# SIM 180 vs Mercedes CL 500 W215........



## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Hello all.........:wave:

Well this detail sees Jule's and I out and about but not far away from where we live to complete a detail on a lovely Mercedes CL 500 W215.......:car:

This detail was a bit of a 'small world detail', basically Sean the owner of the Mercedes has a son called Simon with a very nice Evo VII, turns out that Simon used to have a very nice WR1, which was unbelievably bought by your very own resident DW Pro, Clark at Polished Bliss..............:car:

Talk about 'small world'...........:doublesho

Anyway after a chat about that little story Jule's and I set about cracking on with the detail as the CL 500 is a big old beast and it was just after some TLC before it's put away into the garage over the winter..........:thumb:

So on a fairly chilly Saturday morning we arrived to the car looking as follows:



















'Daddy Long Legs' hanging out:










All wheels has recently been front faced refurbed:










Always think this angle shows how big the motor is:














































Jules was going to have her work cut out on the interior today:































































































































Engine bay just needed a deep clean:














































Safe to say that the Mercedes had been well used but just needed some time on it to make it look a little more respectable...........:thumb:

*The Detail Process:*

With the wheels having been refurbed and a massive task on the interior for the day, we set about the detail in a different order to our normal process. Firstly I had warned Jules of what to expect for the interior but to say she wasn't happy might have been an understatement as she filled up the buckets:










The car was washed using Powercraft Pressure Washer, Snow Foam with HD Elite Lance, 2BM consisting of Megs Hyper Wash, Megs Buckets and Gritguards and Lambswool Wash Mitts - Rinsing first:



















Paying attention to various panel gaps with plenty of moss, etc in them:










Then the car was foamed:



















Forgot to attend to the boot shut so rinsed that out while the snow foam did it's thing:



















A fair bit of dirt in there:




























We then went around the car with some Megs APC and Detailer Brushes attending to the Door Shuts, Petrol Cap and Boot Shut:









































































Then I rinsed the car:




























I then re-foamed the car and it was then washed using the 2BM, so into the Wash Bucket first:










Washed a few panels:










Then into the Rinse Bucket:










Once all the car had been washed it was time for another rinse:



















Next up we clayed the car with some Elite Fine Yellow Poly Clay using Megs Last Touch as lube:



















A few contaminents:










Another rinse:










Jules and are were both pretty ill during this detail so it was time for the Olbas Oil tissues, also time for Jules' top tip, make sure you crush them first:










Megs Last Touch was then applied:



















Then dried with a Waffle Weave Drying Towel:



















Jules then set about starting on the interior with Henry:




























I then went around the car with some AS Tardis:










Working well as always:










I then turned my attention to the wheels, these had all been front face refurbed and looked as follows:










Arch rinsed:










Wheel rinsed:










Megs Wheel Brightner applied:










Then aggitated with the Vikan Long Wheel Brush:










Front face attended to with a Detailer Brush:










Megs APC applied to arches and tyres:










Aggitated with a Vikan Brush:



















This was repeated on all the other wheels........:thumb:

Jules was making good progress on the interior and using an AG Wheel Brush on some of the more stubborn marks with some Megs APC:










Cleaning the leather meant I could show a good cloth 50/50:










Now the weather on this day was cold, windy and overcast so getting some good pics of the paintwork condition was tough, this was only planned to be an enhancement and it's safe to say that the paintwork was rock hard, I moved around the car using 3M Fast Cut Plus on a 3M Compounding pad followed by some Megs 205 on a 3M Finishing Pad.........:buffer:

Time for some lunch:










I then decided to attend to the engine bay, so before:










This was rinsed and then I applied some Megs APC:










Aggitated with a Detailer Brush:










Looking as follows:










This was then rinsed........:thumb:

Onto the outside now and a quick rinse to remove any excess polish dust:



















Megs Last Touch applied:










Then dried with a Waffle Weave Drying Towel:










Jules then attended to the exhaust with some Autosol, Wirewool and a Microfibre Cloth - Before:










During:










After:

Someone forgot to take a picture...............

