Wheel and Engine detail...

[Martyp]

Hey guys,

First off, sorry its not a Jeep but what the heck its still a detail!

A few weeks ago my dad asked me to wash his truck - Mercedes ML320 - so after the Jeep I dived in. Just a quick wash, nothing more but when it was done I decided I'm going to go all out on it...

The paint has swirls, holograms everywhere and is a little rough to the touch. But since Merc's have a very hard clear coat I'm going to leave this until next year when I get a rotary + training. Don't think I'd feel my hands again if I used the PC!!

So I'm just doing little bits at a time. First up was the wheels...

I tried a few different Vikan wheel brushes, Bilberry 4:1 whist fitted and they didn't even touch the dust. So last Saturday we removed the wheels to clean and seal 'em and get some paint the calipers.

Here are a couple of pics showing the condition of the rims:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/WheelBefore1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/WheelBefore2.jpg

Don't look that bad right? Well, gave the wheel a quick blast to remove the loose dirt and cracked on with some neat Bromoco (a safe non-acidic cleaner).
Left it on for 10 mins, scrubbed, left for 10 more mins and rinsed. This removed the top layer but uncovered more dirt. :(
So I had another go with the Bromoco as above and it really didn't do anything. I tried Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover, but this only got rid of the tar spots - out with wheel brightener then...
This done the job but it took a lot of scrubbing and had to be used neat - whatever was on these wheels didn't want to shift!

Here's some pics after two coats of neat Bromoco - a bit rubbish!

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/AfterBromoco1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/AfterBromoco2.jpg

And after neat Meguairs Wheel Brightner:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/AfterWB1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/AfterWB2.jpg

Result! However, it wasn't easy going. I did try cleaning the inner spokes but it was just as hard as the rest of the wheel so I gave them a quick scrub and left it - you can't see that when its fitted anyways. ;)

Then I applied Megs Super Degreaser (4:1) to the sidewalls, dried of the wheel and then applied a coat of AG SRP followed by Z-CS to seal. Sidewalls were then dressed with Zaino Z-16.

So this is the end result fitted to the car, look so much better!

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/Wheelfitted1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/Wheelfitted2.jpg

Pity it took us 7 hours though! :lol:


So after that I done the engine bay.

Products/Steps used: Rinse, Megs Super Degreaser (4:1), various brushes, rinse, dry off, Applied SRP to paintwork, Meg's Hyper Dressing (4:1) to engine plastics.

Before:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/Before1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/Before2.jpg

During:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/During.jpg

After:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/EngineAfter1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/EngineAfter2.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/EngineAfter3.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/EngineAfter4.jpg

Group shot... :lol:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q226/bigpunter/Groupshot.jpg


Next up is an interior cleanup and seal the paintwork for Winter.

Thanks for reading and comments are welcome as always! :thumbsup:

[B.P.O.D]

awesome work marty!!!

how do you like the HP for engine plastics?

[Scottina06]

wow......looks tons better

[Chaoul1]

Wow those wheels were TOUGH but I can't believe what a great job you did to them. They look seriously brand new! Engine looks great also!

[Martyp]

awesome work marty!!!

how do you like the HP for engine plastics?

Hyper Dressing does work pretty well on the engine bay. Leaves a nice matte finish and doesn't attrack dust/dirt.

If I honest I prefer Aerospace 303, but I want to keep that for myself! :lol:

wow......looks tons better

Thanks Scott! I can't stand seeing the backs of wheels dirty, makes the face just look like a cover on a steel wheel.

Wow those wheels were TOUGH but I can't believe what a great job you did to them. They look seriously brand new! Engine looks great also!

Tough is no understatement! I was shocked at how much effort it took to get them up to scratch. There are some little spots inside the wheels that didn't come off, but when they're fitted they look fine.

Suppose this is why I'd advice people to buy good brushes/cleaners to keep new wheels looking new, because its a PITA later on! :rolleyes:

[DetailedImage.com]

Huge improvement!

Greg @ DI

[B.P.O.D]

cool thanks for the info marty!

[Martyp]

Thanks Greg! I am bit disappointed with the inside of the spokes, but you can't see that when they're back on... :)

No prob Irfan!

[mon_21]

Nice Job, big difference..... well done!

[Martyp]

Thanks Mon! Actually started work on the paintwork today... Will do a little write up on that tomorrow when its finished.

Although it ain't a Jeep it still has a 'Daimler-Chrysler' badge on the door check! All MLs are made in America and it must be at a Chrysler factory???

[w87will]

Your the best Marty. Everything you touch gets super clean. You did some great work on those wheels....I would of gave up after seeing them.

[Martyp]

Thanks Will, much appreciated! :)

Booked myself on a rotary training course this weekend to move up to the big guns to make polishing faster/better.
The porter cable is just too hard going IMO; too slow and the vibrations making using it painful.

Probably still wait till next year before doing a car though, since I'll need to buy a paint thickness gauge too... :(

[DAVY27]

looks great bro.!

[White WK Swagga]

Nice!!! I just did my first engine detail saturday. LOL But those wheels came out great!!!

[Martyp]

Thanks guys!!!

Engine bays are actually pretty easy to clean up, but they look awesome when clean. Just need to put the worry of screwing something up out of your mind and go for it - thankfully this has worked so far! :D

[eddiefig]

Engine bay looks amazing. Nice job, man. I need to get mine looking like that. Same goes for the rims.