Dolebludger

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By way of a bit of further introduction, I am a moderator on the Mercedes Benz Club of America Forum in the "Detailing" sub-forum. Since I started acquiring cars in which I have no small pride a few years ago, I have experimented with ways to keep them looking good. For what it may be worth, here are my conclusions.

If the paint surface feels "grainy" or has a bit of a haze when viewed from the side under bright light (indicating dirt in the wax) after a wash, I use my Griot's Garage ROB with the clay bar holding pad, which smooths the embedded particles and removes them, and removes the top layers of wax. I use a very liberal amount of lubricant for this, as it makes the job quick and easy and reduces the chances of any scratching.If there are any scratches of import, I buff them as far out as possible with the same ROB with a polishing pad and Griot's Garage polish number 3.

Then, I apply AutoGlym Radiant Wax Polish. This product is a bit mis-named, as it is really a chemical cleaner, filler, and glaze. Application and buffing by hand is just fine.Then, I apply a coat of AutoGlym Liquid Hardwax, sometimes two, and buff it off. AutoGlym is an English product line, endorsed by Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, and the Royal Family (really!) Yet it is not costly. Here in the US, it is available through body shop channels for about $25 per liter, and it goes a long way. This gives a deep and hard, dirt repelling shine and the products are easy to apply and buff off. If it is fairly cold (say 50 degrees) buffing is more difficult. But on fairly warm days, it is the easiest product line to use I've found.

In our rather cold winters when car washing is not appealing, I keep the cars in pretty good shape as far as slight soil is concerned by running over them first with a California Duster, then spraying off and wiping off some Aradex 4288 Spot Delivery, which is a combination of a cleaner and detailing spray. Its name sounds English, but it is made in the USA and also available through body shop channels, Price is about $29 per gallon. Since I've used the AutoGlym Hardwax as the final finish, light or moderate soil justs wipes away with a microfiber.

Unlike Zaino, the vehicle need not be stripped of other waxes before application, and is compatible with other products after application. I went to a S 2000 meet last year, and my car had been detailed in this manner. All the rest had Zaino. It was the consensus that one could not tell any difference -- the only difference being that the method I used was much less time consuming.

alroumi

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Did you know that Autoglym is used and authorized by Aston Martin of the UK, it is that goo d and I tested some of their products a couple of years ago, however due to limited quantities and a slightly high price it seems that the most products for cleaning and polishing are brought over from the states.

I my self recommend the Meguiars Gold class rich leather cleaner/conditioner for all of the members here it really brings out the interior perfectly, where the leather becomes smooth and moist reducing the chances it gets torn and wearing. It only takes 20 minutes to do all of the interior with this and brings the leather back to life, in 2-3 months in my other car the beige interior will become slightly dirty and by sweeping this cleaner/conditioner the area stained gets really smooth, smells like new leather and is very clean.

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06 Kleemann Designo Mocha Black SLK55 AMG
06 Porsche Cayenne S
07 Jaguar XKR Coupe'

I use the Torque and keep the HP for my Steak Sauce!

Dolebludger

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Mohammed:

It is interesting to read posts about the differences in prices of a given item from country to country. In the US, the AutoGlym products I mentioned are priced right down there with the kind of non-premium car care products sold at discount stores. They are a bit more difficult to get, however, as you need a friend who owns a body shop to get them for you. For some reason, these products aren't sold in regular retail outlets. I have heard that some on-line sellers do sell AutoGlym products, however.

I do like the Meguiar's leather conditioner you recommend. It is nice and rich, and does well as a vinyl topping too. I did have a problem with it back when the only two cars I had with leather upholstery had perforated leather seating surfaces -- my Honda S 2000 and my C 320 sedan. This Meguiar's product is so thick that it accumulated in the perforations, and the only way to get it out was to suck it out with a high powered shop vac. But now I have the SLK with no perforations, and thanks for reminding me of this product. I will use it on the SLK.