By this time I was working on the paintwork applying some Planet Polish Paint Seal and Shine via an Applicator:










This was followed by a Zaino Z8 wipedown:










Wheels received a similar treatment with the Planet Polish Wheel Seal and Shine via an Applicator:










All the glass was cleaned inside and out with some Megs Glass Cleaner and some Glass Cleaning Cloths:










Windscreen saw the Windschield Wonder come out:










Arches got some Megs Hyper Dressing:










Tyres dressed with AS Highstyle via a Paintbrush:










*The Results:*





























































































































































































































































Heck of a tough day this one and considering I don't have a wet and dry vac, Jules did a great job and it was appreciated at the end by Sean........:thumb:

Massive motor's these and the door hinges tell you everything you need to know, nice to work on something a little different and also nice to be detailing with Jules.........

Comments good or bad welcome as always...........


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

very nice work guys was it a cold day? good to see jules come out off hiding


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

Fantastic turnaround buddy


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## BARBAROS407 (Nov 23, 2010)

very good


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## MSD1540 (Oct 29, 2010)

Great job and a good write up. What makes me wonder is how Jules doesn't break her nails while detailing.


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## sam-mubarak (Jun 23, 2010)

My mrs thinks im mental spending so long detailing, and would never dream of joining in! But always expects me to detail her car though! Oh well, least shes a decent cook, Sam


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## L.J. (Nov 9, 2008)

always look forward to your write ups 

fantastic work on the car! Real shame about rust by the wheel arch :S


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## liam99 (Dec 29, 2009)

Great work.


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## prokopas (Apr 29, 2010)

very nice results. Well done


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## maxtherotti (Mar 2, 2009)

check out sly henry getting a eyefull:thumb:


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

nice work as always fella


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## ryand (Jul 18, 2008)

Good team work and result guys, good going to machine round the car twice too!


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Great work. You need a steamer for those interiors, the dirt would have just rolled off those door cards with a steamer, plus are great round all the switches.


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## philmuskin (Oct 4, 2010)

Excellent write up as usual Simon.


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Great transformation guys, great end result :thumb:


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

Top work


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## robbo51 (May 1, 2007)

Great job Baker


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

-tom- said:


> very nice work guys was it a cold day? good to see jules come out off hiding


Sure was Tom, super chilly, hence the many layers we had on during the day, even the sun didn't warm us up.............



MSD1540 said:


> Great job and a good write up. What makes me wonder is how Jules doesn't break her nails while detailing.


She has got used to it now, don't get me wrong she does break the odd one now and again but she moans then just gets on with it..........:thumb:



sam-mubarak said:


> My mrs thinks im mental spending so long detailing, and would never dream of joining in! But always expects me to detail her car though! Oh well, least shes a decent cook, Sam


It's all about the bigger picture, Jules should be pretty chuffed come Xmas as I have a big thank you planned for all her help this year..........:thumb:



L.J. said:


> always look forward to your write ups
> 
> fantastic work on the car! Real shame about rust by the wheel arch :S


Glad you enjoy them and the rust was a bummer and I think he is having it sorted in the summer............



maxtherotti said:


> check out sly henry getting a eyefull:thumb:


Henry loves it............



ryand said:


> Good team work and result guys, good going to machine round the car twice too!


Cheers Ryan, alot like you and I when we detailed, I just do one panel with a cutting combo and then go over the panel again with a finishing combo, works for me.............:buffer:



Mirror Finish said:


> Great work. You need a steamer for those interiors, the dirt would have just rolled off those door cards with a steamer, plus are great round all the switches.


Thanks for the tip, a few things I would like to invest in next year and a steamer is one of them..........any suggestions?


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## alxg (May 3, 2009)

Another good "complete" write up there Simon, they're always enjoyable and informative to read :thumb:

I am amazed that you can get round a car of that size with a cutting and finishing step by yourself in one day, jesus I am so slow at polishing in comparison!!


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

alxg said:


> Another good "complete" write up there Simon, they're always enjoyable and informative to read :thumb:
> 
> I am amazed that you can get round a car of that size with a cutting and finishing step by yourself in one day, jesus I am so slow at polishing in comparison!!


I think it's worth pointing out that while I can get around the car in one day it's literally one or two passes per combo over each panel, it's only meant to be an Enhancement but when there is two of you it's a little easier.........:thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Looks like it hadn't been cleaned since I saw it a year or two back! :lol:


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## Overdoser (Oct 25, 2010)

Excellent work as usual :thumb:
I like reading your write ups, looking forward to the next one.


