The Porsche 911 series cars are without doubt some of the most beautiful and balanced of all time. With this latest write-up, I bring you a beautiful black 997 Carrera S sitting on upgraded wheels and brakes.
Marc was originally contacted by this owner who jumped at the chance to own his dream car, and has since cared for it dearly. Even though the paint was in the top-tier of the population, the owner wasn't satisfied, and was contemplating using his Ultimate Detailing Machine and other goodies. With a family and full-time job however, he found it a better alternative to outsource the work. Upon the initial inspection with the client, there were very light swirls and very few Random Isolated Deep Scratches, and the paint would be the only thing to see work.
Marc picked the pretty lady up, brought her back to his place, and we started a long day of work. It seemed with a detailer soon to perform their trade, the car gobbled up at much dirt and grime as possible....
Inside the front air dam there were dead dried-out leafs, cigarette buds, and trash that needed to be cared for before the Porsche got her bath.
Vacuumed out
Door jams in need of love
There were several areas with wax residue that needed attention as well - here are a couple
Gas cap area could use a little help as well
To begin, wheels and expensive brake components were doused with P21S wheel cleaner gel
While the wheels dwelled, hard to reach areas got hit with Meg's APC (10:1) and a Swissvax brush while the wheel wells got APC (4:1)
Return to the wheels
Griot's wax residue cleaner was used around the sun-roof then agitated with a precision brush
A thorough rinse followed by a good two bucket wash helped to clean off dirt and grime very easily
Danase mild clay was used and yielded very light contamination while exhaust tips were cleaned with P21S finish restorer + #0000 steel wool
Once rinsed and dried with waffle weave microfibers, we taped off any areas not fit to be hit by buffing pads
Taped off, we tested a section for the best pad+polish combination.
From this we chose Menzerna 106 on a Lake Country black pad, followed by Menzerna 85RD on a blue Lake Country finishing pad, and got to work.
We weren't willing to settle for a good finish. A "good finish" can be delivered by too many others, and the owner specifically set out for as close to perfection as possible in the time allotted. Here's a section in which you can see the additional amount of gloss and clarity in the paint that was brought out by burnishing with PO85RD + a no cut pad.
That subtle difference is what truly set off the paint's look once completed.
How's this for clarity - my favorite pic of the set in which you can see clearly the printed words on the inside of the halogen lamp housing reflecting off the paint
The bottom ledge of the car under the door entrance was the worst portion of the entire thing. We worked the area with small pads until its finish matched that of the other polished portions
After the final rinse to remove any polishing dust, the car was blown dry with fresh waffle weave microfibers to clean up any remaining droplets. Next up the car needed it's initial layer of protection. Danase Wet Glaze was applied with a PC. The slickness this added truly shocked me as it was my first time trying it out. Surely it is in the top tier of slickness - right up there with Collinite, but without the difficulty to remove.
DWG set, buffed off, and left to cure, we turned our attention to the other small areas. Klasse AIO was used on all the door jams
Aquapel was applied to the windshield for high quality 6 month protection
The "Lucy Shot" of approval
With this, our allotted time was spent, and when the client was contacted about the great progress we made - he agreed to give us a few more hours to do the interior and any other small area we could finish. AWESOME. Marc and I turned the heat up and got cookin'.
Petals cleaned with woolite (10:1), carpets vacuumed, leather cleaned, dash cleaned with 1Z Cockpit Premium, Leather got Z-10, glass cleaned with Meg's Glass Cleaner Concentrate (make sure to use pure/RO water!)
Final protection came in the form of Dodo Juice Supernatural. DWG laid down a nice coat of slickness and protection for the wax, then SN went on very thin and easy. Left behind was a beautiful deep look
Interior came around nicely, but makes me mad I never had a booster seat in a Porsche growing up
Final look was outstanding.
The trunk as it should look
Trash thrown out, complimentary microfiber's for the paint in a sealed bag, and the owner's battery tender now secure in a water proof bag as well
License plate that was taken off and cleaned, was finally reinstalled, but got WD-40 to all the screws, and inside the screw housing first.
Finally...
With the vehicle now complete, the sky opened up and rain poured down. Great...
After almost 10 hours with two working, we were finished and even Lucy was beat
The owner shrugged off the rain, knowing things would easily clean off the now polished and waxed surface, and headed off.
