Vehicle: 2014 Mercedes CLS550 · Carmel Valley, San Diego, CA
Jamie’s CLS had been serviced at a quick detail center the kind of place that rotates through 20 cars a day and considers a rinse and spray wax a detail. She reached out after seeing the Elevate SD ad, asking a simple question: how are you different, and what can you actually do for my car?
The answer was visible the moment Riley arrived. The paint was dull, contaminated, and carrying moderate wash marks and swirling from years of improper washing technique. Worse, multiple layers of old wax had built up on the surface ,a common result of spray and go shops that layer product without ever properly cleaning the paint underneath. Before any correction could happen, a strip wash was required to reveal the true condition of the clear coat.
Mercedes clear coat is notably thicker than most vehicles, which requires a different compound selection and pad combination than a standard correction. Riley adjusted accordingly: heavier compound and more aggressive pads than a typical 1-step, managed carefully to avoid cutting too deep. The full service included interior detail, decontamination wash, clay towel and iron decontamination treatment, 1-step paint correction, and a 3-4 year ceramic coating application.
Jamie came out, walked around the car multiple times, and said: “it looks like the day I purchased it.” She asked Riley directly if he could maintain it going forward. She’s now on the Elevate SD monthly maintenance detail route.