My first attempt at a writeup. This is a 2010 Mercedes E550 in Steel Grey Metallic which is my daily driver. The car is about 3 months old and I had wanted to do this much sooner, but I never got around to it. Now that the weather is getting cooler here it was time to get a few coats of wax on it and prep it for winter. Sorry, not a ton of pictures during each process since I was fighting to get it all done before the sun went down. The dirt was hard to capture in pictures for the before shots because of the color of the car. Some of the arsenal: The car was pretty dirty by my standards since we had rain straight for a week. Note, the car has an air suspension and this first picture is with it fully raised so I could hose out the wheel wells more easily. I couldn't believe how high up it went! It looks like it's on jacks. The car was dirtiest behind the wheels from all the road debris and leaves kicking up during the rain. The wheels weren't too dirty, but I used my Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner anyway. Cleaner dwelled for several minutes per wheel and then I cleaned with a Swissvax brush, a wheel tool and a soft sponge at the end with car soap after hosing off the Sonax. I really hate the smell of the Sonax cleaner. After: New foam gun! Loaded with Mother's California Gold Car Wash and set to D mixing ratio (1-20) Pre-soaked the car and then washed with two bucket method. Dried with California Water Blade and a Meg's Water Magnet waffle weave towel for the remaining drops. Don't have pictures of the next steps: Clayed key areas with Mother's Clay Bar kit. RainX spray on front panel of Panorama glass roof and rear windshield. Not sure if I can use RainX on the back panel of the roof because I think it's a composite material of some kind (not glass like the front sliding panel). When I used RainX on my last car, I got some streaking on the side windows and skipping of the wipers on the front, so I didn't use it for all the glass this time. Swissvax Cleaner Fluid Regular on hood and trunk of the car. I was quickly running out of daylight, so I decided to end the Cleaner Fluid step since it was taking a lot of time and i found it difficult to wipe off. Finished with Autoglym High Definition Wax and after removal, wiped down with distilled water. Parked the car in the garage overnight and then resumed in the morning. A few night shots: This morning I applied a second coat of Autoglym HD Wax. Wipe down with distilled water after removal. Afters: Closeup of reflection: Interior was carefully vacuumed and wiped down. I plan to clean/ condition the leather this weekend. Thanks for viewing!
Very nice car, nice interior color combination, I have not seen it on a Merc before. The California Water Blade may cause some scratching while it's being dragged across the paint if it catches some debris. Most professional detailers do not use one. Some people may say they are safe but one never knows if there is some debris being carried along because the particles can be very small.The safety is not 100% and additionally, you always want to keep the physical touching of paint to a minimum. A better alternative for drying a car is a leaf blower or compressed air which are what professionals use. Using air to dry the car is guaranteed to not introduce scratches while a California Water Blade is questionable at best. Enjoy the car!
Thanks very much, the interior is called Natural Beige. Someone had given me the water blade a while back and I didn't use it for a long time. I finally broke down and started using it after much wavering. We have really hard water here and I decided the benefits of using it (drying quickly to prevent water spots) outweight the potential risks. I try to make sure the blade is very clean and watch carefully while using. What I really need is a CR Spotless system and then I don't have to worry about spots or scratching while drying!
Very nice first write up. I would also recommend burning/throwing away/destroying the Water Blade. Although probably hard to see on your metallic gray paint, it's easy to make fine scratches in the finish. A good waffle weave is your best friend here.
It's not a 4Matic, which might have been a mistake since I live in NJ. The steering wheel is the AMG steering wheel which is standard on the E550 Sport models.
Great work pmb600, the MB looks fantastic! :applause: I am also a big fan of MB, especially E and S class. ______________________ Mail Order Brides Russian Brides
