crud embedded in the clearcoat and had a "sandpaper" texture. I tried cleaner, polish, clay and wax, with only slight success and was at the point of just letting it be until paint time.

Today I dug out my can of honest-to-god rubbing compound. Not something I would suggest others put on their clear coat, but in my case I had nothing to lose. I started with a healthy rubbing in of the compound, followed by a vigorous buff job. Then I used Meguires paint cleaner and buffed. Followed that with a thorough rubbing with a clay bar, lubricated with Meguires Quick Detail (found I really had to keep the surface wet with spray or the bar would stick). By the time I finished claying the hood, the bar was black.

Wiped the hood down with a soft towel, then put on a good coat of Meguires Polish, let stand a few minutes and gave it another buff job. Finished off with a coat of Meguires Carnuba Wax. In total I spent about four hours on it and now my hood looks great. Yea, it still needs a paint job and the clear coat has cooked a bit, but it reallly looks better, and is super smooth.

After spending four hours just doing the hood I took a break until this evening. I spent another two and a half hours repeating the process on the trunk lid. Still have the roof and the sides to do, there might be enough hours in all of tomorrow to finish.

I even think the color looks better, must be all that work pulling out the dirt and grime, changed the appearance by bringing out the true color.

Now does anyone know if they make the clay bars in a bigger size than those little bitty bar of soap sized bars?