# Refined Detail - Mercedes CLK63 AMG Black Edition



## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

The owner is a regular of mine - I maintain a couple of his daily drivers. He wanted me to help him bring his pride & joy as close to concorse as possible. Well, that was the original plan anyway, but after the initial clean up we discovered stone chips, 2 small dents and a scratch which had all appeared during a recent trip to France. Needless to say the owner was gutted so instead the decision was to get it as immaculate as possible in 2 days and he'll get the rest rectified in the future.

No correction work was to be carried out as the car has Supaguard applied (properly!) so he wants to maintain that for the moment. I did still carry out machine work to one panel to remove the scratch and the front bumper to remove some insect etchings.

My photos are limited (and some on my phone) due to time constraints and for privacy to the client - as you will see I have blanked out the plates as per usual and some of the backgrounds - I haven't doctored the photos in any other way though.

First up was a thorough clean up before tucking it away in the large garage to start on the "proper" work.

So, wheels first, these were coming off once in the garage, but I still gave them a decent clean up on the car to make life easier later on in the day. Arches, tyres and wheels were soaked with G101, agitated with various brushes and rinsed off. The entire car (inc, arches and wheels again) were then soaked with a thick mix of ValetPro Snowfoam Combo, left to dwell whilst I filled the wash buckets and rinsed off.

Car washed with Autosmart Autowash, Refined Detail washmitt via 2 bucket method and grit guards, then rinsed off and dried with Refined Detail waffle weave drying towels. Panels were de-tarred with Autosmart Tardis, there was no need for claying as the paintwork was super smooth already, and I didn't want to run the unnecessary risk of stripping the Supaguard. The car was then tucked away in the garage and the client jacked the car up for me and removed the wheels. Wheels were then cleaned properly, inside and out and sealed with 2 coats of Supaguard wheel sealant. Arches, brake assembly and suspension (anything that could be reached within the arch basically) were cleaned with Autosmart G101 and various brushes. Arches were dressed with Autosmart Rubber & Plastic Dressing, suspension wiped down with Autosmart Tango and calipers sealed with Supaguard Wheel Sealant.




























Whilst the rear end of the car was in the air I cleaned under the rear diffuser, the backboxes, spare wheel well etc etc. All wiped down with G101 then Tango. Backboxes weren't polished as not the right sort of finish. Tips were with Autosol and fine wire wool:



















I also cleaned right under the sills again with G101 and Tango - these were later waxed too.

Next up was to tackle the defects. The scratch covered a whole panel - this was machined with 3M Fast Cut Plus on a 3M Green compounding pad via rotary, then again with 3M Extra Fine on a 3M Yellow polishing pad, then refined with 3M Ultrafina on a 3M Blue finishing pad. The front bumper was machined with 3M Extra Fine on a 3M Yellow polishing pad which removed all the etchings of kamikaze bugs nicely. Headlights also got a quick pass whilst doing the front bumper:










The whole car was then polished with Supaguard protectant cream (iirc the name!!) - my god this stuff is hard work - and makes a right mess (dusty)

By this point due to the amount of dust gathering in all the shuts, panel gaps etc, I went around everywhere with a detailing brush and cloth. Door shuts were cleaned properly with a drop of G101 and again with Tango. I then started on the engine bay. Again G101, under the bonnet with Tango, all plastics with Aerospace 303 Protectant which was later buffed off to leave it looking as natural as possible:




























I then applied the first coat of wax to the exterior to enhance the gloss and add further protection. Dodo Juice Rainforest Rub was my choice of LSP this time. This was left to cure for 15 minutes whilst I did various other menial tasks then buffed off. I called it a day at this point.

Day 2.

Another coat of wax applied upon arrival and left to cure for a good couple of hours whilst I tackled the interior.

Interior thoroughly hoovered (rear access is interesting on these - seats only slide forward and don't tilt, and there's no rear seats to sit on!) front seats are velcro like too. All plastics were then wiped down with Autosmart Multifresh and left as were the pedals. Carbon trim and seat backs were waxed with Collinite 476s. Sat nav screen, brushed metal trim and instrument panel tidied up with Autosmart Stardust:




























I then returned to the exterior buffing off the 2nd coat of wax. Tyres were dressed with Autosmart Trim Wizard and buffed off to leave an "as new" finish. Glass cleaned with Nielsens Blue Window Clean.

