First of all I would like to wish everyone a very happy new year from both myself and Claire at RGK Detailing
Here we have a 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, which was treated to a minor paintwork rectification detail, this was the first car in our new fully insured, and secure unit, which is a 20 minute drive from Glasgow, and 40 minutes from Edinburgh.
The owner of the 911, contacted me after enjoying a few thousand very enjoyable miles taking part in the Cannonball Run throughout Europe this summer, the car however also had not been cleaned in this time, resulting in a thick layer of dirt build along with the usual harmful contaminants, the owner had also noticed numerous paint defects when the car was new, and asked if these could also be removed, my brief then was to do what was required to return the car to better than new condition, before being garaged over the winter months.
This is how the car looked before any work commenced.
To begin with the car is soaked in degreaser, to help break down the dirt and grime which has built up, before being power rinsed, this prevents the paintwork being scratched through contact washing.
A variety of brushes are then used to clean the wheels inside and out, an Iron remover is then used to break down any iron deposits that have built up.
All intricate trim, door gaps, and window surrounds were then thoroughly cleaned of dirt and grime build up.
The*fabric roof was then given a thorough clean, prior to final vacuuming, and water proofing which would be done once the car had been moved into my unit, the*car was then given a gentle contact wash using a plush Carpro wash mitt, Reflectology R1NE as the shampoo, and two buckets to help keep grit away from the wash mitt, after a thorough rinse any tar and iron deposits were removed.
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During
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Iron remover was then applied.
Before
During
After iron removal
With the sun now out, this gave me the opportunity to capture the aforementioned swirl marks under direct sunlight.
The 911 was moved into the unit, and all exterior surfaces were clayed to help remove any remaining bonded contaminants, the roof was dried off, vacuumed, 303 Fabric Guard applied, and covered before any polishing commenced.
I began polishing on the bonnet, where I discovered the swirl marks were actually very deep.
Several paint depth readings were taken, with polishing being undertaken using a Hexlogic polishing pad, and swapping between Menzerna PF2300, and PF2500 on a Festool Shinex Rap150, a few additional polishing sets were required to help round off the deeper marks present prior to refining, whilst conserving enough clear coat for future polishing if needed.
After
Before
After
Before
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Due to the bug splatter being left on the front bumper for so long, this had etched into the paintwork, a light cutting wool pad and medium grade polish was used to help flatten the paintwork, removing the lighter etchings and greatly improving the appearance of the deeper marks.
After
Deep marks in the clear coat on the front offside wing, before.
After polishing, these marks were very deep, so were rounded off as much as possible to reduce their appearance without removing too much clear coat.
Nearside door prior to polishing, both doors on the 911 had similar random surface scratches, and swirl marks throughout the panel.
Before
After
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Light marks on the nearside rear wheel arch, before
After
Once the paintwork correction stages were complete, the paintwork was then refined, this was done on the rotary using a new 3M blue pad, and Meguiars 205.
The following day with the sun out, the car was moved outdoors to check the finish under direct sunlight before applying the lsp, and other finishing*touches.
Moved back indoors, any loose dust removed, and panel gaps, vents, and trim cleaned, polishing oils where then removed using U-POL System 20 panel wipe, here are a few close up shots before the paint sealant was applied was applied.
Reflectology Show Tyre, applied to the tyre side walls, and plastic unpainted trim.
FK1000p applied to the inside and outside of the wheels, to seal the finish.
Wolfgang Paint Sealant 3.0 applied to all painted surfaces.
Along with this the tailpipes were also polished and sealed to protect against future dirt build up, all Glass cleaned inside and out with Autoglym Glass polish, to ensure a smear free finish, and the interior was given a thorough clean, including the leather trim.
Very nice job Richard! I bet the owner was over the moon with it, although with him not washing the car since Summer I'm not sure how long it'll stay looking like that haha!!
What were the defects you mentioned? Paint drips and orange peel?
Thanks Kyle, the car is tucked up in the owners garage now, so hopefully still looks as good, that is untill next Spring lol
There was very little orange peel, and no paint drips, the factory paint finish is very good, the defects, were random scratches in the clear coat, and cloudy patches, which really let down the cars appearance when clean.
Thank you, absolutely there is a lot of improvement that can be made to many white cars, and no reason they cannot look as glossy as any other colour :thumb:
Car is nicely specced too with some interior carbon bits, although I think I'd have gone for the sport steering wheel with the proper paddles instead of the rocker buttons!
Very nice job Richard! I bet the owner was over the moon with it, although with him not washing the car since Summer I'm not sure how long it'll stay looking like that haha!!
What were the defects you mentioned? Paint drips and orange peel?
Car is nicely specced too with some interior carbon bits, although I think I'd have gone for the sport steering wheel with the proper paddles instead of the rocker buttons!
Thanks everyone for your comments, this is greatly appreciated!
Thats right this car has a clear coat which should help prevent the paintwork from oxidising as quickly as it would if it didn't,
the paintwork however will benefit from a light single machine polish, every couple of years to maintain the clarity it has now, as lacquer can become milky in appearance due to exposure to uv rays, and pollution etc.
The bug etchings looked a mess. I bet they were quite hard work to remove ?. Such a damned nuisance on long/highspeed motorway trips. When im on my Highland roadtrips, im always cleaning them off asap, and get some really strange looks from bypassers. People dont understand just how toxic, the little critters are. Great finish on the Porsche.
lol they do make a right mess, especially when the weather is warmer, the front bumper was time consuming more than anything, it is always a good idea to remove the bugs as soon as possible as it scary how quickly they can damage the paint finish if left to bake on.
The bug etchings looked a mess. I bet they were quite hard work to remove ?. Such a damned nuisance on long/highspeed motorway trips. When im on my Highland roadtrips, im always cleaning them off asap, and get some really strange looks from bypassers. People dont understand just how toxic, the little critters are. Great finish on the Porsche.
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