# *** Ultimate Wet Sand Mercedes Benz AMG SL55 V8***



## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

*Evening all and thanks for reading another post from Mirror Finish Details
As you all know or not know Wet sanding cars is a passion of mine the finish achievable is awesome it just takes a lot of time. But well worth it.

This Black SL55 V8 Mercedes Benz was booked in for a two day correction. On seeing my car that has been wet sanded and has almost every wax and sealant known to man on it the customer said I want that finish. Not the sealant finish but the wet sanded finish. We negotiated the price and agreed on what was to be done to the car. In the end I spent a week working on this car.

The process begins with wet sanding the car and being a Merc 1500 grit was the first pass, followed up with 2000 grit, 3000 grit then 4000 grit by DA. On some of the panels the swirls were still there so 2000 grit by Da and then 4000 grit were employed to sand beyond the swirls. Multiple paint readings were taken. The plan is to sand to get the panel as level as possible; to within 0.2 of a mil.

Sanding is not that hard really; start work with 2000 grit and do several passes. On this Merc paint I had to break out the 1500 grit just to break through the paint, then 2000, 2500, 3000 then 4000 grit giving a matt shiny finish. The idea is to take out the peel and the swirls to allow a gentle polishing action to get the gloss back. The car was then sanded with the DA with 4000 grit to finish the sanding process.

For those new to wet sanding you sand the peel and end up with hundreds of little of shiny dots. These are the troughs after you wet sand the peaks, Most people will be happy with that finish. As said wet sanding will remove much less paint than heavy compounding. I have done several measurements on several cars and heavy compounding that leaves the peel in can take out 12-14 Microns of paint where wet sanding takes out about 8-10 microns from the paint. It just takes a lot more time.

On with the show. Car was delivered and taking a leaf out of Mike Phillips' wash technique I used a heavy detergent to clean the car. Tar was all over it so it was virtually washed in Tardis then clayed. Wheels were seen to with Bilt Hambler wheel stuff; works just as well as Iron X but is half the price.










As I say just as effective as Iron X just half the price.









After washing, tardis and claying.









Taken inside to see the condition of the paint. Pretty swirly.



























Not too worried about these as the sanding will take them out. Not as much peel as say a BMW but it was still there.

Started off on the rear wing. 2000 grit would not cut it so had to revert back to 1500 grit by hand, 2000 grit by hand, 3000 grit by hand then 4000 grit with DA.



























Boot lid at the 2500 grit stage. Notice how I am staying away from the edge, this will be feathered in at the 3000 and 4000 grit stage.









Edge feathered in.



























I do not usually like doing hard 50/50's but thought I would do one. This is two polishing passes. First pass with Scholl S17 on a spider pad then followed up with S17 with a 3M Yellow pad.



























Carried on around the car as that 7 process sand and polish seemed to work.






















































I then took off the steering wheel for the customer who was getting it recovered, was a sod to remove but the lump hammer shifted it.









Front wing first pass of 1500 and 2000 grit.









Door first pass of 1500 and 200 grit.









Rear wing after 3000 grit.









Front wing after 3000 grit.









And 4000 grit.









Ready for the bonnet, badge removed.









Badge off, cleaned this area up and sealed behind it before it went back on.









Bonnet at 2500 grit stage.


















Natural 50/50 of the right hand side to the 2500 grit stage and the left side just started with 1500 grit. This bonnet to a whole day in the end to sand and polish. The old back was aching by the end of this.









Right hand side of bonnet polished out with Scholl S17 with a spider pad then 3M Yellow pad.




































Passenger door waiting polishing.









http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac347/mirrorfinishuk/Merc%20Wet%20Sand%20May%202012/CIMG2492.jpg[IMG]

And polished.
[IMG]http://i914.photobucket.com/albums/ac347/mirrorfinishuk/Merc%20Wet%20Sand%20May%202012/CIMG2494.jpg

Bonnet finally polished.




































Wing sanded.









After spider pad.









After 3M yellow pad.









Bonnet and wing polished.

















































































Front wing flatted with 2000 grit.









Then 4000 grit via the DA.









Starting to get to the finish line.

















































































Car was then refined with UltraFina on a 3M blue pad. LSP for the job was going to be Zaino and a new wax from Scholl. The car was given a once over with Zaino all in one with a glazing pad, buffed off then treated to Zaino gloss enhancer and a layer Z2 applied. This was allowed to cook overnight. The car was then waxed with Scholl Chemicals The Rock, this is an awesome wax and gives great sheeting. We chucked a pint of water on the bonnet and it just sheeted it off, leaving tiny beading. This is the wax for me as I personally prefer sheeting rather than beading.