Everything was given a final dust down and wheeled outside to check for smears in daylight and given a quick wipe down with Autosmart Reglaze.























































Typically it accumulated a fair bit of dust when outside for the final wipe down, so once back inside it was given yet another wipe down and a quick coat of Dodo Juice Red Mist Tropical.

Thanks for looking.

Richard @ Refined Detail


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

That looks very special indeed, those alloys are fantastic! :argie:


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## matt_83 (Apr 28, 2009)

Fantastic job on a great motor!!! :thumb:


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## jonjay (Feb 28, 2008)

The normal c63 AMG is my fave saloon car currently but the black edition looks even more special. 

Lovely work. Looks outstanding.


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Thanks!

Yes the alloys are something a bit different from the norm - machined then lacquered - but you can still see all the machining marks in them. A bit marmite up close I guess as some (inc. the owner!) would prefer they were polished and lacquered instead.

These black editions certainly are pretty special - the sound it makes is fantastic :argie:


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Great work and write-up, very enjoyable. Plus a very nice car.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Not a fan of everyday Mercs, but add some AMG goodies and they are awesome machines, nice work Richard.


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## gb270 (Aug 22, 2008)

Great work god them wheels look good tho


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Very nice indeed Richard.

I'm with Rob - run of the mill Mercs do nothing for me but a proper AMG is a little different:thumb:


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## Kap01 (Aug 12, 2007)

wow ! Love it! Great work !


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## johnsastra16v (Oct 7, 2007)

thats stunning

bet you loved working on that


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## d8ean (Feb 14, 2008)

Gleammachine said:


> Not a fan of everyday Mercs, but add some AMG goodies and they are awesome machines, nice work Richard.


ditto


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Thanks chaps. I have to agree that run of the mill Merc's don't cut the mustard compared to run of the mill BMW's, Audi's etc. But when AMG get involved, they become something special!

Certainly one of my favourite cars on my books. There's talk of me entering it on behalf of the client next year to concours competitions, but we'll see!


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## nicp2007 (Apr 25, 2007)

very nice mate :thumb:


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## Mini 360 (Jul 17, 2009)

Nice car!!! Not many in the UK...only 2 iirc!


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Cheers Nic!

And Mini 360 - thanks  Pretty sure they're is a few more than that in this country though - if not I've seen both of them and worked on 1 of them :lol:


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## coopersworks (Dec 8, 2009)

Man oh man that is something else, love the wheels and rear diffuser.


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## burtross (Sep 17, 2007)

That is automotive porn at its finest! 

Nice work.


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## kenny-c (Oct 5, 2009)

Love love LOVE these. It is automotive porn


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## Nanolex (Jun 8, 2008)

Outstanding job!


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## Cole (Aug 22, 2010)

rich nice work as always you can tackle the zafira anyday


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Thanks Nick well hopefully we can get it looking pretty again during this winter when I'm a little bit quieter :thumb:


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## Cole (Aug 22, 2010)

nice nice


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## jcp (Oct 2, 2010)

Totally stunning


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## Audiquattro (Sep 9, 2010)

I T S A M I R R O R :doublesho:doublesho:doublesho

Really nice work....


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## Motoract (Feb 18, 2010)

What a fantastic car. Good work too!


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Very nice work Richard, cracking finish :thumb: Am assuming that the Supagard was initially done by the dealership? We have to use the stuff on occasions (certainly not through choice!!!) once applied give it a light dust with a QD makes removal so much easier & far less messy.

Regards Nick


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## Eddy (Apr 13, 2008)

What a beauty, that looks incredible, top work!!


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

slrestoration said:


> Very nice work Richard, cracking finish :thumb: Am assuming that the Supagard was initially done by the dealership? We have to use the stuff on occasions (certainly not through choice!!!) once applied give it a light dust with a QD makes removal so much easier & far less messy.
> 
> Regards Nick


Thanks Nick.

Yes the dealership applied it and I believe in usual fashion "threw it in with the deal" yet this time actually did apply it -it has to be said, applied properly and maintained properly it does work very well. But it's not as easy to work with as other products out there!

It was still dusting heavily even with the spit shine method, I do feel it may have partly been down to the fact this was carried out in June / July time iirc when it was very hot and the garage is dehumidified - so would have been prematurely drying out the polish more than normal. :thumb:


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## 3976 (Nov 20, 2006)

Excellent work on a superb car - the client obviously has a lot of faith in you, a nice relationship to have :thumb:


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## monkeyone (May 22, 2007)

Nice work on a lovely car. Amazing sound!


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## danielhoworth (Jul 14, 2010)

looks great  and what a car


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