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Clark @ PB said:


> Looks like it hadn't been cleaned since I saw it a year or two back! :lol:


:lol:

The replacement for the WR1 was looking good though, think Simon seems to like looking after his motor's..........:driver:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Baker21 said:


> :lol:
> 
> The replacement for the WR1 was looking good though, think Simon seems to like looking after his motor's..........:driver:


He's maybe started to at least, he thought the WR1 was in good condition but it was far from it in my eyes when I bought it, hence why I had a new windscreen fitted, alloys powdercoated and a front end respray - all on a car which at the time had 12k on the clock! :doublesho:lol:


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Clark @ PB said:


> He's maybe started to at least, he thought the WR1 was in good condition but it was far from it in my eyes when I bought it, hence why I had a new windscreen fitted, alloys powdercoated and a front end respray - all on a car which at the time had 12k on the clock! :doublesho:lol:


Granted it wasn't up to your standards but to the average Joe I guess it must have been in good condition, heck of a long trek to buy a motor...........:doublesho


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

Fantastic detail on a very large car. 

I did one a few summers back and was absolutely shattered at the end of it so god knows how you did it in this cold weather (and with you both being ill).

And it looks like Jules refitted a brand new interior whilst you was on the old machine polisher. Stunning interior clean up.:thumb:


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## "SkY" (Apr 21, 2009)

looks great


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Looking good after some good team work there! Was certainly look a bit tired before.

Where are the floor mats at the end then?!


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Refined Detail said:


> Looking good after some good team work there! Was certainly look a bit tired before.
> 
> Where are the floor mats at the end then?!


Nothing to hide on the floor mats here, we didn't put them back in, think Sean binned them to be honest, it was clear we couldn't save them, they were well worn, granted with a Wet and Dry Vac you may have had some success but as we don't have one there was little we could do.............

Sometimes you can't acheive everything you want to do in just one day...........


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## sim L (Jan 3, 2010)

Great work again Si and Jules 
What do you think of the planet polish products mate?


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

sim L said:


> Great work again Si and Jules
> What do you think of the planet polish products mate?


I think both the paint and wheel sealant's are good although I can't comment too much on durability as yet, will no more in the months to come............:thumb:

The Fabric Bright and Plastic Fantastic get a big thumbs up from me..........:thumb:


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## Al Fresco (Mar 29, 2008)

A great write up and some good photos despite the heavily overcast sky. Like others have commented you must work very quickly (even for just an enhancement) so well done in that cold weather.

Curious about your use of tardis. I think I would have got it on the car a lot sooner in the detail and let it do its stuff. Seemed a bit odd that you used it at the stage you did.

Al Fresco


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Al Fresco said:


> A great write up and some good photos despite the heavily overcast sky. Like others have commented you must work very quickly (even for just an enhancement) so well done in that cold weather.
> 
> Curious about your use of tardis. I think I would have got it on the car a lot sooner in the detail and let it do its stuff. Seemed a bit odd that you used it at the stage you did.
> 
> Al Fresco


I strongly believe that in order to try and give the best possible finish we can in one day we have to detail efficiently, everything has it's place so we can get on.

I am open to changing the process we follow depending on the motor and it's condition but I think that using AS Tardis any earlier in the detail is a little wasted, I like to try and get as many contaminents off the paintwork before going in with the 'big guns'........


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## mjd (Dec 18, 2006)

Your writeups are what my weekends were made for! 
A pleasure to read and a great result as always


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

Great detail - Looking at picking up one of these cars as w/e fun motor -good to see all ya done.


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## Marc1 (Apr 8, 2010)

Nice work :thumb:


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

mjd said:


> Your writeups are what my weekends were made for!
> A pleasure to read and a great result as always


Glad you like them mate, just keep it simple and honest.........:thumb:



The_Bouncer said:


> Great detail - Looking at picking up one of these cars as w/e fun motor -good to see all ya done.


Weekend / fun motor, now that is some toy............:doublesho


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## John-Cupra_TDI (Apr 13, 2009)

Another top detail and writeup :thumb: Great job on the interior, was badly needing it!!


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## Birkan (Oct 30, 2010)

great work  great car 

Turks say something like,''vay amg''


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