E55 AMG meets Flex 3401 Buffer & Ceramic Coating

[TTQ B4U]

So David, aka Forrest Gump 9 here on CR, brought a member of his fleet over for my Option 2; Premium Enhancement Service.The Premium Enhancement adds optical clarity, depth of color all with the goal is to significantly reduce and in many cases eliminate 75%+ of the swirls and abrasions. Perfect for his wife's daily driver, a 2005 E55 with 115k on the clock.

 

That said, this is his wife's car and with that came David's request to "make the car look great" because as we all know, a happy wife makes a happy life.

 

At some point in it's past the car had some paint work on the hood, roof and likely 1-2 other panels. Not badly done but those surfaces needed more than just a single stage polish. After a brief call to discuss the options, we opted to hit several panels with some compound and then a gloss enhancing polish to even out the paint, remove the look of "I've been painted" and really make the panels pop! To add to the Pop and protection, this E55 was coated with Nano Ceramic Coating as per my my promotion.

 

So here we go:

 

Upon examination at drop off, it was clear the paint was hammered and was loaded with over-spray, contamination and medium to heavy swirls and spidering of the clear. The paint was actually worse than what these pics show.

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah133/PDQS4/Misc%20Detailing/20161105_094556%20ham4_zpsclixjr3q.jpg

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah133/PDQS4/Misc%20Detailing/20161105_070619%20ham2_zpsyfhsz68a.jpg

 

 

Before work begins, taping off is in order. Thankfully this wagon didn't have too much that really needed taped.

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah133/PDQS4/Misc%20Detailing/20161105_104008%20prep_zpscra3k8fj.jpg

 

 

Clarity....in terms of photos, no this one is NOT out of focus. The paint was just that bad.

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah133/PDQS4/Misc%20Detailing/20161105_110323%20before_zpsyyjsy2tg.jpg

 

 

The good news is that after just a few passes with heavy compound, the clarity began to come back.

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah133/PDQS4/Misc%20Detailing/20161105_110310%20after%201%20pass_zpsgs8ohvf5.jpg

 

 

At the end of it all, the car turned out about 90-95% corrected and the hood and roof were now as clear as the rest of the car.

 

The great part about this car IS the color. In the sun it's a bronze/Dark Gray Metallic with bronze tinted metal trim. In the shade or at night it appear black and when the light hits it, you can clearly see not pure black. Neat effect.

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah133/PDQS4/Misc%20Detailing/20161105_145013%20sparkle_zpsodygivkm.jpg

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah133/PDQS4/Misc%20Detailing/20161105_164750%20web_zpsgyztwgss.jpg

 

 

Ignore the cloudy lights up front. I would have fixed them but David has already ordered up replacements for all of them. He also suggested I not fuss too much with the wheels for now.

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah133/PDQS4/Misc%20Detailing/20161105_164805%20web_zpslqlkc0lw.jpg

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah133/PDQS4/Misc%20Detailing/20161105_164933%20web_zpsfyejhlbz.jpg

 

 

All in all the car turned out great and but was certainly a challenge. MBZ have hard clear coats requiring a lot of work. Thankfully the Flex 3401 Buffer is also a German Made Power House and cut right through the mess.

 

Thanks to David for trusting me with the wife's Daily. I look forward to doing the same and more with the 911/996 Turbo in the coming week or so. :thumbup:

 

Thanks for reading along.

 

-tim

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah133/PDQS4/Misc%20Fun/CR%20Banner_zpsahtckiud.jpg

 

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Edited November 6, 2016 by TTQ B4U

[Forrest Gump 9]

Thank you Tim. It's amazing what you've transformed an eleven years old car to a virtually brand new car. It's the best I've seen this car. Definitely you'll see me back

[zeitgeist57]

Wow! Great before and after pics...

[ImUrOBGYN]

Nice!