# Refined Details: 1979 Mercedes 450SEL 6.9 Oxidisation Treatment



## RefinedDetails (Dec 17, 2006)

A car that probably needs no introduction for car fanatics. The Mercedes 450SEL 6.9 made famous by the film Ronin starring Robert De Niro! A real piece of automotive history and engineering - now *1 of 26* road worthy examples left in the country!

The job was nice and local in Buckinghamshire on a scorching day - the plan was to enhance the paintwork via a 1-step machine polish to remove the oxidisation (especially on the "top" panels: bonnet, boot, roof). This ended up becoming a 2-step cut and refine on these panels, whilst the rest of the car received a 1-step enhancement.

*On Arrival*



















Looking ok, relatively clean just very dull in places!

_Closer Inspection_










Oxidised & lifeless bonnet... as was the case with other areas on the vehicle:



















Plus the expected swirl marks:



















First up were the alloy wheels.

*Alloys Before*










These were treated with an APC, followed by a wheel sealant later in the detail - tyres & arches were also treated.

*Alloys After*










The vehicle then received the standard Refined Details wash process including the 2 bucket method and snow foam:









Nooks & crannies agitated:









Once washed and dried it was time to clay the vehicle to remove any bonded contaminants before machine polishing:









Not to bad considering the age of the vehicle!

*Correction Process*

Door 50/50:









Bonnet 50/50:


















Bonnet After:









3/4 Panel/Boot 50/50:









Once the machine polishing was complete it was time to add the finishing touches. The vehicle was protected with Valentines Concours Wax, plus the chromework, glasswork and plastics/rubbers were treated.

*The Results*

_Before_









_After_
























































































































































































































Thank you for looking and reading as always... A real pleasure to get the opportunity to work upon such an iconic vehicle of the late 70s and early 80s!


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## Car Key (Mar 20, 2007)

Lovely job! :thumb: Is this James Hunt's old car?










Reg looks like NLT935N?

What did you use to polish all that chrome?


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

A true classic, elegance class and beauty all in one given a breath of fresh air.

Lovely job :thumb:


(at this rate I will be losing my crown for bringing these classics back to DW  )


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## Car Key (Mar 20, 2007)

Car Key said:


> Is this James Hunt's old car?


Maybe not...

The vehicle details for NLT 935V are:

Date of Liability 01 12 2011
Date of First Registration 28 02 1980
Year of Manufacture 1980
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 6834CC
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type Petrol
Export Marker Not Applicable
Vehicle Status Licence Not Due
Vehicle Colour *BROWN*
Vehicle Type Approval 
Vehicle Excise Duty Rate for vehicle 
6 Months Rate £118.25
12 Months Rate £215.00


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Great job, lovely big car....

Just one point.... the car was made famous long before Ronin, in a film called:

C'était un rendez-vous (1976)

But maybe not many non geeks know that... :lol: 

anyhoo....great work 

:thumb:


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## justina3 (Jan 11, 2008)

lovely turn around bet the owner is chuffed to bits with that


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

Car Key said:


> Lovely job! :thumb: Is this James Hunt's old car?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nah


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## Car Key (Mar 20, 2007)

Showshine said:


> Nah


Thanks. It could of had a plate change, of course, but it looks like JH's car is still going and still on the same plates (see deatils in my previous post).


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## athol (Oct 3, 2009)

Very nice


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## Mickiemcfist (May 19, 2011)

[/QUOTE]








[/QUOTE]

That back left door been resprayed?

Cracking job though!


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## RefinedDetails (Dec 17, 2006)

Thanks for the superb feedback guys!



Car Key said:


> Lovely job! :thumb: Is this James Hunt's old car?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Cheers buddy. Unfortunately no it isn't the car once owned by James Hunt - I used Optimum Metal Polish on all the chromework 



The Cueball said:


> Great job, lovely big car....
> 
> Just one point.... the car was made famous long before Ronin, in a film called:
> 
> ...


C'etait un rendezvous is a brilliant film but although it was claimed by Claude Lelouch it was a 6.9 450SEL, many think the soundtrack of the vehicle was that closer to the 275GTB - read the production section of the Wiki, I always thought it was the Ferrari: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C'était_un_rendez-vous

Thanks for the feedback 









[/QUOTE]

That back left door been resprayed?

Cracking job though![/QUOTE]

More than likely! It is a slightly lighter shade but all in all for a 32 year old car its entitled to a wee bit of paint - its a shame though as collectively as detailers we are perfectionists  - great feedback again, cheers buddy.


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

^^ yeah the car was the merc, but it sounded a bit "flat" with only the 3 gears, so they dubbed on the (glorious) Fezza one on top....

Quality details anyway buddy......

:thumb:


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Cracking job mate on a lovely motor.


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## sye73 (Apr 23, 2007)

They dont make 'em like that anymore - awesome!
Great work


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## badman1972 (Jun 24, 2010)

That's what it's all about, bringing a proper classic back to life, great work mate and very worthwhile :thumb:


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## B&B Autostyle (Apr 4, 2010)

I would love to work on something like that. What a car!

Top job.


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## maxtherotti (Mar 2, 2009)

stunning car 
obviously dont get much use as those front tyres went out of production donkeys years ago !!!!!!!!!!!


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

great job..


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

What a cool car,nice work :thumb:


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## RefinedDetails (Dec 17, 2006)

Thanks for the unbelievable feedback - it's always a pleasure to work on a true piece of automotive history: plus some interesting facts about c'etait un rendezvous


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

A real lump of a motor that, :thumb: - nice job bringing her back to life.


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