'68 Porsche 912 restoration. Esoteric Auto Detail

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First of all, there are a LOT of photos here!

Today's job was a 1968 Porsche 912...basically the entry level model to their marque 911.

This 40 year old car is driven...a lot! The current owner (fellow Autopian...hoffman912!) has taken 6 cross-country trips alone. This is no concourse car. It had many years of wear and tear, along with some bad painting on the hood, and a tremendous amount of oxidation. You will notice in some of the photos below that there was actual etched-in streaking in the finish. It was in desperate need of finish reconditioning. The owner wanted me to bring it back to life, as he plans on keeping it for quite a while. Now that it's completed, it will be simple maintenance and an annual polish done by yours truly.

I discovered a few interesting things about the paint on this car. First, I was surprised to find that the hood had been repainted with a clear coat, whereas the rest of the car was single stage as expected. What I didn't expect about the SS paint however, was it being rock hard. Even with wool pads and Megs 95 and 105, there were certain defects that simply wouldn't come out.

In the end though, the results far exceed the owner's expectations. He was absolutely thrilled with how the car looked, and couldn't believe that I was able to achieve that level of corrections. Another satisfied customer!

On to the process:
Optimum No Rinse wash
Clay
Wheels cleaned with Megs Wheel Brightener

Wetsand in areas. 2000 grit

Purple Foamed Wool, Megs 95 and 105 in heavy areas
Menzerna Super Intensive Polish, white LC pad
Menzerna 106ff, grey LC pad (hood only)
Optimum Poli Seal, green LC pad
Klasse AIO on chrome
Optimum Car Wax

Tools
Makita 9227c rotary w/W66 backing plate
Porter Cable D/A
Canon Rebel XSi w/18-55mm lense

Total time: 9 hours.

Notice the level of oxidation, and lack of shine, depth, or gloss!








Wetsanding in process. Not a pretty sight!




Wetsanding polished out. 50/50


Same shot in the sunshine for inspection


There were parts that required special attention to detail, and it was easier to take them off to get proper access:

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Can you say heavy oxidation?




In process...looking much better already!


The whole car looked like this


In process...


The taillights were in pretty bad shape too:


After:


Ready for some after shots?

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I can't forget to recognize the supporting cast:

[tdekany]

Stunning work man!!!!!!

[dmw2692004]

these are my favorite details.

Nice work!

[shine]

Awesome job! Nice pics too. DSLRs rock.

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tdekany...thank you! I was really happy how this turned out.

dmw269204...I was pumped to get the opportunity to work on this classic.

shine...thanks. Yes, DSLR's rock!

[dsms]

That is great work, hats off to you my friend

[connorb850]

Awesome restoration! Other than the hood, do you think that was original paint?

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dsms...thank you!

connorb850...thanks! The owner said that as far as he knows the history of the car, it was repainted back in the early eighties.

[hoffman912]

I cannot thank Todd enough for the work he has done. I am simple stunned and blown away. the difference is just night and day. I would recomend him to ANYONE in central ohio, and will definitly be a return customer.

it was repainted in 85 by Stoddard's Porsche near Cleveland. I think it had a respray at one point or another as the current paint isnt of the same quality. My original hood had popped up on me and bend the ends of teh hood back, so i purchased a second hood and had it painted to match by a friend a year ago. unfortunitly i guess he didnt match it with a single stage to keep everything the same across the board.



just to give you an idea of some of the 'patina' this car recieves (after all its not abused, just driven and enjoyed alot!), and what kinds of things cause the wear Todd was up against here is a pic of all the road grime after the 1st 3000 miles of a cross country trip i made in 2003. i washed it before i left ohio. this was taken in solvang, ca (i washed it shortly after).



of course i always wash it after i get there.. (cant drive around the west coast with a dingy porsche now, can we?), so it did get some car care, but it never looked as nice as it did after Todd worked on it.



here is a link to some other cross country pics (sorry having issues loading pics here)

912 Board - Viewing Topic: pics from the trip