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Thread: Dan's Garage - Arctic White Mercedes 300 CE-24

  1. #1
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    Default Dan's Garage - Arctic White Mercedes 300 CE-24

    This weekend saw me working on a very nice 23 year old Artic White Merc 300 CE-24. I've always been a fan of coupe Mercedes and this one, whilst still quite pretty, was showing it's age, particularly in the paint department.

    It's current owner, who's only had it for a relatively short period of time, is quite meticulous when it comes to keeping his cars, and I know that he's been bothered by the swirls on this one for quite some time. So he finally decided to do something about it and booked it in for a paint correction.

    Initially it was also going to be a sealant based paint protection, but the rock-hard 23 year old Euro paint was about as tough as a WWII bunker. So after a quick chat with the owner, I spent the two days on paint correction alone.

    The owner also had realistic expectations. He knew the paint wasn't the best and indeed in a number of areas it was flaking, so needless to say, much caution was exercised regarding working around those areas.

    A couple of pre-wash shots:








    The car was first foamed (no pics sorry), then hand-washed, taking particular care around those badges (I need a new brush too ):






    The car was then clayed. There was only a small amount of oxidisation present over the car:




    Now time to really look at what we're dealing with....Welcome to Swirl-Fest 1990 :






















    A number of paint depth readings around the car revealed some healthy paint levels. Variances from 140 microns to up over 230:






    Correction initially proceeded as per normal. The harder Euro paint necessitated the HD Black Wool pad and Ultimate Compound II. Then moving to LC Orange with Compound II again. Then LC White with Optimum GPS to finish down.

    Roof completed















    There were some very deep rids in the roof that were unfortunately there to stay but I estimate I achieved roughly an 85-90% correction
    Caff Mobile Mk1 - 2010 Aluminum Gen II | 2XS SRI | H&R Lowered Springs | cpe 75 Duro Engine Mount | Whiteline Rear Swaybar | Moog "Problem Solver" Rear Endlinks | 3M Carbon Black Tint | Lakin Custom Plates | Opti-Coat Paint Protection | Paint Correction by Me - SOLD

    Caff Mobile Mk2 - 2008 BMW Z4M Coupe - Sapphire Black Metallic | Stock....for now

  2. #2
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    The bootlid was wetsanded as there were too many swirls that simply weren't coming out even with wool and Compound II (as I said, this paint was rock hard):

    2000 grit (some areas needing two hits to completely remove the swirls). Then onto 2500 grit. From there the wool and Compound II took care of the rest:

    50/50s





    Completed boot. No waxes or LSPs








    The bonnet was also wetsanded with the same process.

    Part-way through wet sand:





    Post-correction:






    Some final shots after two coats of Naviwax Light:





















    A couple of nice reflection shots:






    All up around 17hrs. Thanks for looking

    Dan
    Caff Mobile Mk1 - 2010 Aluminum Gen II | 2XS SRI | H&R Lowered Springs | cpe 75 Duro Engine Mount | Whiteline Rear Swaybar | Moog "Problem Solver" Rear Endlinks | 3M Carbon Black Tint | Lakin Custom Plates | Opti-Coat Paint Protection | Paint Correction by Me - SOLD

    Caff Mobile Mk2 - 2008 BMW Z4M Coupe - Sapphire Black Metallic | Stock....for now

  3. #3

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    That's amazing mate
    I'm sure the customer is very happy


    Peter "SLIXX"

  4. #4
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    Awesome work Dan

    Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2

  5. #5
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    Wouldn't know anyone that does touch ups by any chance would you

    Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2

  6. #6
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    Cheers guys.

    What sort of touch ups Jmac? We talking stone chips or larger?

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

  7. #7

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    wow!! i never realised how good u really were at this dan?! when can u come around and quote the hk? bring a baseball bat with you when going through dandenong though lol

  8. #8
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    I can have a look at it at the meet up if you're serious about bringing it along?

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

  9. #9

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    yep im bringing it as long as there is no rain or wet roads. cool thanks.

  10. #10
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    a miracle work everytime Dan... love the half and half shots always

  11. #11

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    Really impressive results!

