S8, CLS550, XK8, Chevy SSR

[Way2SSlow]

So, it's been a while since I've posted anything. I haven't really done much detailing. Sure, I've buffed a scratch out here and there and I've done some quicky wash/waxes that I havent taken pics of, but with this water restriction I haven't done much. Ya know, I was suprised at how little detailing I was doing this summer and BOOM! The last two weekends have brought me some detailing and I'll be darned if it didnt rain during all of them!

We'll start with last weekend. My neighbor has a NBP 06 TL that needed a little bit of TLC. He takes very good care of this car mechanically and the interior was in great shape, but he hangs his bike on the wall......You know where this is leading. He basically had a long scratch and some scuffing all the way down the drivers side. He really didnt want to pay for me to spend the time I usually do, so I cut him a deal, and just polished and sealed (I cleaned the wheels but didnt dress the tires). Ofcourse I polished the whole car, because I couldnt stand to have one side look great and not the other! I didnt have much sun to take pictures in and I was rushing to beat the rain, so here's some afters. They're really all I took. I didnt slow down while I was working on this one:

Process:
Menzerna SIP on Edge green Wool
Menzerna 106ff on white Edge finishing pad
Optimum Poliseal via PC (really just wanted to see how it would impact the look...not much)
OCW new formula







Ok, so that was last Sunday's job. Today I accompanied a very close friend of mine to do some maintenance details on one of his best client's rides. I really enjoy detailing with my buddy Nick. He's a great guy and we always have fun with it. So Nick, if you read this, thanks again buddy.

I didnt take too many before/after pics since it was raining WHILE we were working on the cars. We worked through the weather and managed to get the cars looking pretty darn good. First up, Chevrolet SSR. Really a neat car, but this one HARDLY ever gets driven. It spends about 99% of it's life in a garage and I think the odo showed something like 8K miles. We just washed it with Megs Gold Class and waxed it with Adam's Buttery wax. We used OCW after the buttery wax removal for some extra protection and to make sure we didnt miss any spots.

Nick is hard at work in this next pic (cleaning up after me and my mad mess making skillZ, while I take pictures. Seems fair to me). Apparently I have super human strength and managed to break the bottle of Buttery wax while squeezing the bottle onto my applicator pad. Oh yeah, it was all over the car. Never fails, I always manage to break one of Nick's bottles. I don't know why he buys the girly ones every time! He KNOWS I'm a FREAKIN BEAST!







Continuted in the next post....

[Way2SSlow]

OK, now for the rest. Next we did a Jag XK8. Because Nick and I were both hustling to get the cars ready for wax, and because Nick pretty much handled this one by himself while I worked on the CLS, I didnt take many pics of it. This car pretty much belongs to the family's sweethearted Rottweiler (who actually came out to greet us and supervise a bit). Nick did a bang up job on the interior, but I was too busy drooling over the Audi....Anyway, ON WITH THE PICS! The Jag got washed with Gold Class, Polished with Klasse AIO and waxed with TOL Pizzaz (sp?).



Alright, we've been to Japan, back to the good ole States, and even sampled what the English have to offer.....Let's visit the Germans, shall we?

08 Mercedes CLS - roughly 4500 miles.
Washed with Gold Class
Polished with Klasse AIO
Sealed with Poorboys EX-P.



You'll notice a speck in that last pic....The driveway is a big hill and I must have kicked that onto the car when I moved it for the pic.....Isn't that just how it goes sometimes....





And NOW for the Mac Daddy. This was the last car that we worked on and we worked on it together. Audi clear is notorious for being hard, but this time I was greatful for it. The car is about a year old and swirling was minimal (brake dust on the other hand....dont get me started). My favorite car of the day. When I backed it out, the radio was on and the tweeters actually raise out of the dash. When you turn the radio off, they drop back. SWEET!

Gold Class wash
Clay with Adams old school clay (the good stuff)
Wolfgang pre polish enhancer
Adam's buttery wax
OCW wipedown



I couldnt believe the peel on the rear:



And the money shot:



Sorry I'm a little short on pics, but working in the rain just sucks! Thanks for looking.

[Troy@DetailCity]

Originally Posted by Way2SSlow

A well detailed wheel is such a pretty site. Makes you wanna tell the person not to drive it for a while so it will stay that way.

Yea that orange peel is awful.

[CharlesW]

While I'm not really a fan of the SSR, I am a fan of red vehicles. The SSR is definitely red.

All the vehicles turned out beautiful, but I do have some questions about the three European cars.

The CLS550 and the S8 are $100,000+ cars aren't they?
To me, the paint on the S8 would upset me if the factory did the SSR that badly. For 100 Grand, IMO, it's inexcusable.
Was the finish better on the CLS550 and the XK8.
Granted the XK8 is kind of the cheapie of the group, but still probably in the $80,000+ range.

[cwcad]

I am impressed with the red as well. Back in August of 07 I considered purchasing a used SSR just like the one pictured. I got a red HHR instead. Your pictures have given me buyers remorse

[blk45]

Originally Posted by CharlesW

The CLS550 and the S8 are $100,000+ cars aren't they?
To me, the paint on the S8 would upset me if the factory did the SSR that badly. For 100 Grand, IMO, it's inexcusable.

The CLS is around 75K depending on options, but the S8 is 100K. I agree, that OP is bad. Makes you wonder if that section was resprayed.

Cars look good though!

[Way2SSlow]

Thanks for the comments guys.

As for the OP on the S8....The car hasnt had any paintwork. One of my friends on the other board that has an S8 and is a BIG TIME Audi enthusiast said "I notice Audi still has the OP problem." I guess that's always been an issue with Audi's from the A4 all the way up. The car was SOOOO SWEET though. Yeah, the owner has curbed the wheels too.

As for the paint, the Mercedes paint looked a little better to me; however, OP on silver isnt going to grab your eyes like it does on black. I was kinda hoping to really get to flex SIP's muscles on the Ceramic clear coated 08 Benz, but honestly, it didnt need it.

I liked the Audi better, but that Benz was class through and through. Very nice car, and had it been an AMG CLS, I may have been a bit more taken with it. This part of town that we were in, these cars are a dime a dozen. I passed an Aston Martin leaving the house at the next traffic light. The Benz did have the AMG sport package on it which included the exhaust, and it did sound nice, but it smoked a bit on start up. THAT is NOT something I would be happy about. 4,000 miles and it's smoking a little bit on start up. I'll deal with the OP, the smoke...I think not.

[sal329]

Great job on all of the cars

[blk45]

Originally Posted by Way2SSlow

One of my friends on the other board that has an S8 and is a BIG TIME Audi enthusiast said "I notice Audi still has the OP problem."

Must have been Accumulator!

[Way2SSlow]

Originally Posted by blk45

Must have been Accumulator!

You know it! The man knows his Audis. Super nice guy too, I cant say enough nice things about him.