Just remember that true gloss can't be hidden by rain nor low light conditions
Marc was originally contacted by this owner who jumped at the chance to own his dream car, and has since cared for it dearly. Even though the paint was in the top-tier of the population, the owner wasn't satisfied, and was contemplating using his Ultimate Detailing Machine and other goodies. With a family and full-time job however, he found it a better alternative to outsource the work. Upon the initial inspection with the client, there were very light swirls and very few Random Isolated Deep Scratches, and the paint would be the only thing to see work.
Marc picked the pretty lady up, brought her back to his place, and we started a long day of work. It seemed with a detailer soon to perform their trade, the car gobbled up at much dirt and grime as possible....
Inside the front air dam there were dead dried-out leafs, cigarette buds, and trash that needed to be cared for before the Porsche got her bath.
Vacuumed out
Door jams in need of love
There were several areas with wax residue that needed attention as well - here are a couple
Gas cap area could use a little help as well
To begin, wheels and expensive brake components were doused with P21S wheel cleaner gel
While the wheels dwelled, hard to reach areas got hit with Meg's APC (10:1) and a Swissvax brush while the wheel wells got APC (4:1)
Return to the wheels
Griot's wax residue cleaner was used around the sun-roof then agitated with a precision brush
A thorough rinse followed by a good two bucket wash helped to clean off dirt and grime very easily
Danase mild clay was used and yielded very light contamination while exhaust tips were cleaned with P21S finish restorer + #0000 steel wool
Once rinsed and dried with waffle weave microfibers, we taped off any areas not fit to be hit by buffing pads
Taped off, we tested a section for the best pad+polish combination.
From this we chose Menzerna 106 on a Lake Country black pad, followed by Menzerna 85RD on a blue Lake Country finishing pad, and got to work.
We weren't willing to settle for a good finish. A "good finish" can be delivered by too many others, and the owner specifically set out for as close to perfection as possible in the time allotted. Here's a section in which you can see the additional amount of gloss and clarity in the paint that was brought out by burnishing with PO85RD + a no cut pad.
That subtle difference is what truly set off the paint's look once completed.
How's this for clarity - my favorite pic of the set in which you can see clearly the printed words on the inside of the halogen lamp housing reflecting off the paint
The bottom ledge of the car under the door entrance was the worst portion of the entire thing. We worked the area with small pads until its finish matched that of the other polished portions
After the final rinse to remove any polishing dust, the car was blown dry with fresh waffle weave microfibers to clean up any remaining droplets. Next up the car needed it's initial layer of protection. Danase Wet Glaze was applied with a PC. The slickness this added truly shocked me as it was my first time trying it out. Surely it is in the top tier of slickness - right up there with Collinite, but without the difficulty to remove.
DWG set, buffed off, and left to cure, we turned our attention to the other small areas. Klasse AIO was used on all the door jams
Aquapel was applied to the windshield for high quality 6 month protection
The "Lucy Shot" of approval
With this, our allotted time was spent, and when the client was contacted about the great progress we made - he agreed to give us a few more hours to do the interior and any other small area we could finish. AWESOME. Marc and I turned the heat up and got cookin'.
Petals cleaned with woolite (10:1), carpets vacuumed, leather cleaned, dash cleaned with 1Z Cockpit Premium, Leather got Z-10, glass cleaned with Meg's Glass Cleaner Concentrate (make sure to use pure/RO water!)
Final protection came in the form of Dodo Juice Supernatural. DWG laid down a nice coat of slickness and protection for the wax, then SN went on very thin and easy. Left behind was a beautiful deep look
Interior came around nicely, but makes me mad I never had a booster seat in a Porsche growing up
Final look was outstanding.
The trunk as it should look
Trash thrown out, complimentary microfiber's for the paint in a sealed bag, and the owner's battery tender now secure in a water proof bag as well
License plate that was taken off and cleaned, was finally reinstalled, but got WD-40 to all the screws, and inside the screw housing first.
Finally...
With the vehicle now complete, the sky opened up and rain poured down. Great...
After almost 10 hours with two working, we were finished and even Lucy was beat
The owner shrugged off the rain, knowing things would easily clean off the now polished and waxed surface, and headed off.
Just remember that true gloss can't be hidden by rain nor low light conditions
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