    My train of thought every time I see the next edition of 'Dan's garage':

    "Man I wish Dan lived in Sydney" --> "maybe I should drive down to Melbourne and book my car in?" --> "hmm.... each bug splat on the return journey would hurt too much emotionally"

  12. #12
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    Thanks Guys.

    James, bug spatter is no issue for a properly protected paint surface. When I drove to Bathurst, when we hit town I went to a pressure wash place. The pressure wash took 80% of the bugs off without batting an eye. The rest came off with a light bucket wash.

    By removing swirls and defects and by decontaminating, polishing, and waxing the car you're not only making the car look better, you're also making the surface slippery, so that foreign material becomes much easier to remove



    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
    Caff Mobile Mk1 - 2010 Aluminum Gen II | 2XS SRI | H&R Lowered Springs | cpe 75 Duro Engine Mount | Whiteline Rear Swaybar | Moog "Problem Solver" Rear Endlinks | 3M Carbon Black Tint | Lakin Custom Plates | Opti-Coat Paint Protection | Paint Correction by Me - SOLD

    Caff Mobile Mk2 - 2008 BMW Z4M Coupe - Sapphire Black Metallic | Stock....for now

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Caffeine Fiend View Post
    Thanks Guys.

    James, bug spatter is no issue for a properly protected paint surface. When I drove to Bathurst, when we hit town I went to a pressure wash place. The pressure wash took 80% of the bugs off without batting an eye. The rest came off with a light bucket wash.

    By removing swirls and defects and by decontaminating, polishing, and waxing the car you're not only making the car look better, you're also making the surface slippery, so that foreign material becomes much easier to remove



    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
    Also by removing swirls and defects, you can develop a slight sense of OCD where you are constantly looking after every aspect of your car

    (Damn gotta wash my wheel arches!)


    Peter "SLIXX"

    Snapped by Tangcla - FB Page
    Currently RaydTuned
    Lots of love from 2XS Racing & Dan's Garage Detailing

  14. #14
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    Looks great Dan. It would have to do wonders for the value of the car. On these old classics, paint is the first thing that turns you away.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Caffeine Fiend View Post
    Cheers guys.

    What sort of touch ups Jmac? We talking stone chips or larger?

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
    Stone chips and where the rock attacked the side of my car on the highway :*(
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  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Caffeine Fiend View Post
    Thanks Guys.

    James, bug spatter is no issue for a properly protected paint surface. When I drove to Bathurst, when we hit town I went to a pressure wash place. The pressure wash took 80% of the bugs off without batting an eye. The rest came off with a light bucket wash.

    By removing swirls and defects and by decontaminating, polishing, and waxing the car you're not only making the car look better, you're also making the surface slippery, so that foreign material becomes much easier to remove



    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
    Well, I learn something new every day!

    Maybe that trip to VIC isn't such a pipe dream after all!

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jmac View Post
    Stone chips and where the rock attacked the side of my car on the highway :*(
    Might be able to help you here mate. Need a couple of weeks to work on my own car to see how I go doing the same thing
    Caff Mobile Mk1 - 2010 Aluminum Gen II | 2XS SRI | H&R Lowered Springs | cpe 75 Duro Engine Mount | Whiteline Rear Swaybar | Moog "Problem Solver" Rear Endlinks | 3M Carbon Black Tint | Lakin Custom Plates | Opti-Coat Paint Protection | Paint Correction by Me - SOLD

    Caff Mobile Mk2 - 2008 BMW Z4M Coupe - Sapphire Black Metallic | Stock....for now

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Caffeine Fiend View Post
    Might be able to help you here mate. Need a couple of weeks to work on my own car to see how I go doing the same thing
    What? Experiment on Justin's first. He won't mind
    Redbull is DEAD!!

    Long live the Redbull ... V2



  19. #19
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    *open dan's garage thread*
    *wait 30 seconds for all images to load*
    *watch 20 year old car look better than mine*
    *congratulate dan on another awesome job*
    *feel about my car*
    *count pennies to get jase to do mine*

  20. #20
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    I'm sure @LittleredMPS will accept sexual favours from you Sam......at least in part payment

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