Luckily the sun shone as the customer picked up his car.













































































































Hope you enjoy this write up, time spend I have not a clue. Had the car for 7 days and worked on it between other jobs, so I would reckon on 70+ hours.

Customer was blown away with the finish.

Many thanks for reading another post of mine.

Wet sanding courses running throughout the year either in group or one to one.

Cheers
steve :car:
​*


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## glo (Feb 8, 2011)

Amazing work as always. What a lovely car to be working on too. Time consuming but you have definitely got the results. :thumb:


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Some damn fine reflections there my man. Another job well done. 

I have always enjoyed the wet sand write ups. Loving to see our the paint work goes from a complete mess to unbelievable clarity. Up there with the old pink to red jobs.


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## davec (Mar 5, 2012)

now THAT my friends is how you do it! wish i had the gonads to try it!


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Unreal Steve! Finish is amazing, time well spent and glad the customer really saw the value in it!

Great job!


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Cracking job there mate :thumb:


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## Bkjames (Sep 13, 2006)

Excellent job


Brian


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## zippo (Mar 26, 2008)

A detailing masterpiece,Well done fella :thumb::thumb:One for the C.V i think

Daz


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## Toby453 (Apr 12, 2012)

Amazing Job really brought back to life


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## Bayside32 (Apr 10, 2011)

Had a quick look on Shinerama and it seems the BH wheel cleaner is the same price as Iron X for 5 litres???

Cracking job on the Merc BTW.


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## steve from wath (Dec 12, 2008)

stunning work there 

the level of clarity is hard to explain to people ,in relation to wet sanding ,but this post will prove the depth and finish that can be obtained,all be it with a load of time effort and knowledge about the process

first class job Steve well done


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## composite (Jan 31, 2012)

Awesome work Steve!


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## Adrian Convery (May 27, 2010)

Stunning work!


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

Quality work and great write-up Steve! Car looks fantastic.


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## Lewisredfern001 (Apr 21, 2011)

fantastic job, looks amazing


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

i saw this lurking in the back when i went down last weekend, i actually bought the wheel cleaner myself, amazing stuff. works great


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

Wow what an awesome car :thumb:

Super results there - so days work followed by a swedish massage on the back :lol: > bet you needed it after all that work.

Great result indeed.


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## david_h (Sep 19, 2006)

The amount of back breaking work in that must be loads, but the end result speaks for itself.

I totally under-estimated the time it takes to wet sand panels. I reckon I spent a full day on my bonnet alone, thankfully didn't have to do the rest of the car as well.


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## Breakable? (May 10, 2011)

Fantastic work Steve,
The end results look stunning and justify the time and effort needed to achieve them,
Looking forward to more wet sanding tuition from you on the 26th


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## ercapoccia (Nov 14, 2008)

Cracking work! I do love wet sand detail


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Nice work, I wish you were closer


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## lionheart (May 10, 2011)

excellent job and writeup.


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## Rgk Detailing (Dec 6, 2006)

Top work again Steve,

Can't beat a glassy peel free finish! :thumb:


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## leemckenna (Oct 11, 2011)

great work :thumb:


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## adf27 (Mar 14, 2012)

What are the white spots on the paint?
Like this:









And is that clouds or swirls one of the final shots?


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

adf27 said:


> What are the white spots on the paint?
> Like this:
> 
> 
> ...


This is where he had his number plate and tape ready to stick back on. You can see where the plate was the oblong and where he had his tape and knife on the boot. I watched him hold the plate on the lid and clean it, just kept my mouth shut.


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## cotter (Aug 31, 2008)

Looks fantastic Steve :thumb:


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

SteveTDCi said:


> Nice work, I wish you were closer


We can arrange transportation on a trailer.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Mirror Finish Details said:


> We can arrange transportation on a trailer.


For me or the car :lol:I could do with having a crack at one of your tuition days but it would be a long trek for me


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Fantastic job


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## The Pan Man (Apr 16, 2010)

One of my favorite Mercedes cars and a fantastic job on that paint work.


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Cheers everyone I am humbled by the coments. Love to hear the feed back.
It was a tough job and hard to do but the rewards and feedback make it all worthwhile.
Thanks again.


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## Miguel Pestana (Feb 16, 2012)

Amazing job, looks fantastic :thumb:


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## Garybmw320d (Mar 22, 2012)

really is next level detailing steve


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

Very nice work indeed :thumb:

Got a Corvette in for a full wetsand soon, not looking forward to it though ..


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Garybmw320d said:


> really is next level detailing steve


Shame your turbo blew up!!!!


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## glo (Feb 8, 2011)

using this example how much of the clear does wet sanding actually remove? What sort of readings were you getting afterwards compared with the beginning. Anyone please feel free to jump in. Would love to get into wet sanding.

