# 1997 Mercedes R129 SL Detail



## liddz17 (May 16, 2011)

Hello All,

I have owned and restored my R129 SL for the past 8 years and although in very good condition, as I do use the car regularly there were quite a few light swirls/scratches I wanted to remove. I also wanted to enhance the stunning blue that this car has whilst also offering some protection to the bodywork.

Pictures below of the swirls shown in direct sunlight. Mainly on the Bonnet and Boot Lid

View attachment 36109










So first job was to hose the car down to get rid of any loose dust and then wash the car using the two bucket routine









Once washed I used Meguiars clay bar and detailing spray and worked over every inch of each panel to get rid of any tar/contaminants on the paint work

















Bottom panel of the car unsurprisingly had some pretty tough tar marks!


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## liddz17 (May 16, 2011)

After claying the entire car I then rinsed with water and washed the vehicle again using the two bucket routine and Turtle Wax shampoo and dried using two microfiber towels

















Next up was the highly recommended G3 Scratch removal paste. You can also get this in a liquid form.









I masked the car into sections so I could see which parts I was working on and to avoid the paste getting into rubber seals etc









After applying the paste via the G3 waffle pad I worked it in using an up and down - side to side technique to avoid causing swirl marks. After buffing off the haze I continued with another three coats and the results were fantastic with nearly all swirl marks gone.


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## liddz17 (May 16, 2011)

After I completed the boot lid it looked as if I was back in 1997! Stunning finish from the paste.









I then continued with the same technique over the entire vehicle. Luckily with the pano roof there is only a small amount of bodywork to do









The finish on the roof and side panel after buffing off the paste









Next I moved the car into the garage and started on the G3 paint renovator.









I worked this in using the same technique as the G3 scratch remover - again a panel at a time over the entire car


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## liddz17 (May 16, 2011)

After buffing off, the finish from the paint renovator was a slightly darker blue.









A close up of the paint under the garage light. One of my favourite car colours out there, Mercedes Azurite Blue. Lovely flake









I also did the inside of the bonnet....









Here is a shot of the bonnet with the far end hazed. Nearly all swirl marks have now gone









During the time that the paint renovator was hazing I worked on each alloy. Polishing them with SRP


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## liddz17 (May 16, 2011)

The next step was to apply the Autoglym Super Resin Polish. Like the G3 scratch remover and G3 paint renovator this was applied to every panel of the car, section by section.

















Final stage was to apply the G3 super gloss paste wax to seal the bodywork.


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## liddz17 (May 16, 2011)

After a weekend (about 16hours) I was finally finished and very happy with the products used. I dont have a machine polisher so all by hand but I am very pleased with the results

Some final shots of the bodywork


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## liddz17 (May 16, 2011)




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## liddz17 (May 16, 2011)




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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Great work with the paint. I wouldn't fancy doing any sort of correction by hand any more. Even if its only a part correction. I'd just lather in SRP and have done with it lol. You've really added extra gloss to the paint. 

Next job look into giving the leather a real good seeing too. Getting a proper leather cleaning brush would help if you don't already have one.


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## neilb62 (Jul 30, 2007)

By hand? What an excellent result...... Nice one... :thumb:


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

looks good, I would use a tar remover before claying tbh, you risk scratching the car otherwise and doing so will make claying easier..
try imageshack or photobucket for picture hosting too - that way you can put them all in one post, rather than the five pics per post limit if you host them via DW


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## ted11 (Jul 8, 2011)

Great results from a lot of hard work, well done mate.


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## liddz17 (May 16, 2011)

Thanks for the feedback! Yep interior is next, starting with the leather. Any products recommended for this job?


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## martyp (Oct 24, 2006)

Great job and beautiful SL! Love this shape. :thumb:


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## knightstemplar (Jun 18, 2010)

Excellent job:thumb:


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## moonstone mo (Mar 7, 2009)

Cracking results..always had a soft spot for these! old skool rules!lol


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## tommyboy40 (Feb 28, 2012)

Have a look at my thread http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=287198&highlight=r129+sl500 replacement aerial masts are available from GSF for about £16 and a doddle to fit. Lovely work by hand, very impressed


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## s29nta (Mar 9, 2013)

great results there.I must agree on the colour, its very nice:argie::thumb:


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## liddz17 (May 16, 2011)

Hi guys,

Couple months on and the car comes up beautifully. All that hard work by hand seems to be worth it. Also makes it so much easier to wash every week.

Now time enjoy the sun


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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

That's looking fantastic!


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

Good looking old bus :thumb:


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## Barchettaman (Dec 16, 2007)

Beautiful appreciating classic.

Hats off to you for doing all that paint correction by hand.

A quick check on the interior forum on the site will give you some recommendations for stuff to use on the leather seats.
Äi hope you get lots of lovely weather to enjoy it!


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## Tuska (Sep 3, 2009)

-Kev- said:


> looks good, I would use a tar remover before claying tbh, you risk scratching the car otherwise and doing so will make claying easier..
> try imageshack or photobucket for picture hosting too - that way you can put them all in one post, rather than the five pics per post limit if you host them via DW


Can you put tar remover on paintwork?


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## Tuska (Sep 3, 2009)

Very nice. I do all mine by hand too.
I just don't have the experience with machine polishing.


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