Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

[Jeff U]

I posted my car back in February after hand working the finish. It look pretty good but still had quite a few swirls and you all have INFECTED me with a serious case of "I think I can improve that finish..." disease.

I've always worked by hand but after much learning here, I took the plunge about month ago and got the Flex XC3401.

Follow the advice you read here on MOL and even a first time machine user can get great results.

Here is my car: (1986 Porsche 911 coupe, daily driver, 140,000 miles)























The only color for a Porsche is BLACK!

[dvtldav]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Nice job. Great reflection shots.

Dave

[Maserati Mario]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Nice job!
Black? I don't know I love RED!

[Tuck91]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Nice work, The car looks great.

black and red are my favorite colors.

[Megafast13]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Black, Red, Silver, Yellow, all look good on Porsche

[RDVT4ME]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Outstanding!

[Desertdawg]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Great reflection shots, that thing shines for a 23 year old car!

I like red, but I'm a little biased! see sig pic

[Carfire]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Looks Great!!
Nice Job!!
Sweet Reflections!!
Keep Up the Great Work!!

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Your Porsche looks fantastic. Great work. The reflections are amazing.

If there was a Porsche on my driveway. I would not care what color it was, as long as it was mine. lol

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Looks great!

Is that a single stage paint?

[christian6984]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

very nice, that looks brilliant.

[SHYNEMAN123]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Black does have great rewards
Very nice work!!!!

[Jeff U]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

Thanks everyone for the nice comments! I'm very happy with the results.

Is that a single stage paint?

Yes

[akimel]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

So what was your process? What products did you use?

[Jeff U]

Re: Porsche 911 - first time using a DA machine

So what was your process? What products did you use?

In February I did a "by hand detail" using:

Meguiar's Gold wash
Clay bar
Meguiar's Swirl X
Meguiars Show Car Glaze #7
P21S Carnauba wax

So the paint was in pretty good shape for this improvement project.

I tried a bunch of combinations but got the best results using:

1) Wash Meguiar's Gold
2) Blow dry with electric leaf blower
3) Gently dry car with very soft, old terry cloth towel
4) Clay not needed (just done in February)

5) M105 - LC White pad, light to moderate pressure (speeds up 5 setting), multiple passes

I had a great deal of trouble/frustration using M105 and never got the process down like many here seem to describe. I read it's a great product and easy to use. I'm good on the great product. Not so much on the easy to use.

I have found M105 very challenging. It "dries" within a few seconds of beginning to polish and before it has done any correction. Yes, I have the DA approved version. I've tried the priming pads method, tried a little water spray, smaller work area, various speeds, the fabled KBM method, polish on paint, polish on pad, etc... but is still a struggle to use. And, when it drys out it is a bear to remove.

The only way I could get it to not dry out was to either use lots of product or to spray with water. In both cases, preventing it from drying created a problem with splatter.

I finally got the car done with a combination of water spray and ignoring the drying out and simply continued to polish through the stage where I think the product has "gummed up", "flashed", or "dried out". Different names people use to describe the same issue. Before I went down this road, I experimented on another car and then tested on a very small section of the Porsche. It created some dust, but caused no paint problems and produced a very fine finish.

I'm not sure whether I was "dry polishing" (the pad was still moist) with M105 or whether I am misinterpreting how others describe it's behavior.

I watched a few "youtube" videos showing a guy using M105 and a rotary. His process looks a lot more like what I did (polish through the dry stage) than what I read most people describe here.

I'm still puzzled by my experience verses what many have described here on MOL?

Hopefully, I will not need the aggressive cut of M105 anytime soon.

6) M205 - LC White pad, light to moderate pressure (speeds up to 6), multiple passes

With a moderate amount of pressure I was able to remove any remaining swirls. M205 is a GREAT product. Easy to use, beautiful results.

7) M205 - LC gold pad, no pressure (speed up to 5), one pass

In a few areas I wanted to use a black pad and see if I could make the M205/White pad combo look even better. But my one and only black pad was not clean so I used the only other soft pad that I had.

8) P21s Carnauba wax - two coats

I love this stuff. Very easy to use, wipe on and immediately wipe off. I can do the whole car in 20-30 minutes. Doesn't last very long but I love the shine and it's so easy to apply that I don't mind doing it a lot.