Mercedes Benz EQC AMG 400 4matic
Job: Newly-purchased, pre-owned vehicle from a main dealer
Our customer brought us his newly-purchased Mercedes Benz EQC AMG 400 4matic, with metallic black paint and black leather interior. He had just bought the car and having identified some swirls and defects in the paint, wanted to get it treated and looking like new again. The vehicle had done 40,000 miles and was from a main dealer, and so we expected to see some wear on the paint but based on the mileage, didn’t foresee too much.
So we got straight to work with a full decontamination to get clear surfaces. Firstly we pre-rinsed with the jet wash, then applied all purpose cleaner to the whole of the bodywork including door shuts, sills and arches. At the same time, we put iron fallout on the alloy wheels.
After letting that soak for five minutes, the whole car was rinsed down with the jet wash, and now iron fallout was applied to the bodywork too. And while that is soaking in (left for approx 20 minutes), we set about deep cleaning the wheels with non-acidic alloy wheel cleaner using a detailing brush and a mixture of deep cleaning brushes to clean the arch area.
Now that all four wheels and arches are clean, the iron fallout was ready to be removed and so we gave the car a thorough rinse ready for the final stage of decontamination. Here we then soaked the bodywork in glue and tar remover. This was also applied to the tailpipes and heavily dosed on the front end and windscreen to ensure we got removed all bird etchings and insect debris.
Then the vehicle was given a wash down and a covering of snow foam was applied to the whole car. We then followed with our standard two-bucket safe wash method and a clay bar treatment.
After another rinse at this stage, the vehicle was dried off with drying towels and air dryers and ready to be brought inside for an inspection under the lights. Before we get any further on the exterior, we turned our attention here to the interiors. It is important to do this at this stage to avoid any dirt being transferred to the exterior later on when the exterior is complete.
As part of the interiors service, we decontaminated thoroughly with a deep hoover, removing mats and moving seats as far as possible to access all small nooks. Litter was removed and the leather was all hoovered and deep cleaned using a deep cleaning leather treatment system. Mats are then put back in, leather is coated with a treatment, interior glass is cleaned and buffed – interiors complete!
We then turned our attention back to the exterior.
Now inside under the lights, during inspection we suspected that the vehicle had received work to the paint, as we identified overspray on a couple of panels along with much more substantial defects. The customer had booked the vehicle in for a single-stage machine polish and ceramic coating. However with the defects we had just identified, it was clear the vehicle needed further work to get it restored, and a two or three-stage polish would be more appropriate. We did a test patch of a single-stage polish on the bottom panel of a rear door and the results were not satisfactory. At this point, we spoke with the customer, providing photos and explanations of the process and the customer was happy to proceed with the additional level of work.
To help us establish what exact process to follow next, we went back to the test patch and tried multiple variants of heavy cutting compound and pads, finished with lighter refining polish and polishing pads. Finally we found the right way forward that would give the desired results, using a microfibre cutting pad and a medium pad with an ultra fine polishing compound. This was absolutely the right combination for this vehicle to remove the extensive swirl marks and marring.
We then proceeded to use this treatment across the full vehicle, with a two-stage machine polish. This was followed by an inspection to check on progress but we could still see some remaining marring on the paint. We then went over both sides of the vehicle with an additional ultra fine polishing pad to chase out those last imperfections.
At this point, we were now confident that we could move on having got the paintwork looking great. We did a full panel wipe, another inspection under the lights, then moved on to treat with a two-year ceramic coating. The benefits of ceramic coating make it a no-brainer for any car – easier and less frequent cleaning, glossy finish, protection against UV, corrosion, weather and chemicals. Plus it ensures longevity on the car’s appearance.
Once all of the ceramic coating had been applied and excess removed, a final wipe down was carried out using brand new microfibres – vitally important to only use new cloths at this stage to ensure no risk of contaminants getting onto the newly treated car and scratching the paint.
One final inspection, going panel by panel to check the bodywork and it’s looking great. A ceramic coating is applied to the glass and alloy wheel faces before it is checked and ready to be collected by the customer.
To book your car in and to find out more, email us: westmidlandscardetailing@outlook.com
#paintprotection #painprotectionfilm #ppfinstallation #westmidlandscardetailing #carcare #newcarcare #ceramiccoating #newcardetail #newcarppf #EQC #Mercedes-Benz
