Detailing a 1995 Porsche, Questions.

[Evenflow]

I`ll be doing a 95 Porsche in a week or so.



Its a black convertable, nice looking car. I have a question though, are these single stage paint cars, or should it have a clearcoat? I asked the gentleman all this stuff but he didn`t seem to know. Also, its a convertable. I have never washed a convertable before, is there some extra precaution I should take when washing a vert, or will it be alright to get the top wet/soapy etc?



The car is beautiful however, has the normal spider web swirls, a few scratches here and there. Process is going to be..







OHC via PC Polishing pad

OP via PC Polishing pad

RMG via PC finishing pad

EX via PC finishing pad

CMW via hand foam applicator pad



Charging him $125, going to ask him if he wants some interior work done for an extra $25.

[01bluecls]

just make sure the top is very secured and all windows are all the way up, this will help prevent water leaking in the interior. A 95 Porsche *should* have a clear on it but I could be wrong. ANother thing, I guess it depends where you are located and how much expierence you have but 125 for all those steps is a little underpriced IMO. I would charge no less than 180. Also are you not planning to clay bar the car....it would be a good idea specially for a car of that age that probably has never seen a clay bar.

[Evenflow]

Im claying as well, forgot to mention that.



I gave him a price when he came to my work a month ago of $125, told him if any compound needed to be done i`d bump the price up. So if I have to compound, I will go up to $150.

[01bluecls]

All is well, if you are happy with the price compensated than that is good. I usually do a 30 an hour rate so if I know I will be spending about 6 hours on a car I charge minimum $180. If you had the money you can buy Raggtop Convertible Protectant which acts as a "wax" for conv tops. The can of stuff is about 20-25 bucks though...so if you were to offer it I would charge an extra 30 at least.

[Evenflow]

Anyone else with some tips on what and what not to do when washing a vert?

[TriumphGT6]

On my 87 Vette Vert, I have to lift up the lid where the top goes under for storage, and push the water forward to drain it out the drain holes. Otherwise, the water makes a mess the minute you move the car. The lid also never gets washed, it has to be quik detailed otherwise I`d be spraying into the car.



Raggtop is excellent stuff and if you don`t have some already, go get some.



MOST IMPORTANT - Really tape off well near the top. Cover the ENTIRE top so no compound can get on it. You can quickly, permanently discolor a top this way. I know someone on Corvetteforum.com who has a white blemish that won`t come out of their black vert top.



GT6

[Evenflow]

On my 87 Vette Vert, I have to lift up the lid where the top goes under for storage, and push the water forward to drain it out the drain holes. Otherwise, the water makes a mess the minute you move the car. The lid also never gets washed, it has to be quik detailed otherwise I`d be spraying into the car.



Raggtop is excellent stuff and if you don`t have some already, go get some.



MOST IMPORTANT - Really tape off well near the top. Cover the ENTIRE top so no compound can get on it. You can quickly, permanently discolor a top this way. I know someone on Corvetteforum.com who has a white blemish that won`t come out of their black vert top.



GT6



When washing, its ok to get some on water + soap on the actual vert top though, correct? Also when im polishing I will probably be masking off the top with painters tape, and newspaper.

[01bluecls]

Yes the top you can clean with soap and water and stiff brush.

[Anthony O.]

I would not use soap for the top. What "can" happen is that you are unable to get out all the soap residue and this may hinder the protectant to properly set up.



The Raggtop cleaner as well as the 303 Convertable Top cleaner are good choices. I use the 303 cleaner and also the 303 Fabric Guard. They both work great, better IMHO, than Raggtop.



How you clean the top:



Pre-rinse well and have handy a soft brush. Stay away from nylon bristle brushes that can double as tire brushes as those are way to aggressive. You want something like a large SOFT toothbrush in terms of feel, the OXO car wash brush comes to mind.



After the pre-rinse, spray on the 303 cleaner, covering the entire top. It will not harm the plastic window. Allow to soak for a few minutes and then lightly agitate the fabric top with the brush. If you look closely the top has a fabric grain to it, try and follow the grain. I have a smaller, slightly firmer, brush for bird bomb spots and such. These I handle with kid gloves as you don`t want to catch a snag on the fabric and make it worse.



After it is cleaned then rinse very well. For wax residue in the top I use GR-40. Works great at removing that.



Now if you have the pleasure of owning a steam vapor cleaner then you can pretty much by-pass all the above :2thumbs:



I then move on to the rest of the vehicle.....wheels, tires, body, etc.



After drying the top thoroughly you can begin the application of the protection. I apply 3 LIGHT coats about 20 minutes apart. Make sure you wipe off the overspray after each application. It won`t harm anything but it can dry hard and it takes some scrubbing to remove it from glass and paint.



If the plastic window is in nice shap with little to no scratching then I recommend something like AIO to clean it, inside and out. If it has scracthes and he is paying to have them removed then use either the Novus system or I have found that Menzerna FPII works well also. PLEXUS is also a great plastic product.



After the top is done I always place it down, cover it, tape it and then buff the exterior. The interior may get some buffer splatter but it`s going to get cleaned anyway. I also clean the interior last, while the top is down.



Then when all done put the top back up BUT DON"T close it completely because you will want to clean the tops connecting arms and mechanism.



It should be clear coated, to make certain rub some cleaner on the paint and see if the paint transfers. If so then it`s not coated but single stage.



Hope this helps, happy detailing!

Anthony

[drew.haynes]

Be sure to post pics!

[Evenflow]

Anthony, thanks for the detailed walk through. Definitely answered most of my questions about ragtop cleaning.



For this vehicle however, the ragtop was already looking pretty good so I doubt I will need to clean it. I was just worried about getting water/soap on it and have it sort of mildew or something.



Thanks!