This project was a little different from the norm for me, which made it very cool. This Mercedes E55 AMG was purchased by it's owner while he was deployed overseas, sight unseen. After purchase he had the vehicle shipped straight to me so I could thoroughly check it over and prepare the car for his arrival back to the states.

Here is a photo of the car when it arrived to my location here in PA...

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...Mercedes/1.jpg

With the car here, I started my visual and mechanical inspection and combed over the car, we also agreed to have me drive the vehicle to make sure everything was working properly and that she was riding right. Having a few Benzes in the family, AMG models included as well as some good friends with the same model E55 we had a good idea of what to look for with the car. Regardless of my personal experience with various Mercedes models to start!

Only a few things needed attention, one being the front brakes and some generic stuff like oil and paint touch up. Here's all the parts on the stairs waiting to install.

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...Mercedes/2.jpg

These rotors could be used to stop a train!

After install and initial inspection it was time to really get to work, the car came in "clean" from the dealer, so the before pictures wont speak much aside from the paint condition...which you can see in the following pictures that i certainly had my work cut out...

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...ercedes/E6.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...ercedes/E7.jpg
5. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E10.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E24.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E13.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E17.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E45.jpg

Cringing a little bit, I geared up and went to town, spent a total of approximately 15 hours on the paint correction, taking various passes of 105/wool or 95/wool, following up with SIP/Orange and 203/Orange and then finishing with 106/Crimson. Here's a 50/50 demonstration of the quarter panel.

Also, consistent paint readings throughout the vehicle served as extra reassurance, a range of 115 to 198 microns

10. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E29.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E32.jpg

*there is a signficant strikethrough scratch in this 50/50 that was improved but even after sanding remained, cant win em all unfortunately. However, the vehicle received at least a 98% correction in my eyes.

With that said, the rest of the vehicle certainly faired well in the correction as the following photos will reveal of the finished paint without any LSP.

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E31.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E122.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E125.jpg
15. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E126.jpg

Unfortunately the weather here in the northeast lately meant we only got sunlight when it was going down or a break between clouds, so I couldnt get any direct sunlight photos, even over the course of a few days which was aggravating, so I decided to snap some pics of the car finished outside and inside when the sun was going down, hoping to catch some rays! This is where I get jealous of you Cali and Florida guys!

Here are some reflection shots...

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E74.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E81.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E95.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E107.jpg
20. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E54.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E61.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E71.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E27.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E112.jpg
25. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E135.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E141.jpg

Now for the finished overall shots of the car outside and in...

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E55.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E51.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E77.jpg
30. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E79.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...rcedes/E87.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E110.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E103.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E127.jpg
35. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E139.jpg

The car was completely ceramic coated after the correction to ensure the protection and lasting results!

Here she is on her way home to California, after I picked up the owner at Philadelphia International Airport and brought him to his new car for the first time ever! Was a pretty cool thing to do, even compared to some of the rarest cars I get to work on! An owner this nice deserves to see his car at its best for the first time.

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...cedes/E143.jpg

Hope you enjoyed the writeup! Thanks for looking and any feedback is always welcome!

Nick Oakes