Thanks


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## Corsasxi_Dan (May 13, 2011)

stunning job mate


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## M3simon (Jan 23, 2012)

Looks outstanding.
Great finish.


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

glo said:


> using this example how much of the clear does wet sanding actually remove? What sort of readings were you getting afterwards compared with the beginning. Anyone please feel free to jump in. Would love to get into wet sanding.
> 
> Thanks


Hi.
To save retyping it all out follow this link and it will answer all your questions http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=247139

Cheers


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## Defined Reflections (Jun 4, 2009)

Looks great! i will have to come and have a go on one of your coruses


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## alexj (Apr 12, 2012)

Top banana ! Looking forward to the course next Saturday !


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Defined Reflections said:


> Looks great! i will have to come and have a go on one of your coruses


Cheers dude. 30th June is the next one or any date for a one to one.


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

I was asked the other week to carry out a Gold Valet on a V8 AMG Merc; it was the same car, just a different owner.
Unfortunately the gloss had gone as the new owner had been using the car wash and was scratched and badly swirled he was happy though and I just did the job and applied a winter topper to it.

Seemed a shame after 50+ hours work on this car I was just applying wax over swirls and scratches. Ho hum money is the name of the game.


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## Geordie_1982 (Jun 12, 2010)

That is one hell of a job you done on the Wet sanded Merc bet it was nice seeing the customers face when he picked it back up. I wouldn't have the slightest clue of where to start.

I bet when the new owner brought the car back to you your heart sank did you not feel like showing them what the car looked like.

Would love to get my S-Max wet sanded


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## alesoft73 (Aug 27, 2012)

Nice job! and nice gloss!


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## mgkars (Dec 17, 2011)

Wow that's a huge turn around


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## superrep25 (Mar 31, 2012)

Incredible work blown away by that steve


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## Kelly @ KDS (Aug 4, 2008)

steve , 

be very careful that the sanding marks are what are reappearing , as these look exactly like swirls if sanded by hand.

The fillers in cutting compounds , i find S17 one that fills the most too. 

A very quick look at some of the wet sand photos showing finished with DA still have the sanding marks shown from hand sanding. 

If it takes me 60 minutes to sand an area in 1500 i then spend 90 minutes refining with 2000 and 120 minutes with 2500 or 3000. 

The cut is less with each grade and will need longer than first cut to remove ALL sanding marks.

The quickest we can turn around a wet sand on a car is close to 100 hours. 

If your not aware this time scale can be greatly reduced and still looks the same on collection as detail thats taken twice as long. 

I will post a thread in the future showing that ONLY thinners actually removes all the filling done by cutting compounds. 

IPA really does not remove much in the way of fillers TBH. 

On dark colours this will happen while sitting in the sun for a few weeks as the UV light burns out the filling oils leaving the "real" "true" finish.

Of course you can use thinners on customers car , so i have found a way to combat the problem of products dropping back , but this means at least an extra 10-15 hours of correction. 

all the be explained in the future 

HTH 

kelly


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

Great write up and stunning finish. Hats off to you :thumb:

Shame if the car hasn't been looked after after you worked on it


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## jlw41 (Jun 5, 2011)

That finish is stunning :thumb:


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## Pugboi (Aug 17, 2012)

Amazing finish !!


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Kelly @ KDS said:


> steve ,
> 
> be very careful that the sanding marks are what are reappearing , as these look exactly like swirls if sanded by hand.
> 
> ...


Cheers Kelly.
No they were all straight lines from 4 months in a car wash. Which we know under a light look like swirls. This car went out with no sanding marks. Like you I have spent my time in paint shops.

The current owner has been using the local grinder and BP's best car wash. We spoke about it as he found my number in the service book, he is just interested in driving it and is taking it to the ring in a few weeks. The new owner I thing just bought it to rag it as he has stripped the interior and boot to remove weight.

The origional owner just wanted the peel out so would not pay for 100-150 hours, he would pay for 4 days tops.

Ideally yes 100+ hours but not all customers here can afford that. Job done on budget.

Now thinners on cars, yes done that in the paint shops but tends to soften the clear, yes will remove oils.

Panel wipes are what we use now, but if you say thinners then can't wait for the thread.


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## khurum6392 (Oct 11, 2012)

amazing detail great write up


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Throw back Thursday


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## shabba (Sep 28, 2008)

Stunning work there! looks awesome!


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## After_Shock (Mar 3, 2015)

Agreed amazing results!

Ive experimented with the wet sanding a few times and it does give great results, however never attempted a full car though!


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## gibbo555 (May 3, 2011)

Super work loads of hours put into that! Took me a month to wetsand my M3 (in the evenings only) and that was only with 2000 and 4000!


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## Derek Mc (Jun 27, 2006)

Absolutely stunning job!


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