2008 CLS 63 AMG – Low Mileage Luxury Beast: Paint Correction & 22ple VX3 Application

Zach McGovern

8 years ago

This gorgeous, yet massive, sports sedan is an awesome example of a car that has been cared for very well throughout the years. The car is 8 year old car, but has just over 30,000 miles on it. The paint had typical swirl marks in it, but there were few rock chips, no deep scratches, and nothing that could be considered ‘major’ damage. The sleek body was lowered considerably with a modified air suspension system, and the vehicle was fitted with a nice set of Vossen wheels to really make it stand out on the road. The new owner wanted us to make it look even better, so after a thorough inspection, it was decided that the vehicle would benefit from a one-step correction process and nano coating on the paint and wheels.

Process

We began by thoroughly washing and decontaminating the exterior using Meguiar’s Hyper Wash & Fine Grade Clay to prepare it for the paint correction process. Once clean, we were ready to begin our test spots. You can clearly see the swirl marks and defects in the paint.

My initial test was with Griot’s Garage Correcting Cream on an Orange Light Cutting Pad. This combo made a considerable difference, however I wanted to see if we could get a little more cut to get rid of the few remaining defects without sacrificing the nice finish we had with this process.

The following before/after photos show the results of simply stepping up from a light cutting pad to a cutting pad. Notice that all of the swirl marks have been removed, leaving a clear, defect free finish.

The tail lights were in considerably worse shape than the paint. These were corrected using Griot’s Garage Fast Correcting Cream on a Microfiber Cutting Pad, followed by Meguiar’s M205 on a White Polishing Pad.

The 518 HP. 6.2 liter engine must be a lot of fun to drive, and the exhaust tips have plenty of build up on them to attest to that.

The tips were polished using Chemical Guys Metal Polish. Ultra Fine #0000 Steel Wool was used on the heaviest build up along the inner edges, and a black microfiber towel was used to polish the remaining surfaces. They cleaned up quite nicely, despite some minor pitting in the surface.

The wheels were removed for a proper cleaning as the large 6 piston front calipers put off a considerable amount of brake dust when bringing this 4,400 pound beast to a stop.

P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner, Stoner Tarminator, and various brushes were used to make these wheels shine. They were then cleaned thoroughly with CarPro Eraser to prepare them for the coating process.

The wheels were airbrushed with CarPro DLUX for excellent protection and easier maintenance.

While we had the wheels off, the wheel wells were also lightly cleaned using Meguiar’s D101 and Optimum No Rinse. The brake calipers were deep cleaned and coated with DLUX as well.