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THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHWeekend project complete - total exterior detail
Leading reported evidence
Clean external black plastic and rubber (mother's back
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Cleaned all external black plastic and rubber (Mother's Back to Black and Auto Glym Rubber and Vinyl Cleaner)
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Suggestion · Original poster
Arena red is a awesome colour given how it changes depending on the lighting.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I have found that you need to immediately smear (don't wait at all) and letting the paint dry for at least a 90 seconds (preferably 120 seconds) before using the cleaner fluid tends to yield the best results.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I have found that you need to immediately smear (don't wait at all) and letting the paint dry for at least a 90 seconds (preferably 120 seconds) before using the cleaner fluid tends to yield the best results.
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The paint on my Arena Red 996 C4 was okay, but there were numerous swirls and scratches, and I wondered if I could make it pop. So I bought a Porter Cable buffer to see if I could enhance the paint on the car. Given the gorgeous long weekend I took the opportunity to do a complete exterior detailing to the best of my ability.
Here is what was done
For the paint
Wash with Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash
Clay bar
PC with orange pad and Meguiar's Fine Cut Cleaner for swirl and scratch removal
PC with white pad and Mother California Gold Pre-Wax Cleaner�Step 1
PC with green pad and California Gold Sealer & Glaze�Step 2
PC with black pad and California Gold Pure Carnauba Wax�Step 3
Other
Touched up various scratches and chips with Dr. Color-Chip. it works and the paint match was superb.
Polished the headlights with Meguiar's PlastX (they make a nice one-step kit that is quite good)
Polished the muffler tips (600, 1000, 1500 grit + metal polish)
Cleaned all external black plastic and rubber (Mother's Back to Black and Auto Glym Rubber and Vinyl Cleaner)
Total Time 15 hours
I was a bit trepidatious at first never having used an orbital buffer, but I would now highly recommend it. The results are fantastic. For a car with 85K miles (mostly in Texas and California in the sun) on it positively glows. Arena red is a awesome colour given how it changes depending on the lighting.
The downside is that I now know every imperfection on the car (and there are many) and the front bumper will need to be repainted sooner that later
The Tools
The headlights
The results
Nice job!
I used some of that Dr. Colorchip stuff on a Sequoia I was returning on lease. My opinion is that it didn't work very well... At the time I bought the stuff, I also bought the Arctic Silver for mine, but because of the results on the Sequoia I decided not to try it. Did you do anything special to get it to work? Did it work on every chip?
Rudy
Looks great! I did my car this weekend too (not quite to the extent you did though)
Slightly off topic, I think I have the same wheels you have (18x8 et57, 18x10 et58). Are you running spacers in the front?
Rudy, what specifically was your disappointment?
I have now done it twice with very good to excellent results (my graphite metallic 951 and this car). I apply the paint using the tiny q-tip like applicator and not the brush. I have found that you need to immediately smear (don't wait at all) and letting the paint dry for at least a 90 seconds (preferably 120 seconds) before using the cleaner fluid tends to yield the best results. Also don't be afraid to use too much cleaner to get the excess paint off.
I would agree that it does not work well on deep rock chips. I find that you need to let the paint dry at least 120 seconds before wiping around the chip to remove the excess. I tend not smear those ones as it pull the paint out of the chip. I would wait another minute before going over the actual chip. I would say my success rate is about 60% on such chips. I normally wait a day and apply a second "filler" amount on the second day that I smear and treat as above.
i have an arctic silver car and it's a hard color to match. i've used dr. colorchip and it didn't work that great on deeper chips; it worked fairly well on very shallow ones. i've read on other boards that metallic paints, but especially arctic silver, is pretty difficult to repair.
Nice job Fergus, looks fantastic!
Arena Red is my preferred color and the shine on yours makes me appreciate it that much more.
Btw, I had to break out the PC this weekend as well: Some moron left a bumper mark and slight dent in the drivers side door of the 951 in a parking lot on its first outing. I was able to polish the scratches out, but I will still have to have the dent removed. I am chalking this up to initiation to QC residency, but I will go back to parking away from others, just in case.
Cheers,
Spyro
Well done, Fergus! The pics look great. You can be proud of your accomplishment. I read up on what is involved in automotive detailing, got totally intimidated and decided that I did not have the patience and commitment needed. I wound up having my 996 detailed at a local shop for $450.
...Rickker
Thanks for all the positive comments, folks.
I would say to anyone that if you get a good quality random orbital, its almost idiot proof if you keep the speeds reasonable (no more than 5)....
Great job! I was happy to vacuum, condition the leather, and wash the targa this weekend. But after reading a few other threads here I ordered Dr. Colorchip and a clay bar, new car wash, and tire cleaner from Zaino's on Sunday. This weekend will, weather permitting, be my first crack at the clay bar - hopefully followed by the Dr. Color Chip treatment on a bunch of little chips and a few scratches.
Lawrence
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