Documented Concours Prep (long - pics)

[russ968]

I haven’t had this much fun working on my car in a long time. Let me start by thanking all who have made suggestions to me directly or contributions to Autopia that I have used. :wavey I’ve always considered myself a reasonably good amateur detailer but in the past month I’ve gotten so much good information on products and application methods here at Autopia I thought I’d share my experience with the several new products and techniques I used in prepping my car for a local Concours.



I did a brief write up on my engine, interior and wheel well detailing efforts at the links below so I won’t repeat here.



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=26143

http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=26226

http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=26530



Process -- Product --Applicator/Application Method



1. Wash -- Dawn -- Boar’s hair brush/2 bucket method

2. Clay -- Griot’s Clay -- Megs FI/Clayed while car was wet

3. Wash -- Dawn -- Boar’s hair brush/2 bucket method

4. Clean/Polish -- 3M PI-IIIMG -- PC w/Orange Pad (2 passes)

5. Clean/Polish -- Klasse AIO -- MF hand application (2 Passes)

6. Seal -- Klasse SG -- MF hand application (4 coats)

7. Wax Topper -- Pinnacle Souveran -- Foam applicator by hand (2 coats)



I also used MF towels from Pakshak :up



1-3. Wash/Clay/Wash



I’ve used the 2 bucket method for a couple of years but had not used Dawn. Dawn may be a bit overrated but it did remove several coats of wax so it will remain in the detailing cabinet for use a couple of times a year. I have used clay in the past but not on this car, nor had I used the suggestion to leave the car wet and clay with water and QD as lubricant. I can say it went much faster and is also a technique I’ll use in the future. I used Griot’s clay and thought it did the job but I don’t have another product to compare it to. I used Megs FI for the lube, in addition to the water, and it worked fine for this purpose (no indication here of how great a product this is).



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/11555wash1-med.jpg

http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/11555engine-towel_tip.jpg

A little trick I`ve used for years is to place towels in the engine bay to keep water out. It keeps me from having to go back into the engine after the wash.



I also tried Carguy’s �Perfect drying technique.� Wow, it worked great. I will definitely use this every time I dry a car. :up



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=5120

[russ968]

4. Clean/Polish #1



The paint was in generally good shape except it had many microabraisons and light swirls from almost 10 years of abuse, unfortunately these didn’t photograph well. The original owner shipped this car to Japan and back and you could see where the straps had marred the paint because the car was dirty when they put the cover on it for shipment. I don’t think the paint had ever been truly cleaned. Since I purchased the car 2 years ago I had, unknowingly, mostly applied fillers to hide these problems with 3M IHG, P21S PCL and Griot’s fine hand polish. I learned very quickly here that while reasonably good products they represented little more that automotive makeup. My objective was to remove most if not all of those microabraisons and again based on the feedback here I chose 3M PI-IIIMG as the product with an orange pad. I chose the orange pad because I already had a few new ones and I had used them before. As a PC user for a couple of years I just refreshed my technique by reading here and applied a little more pressure than I had in the past. I used 100% cotton towels to buff off the PI-III and you’ll note in the pics I masked with 3M “blue� painters tape and did some minor disassembly. This combination did a fair job of removing the microabraisions consistent with the feedback and representations made here. I was a little too conservative though and should have used a little more abrasive product/pad combination. I’d say I removed 60% of the microabraisions. Since it is a single stage paint I had to get comfortable with removing some of the paint and cleaning of the pads as you’ll see below. If I were to do it again I would have had a yellow cutting pad ready as well as some DACP.



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/11555top1-med.jpg

In process after 2 passes with 3MPI-III

http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/11555gloss2.jpg



5. Clean/Polish #2



Ok, so I’m pretty happy with the finish right here but I’m also committed to going the “Polymer� route and trying out the Klasse twins. Let me first say I tried both AIO and SG last year with dismal results because I simply did not know what I was doing and treated them like the polish/wax combinations I’ve used for years. Of course I knew what I was doing now as I used “Jimwh’s Klasse Instructions� as well as posts from a number of others. :up



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=12590



After the PI-III the paint was pretty “squeaky� so the AIO while definitely improved the “liquid� feel of the paint and overall gloss it didn’t make the huge difference you’ve come to expect when seeing a badly oxidized finish transformed by AIO. That said AIO is now my cleaner of choice. I went over the car 2 times by hand and it went on and came off very easily. I’ll say I paid close attention to not using too much product and I think that worked well and helped with the removal. I used Megs Final Inspection for a little help removing AIO and found it outstanding in this capacity and streak free unlike some other QDs I’ve used. The Pakshak MF towels from Ranney were also responsible for making this easy as they removed what little residue AIO leaves easily.



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/11555gloss3.jpg

AIO Starts to give that "wet look"



6. Seal



I’ll say at this point I was very happy and tired and considered skipping the SG phase because of the dry/cure times. I’m glad I didn’t. I put on my first coat of SG and buffed it off about 30 minutes later, waited overnight, about 12 hours, and put on the second coat and again buffed off after about 45 minutes. When buffing it off I noticed a little faint haze and thought “oh no I shouldn’t have used this stuff.â€� So I decided to let the SG cure for a full 24 hours before my next layer and then let that 3rd layer dry for a full 2 hours as it has been a little humid here. Perfect, haze gone and a great hard looking shine developing…cool. I followed the same procedure for the 4th layer and let it again cure before the Pinnacle topper.



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/11555rearpanel-med.jpg

4 Layers of SG



7. Wax Topper



Again, I considered not doing this step as the car looked great and I’d also had some hazing with PS before…again because I didn’t really understand you just can’t throw one product on top of another and not expect them to “reactâ€� to each other often creating the haze.



I applied PS by hand with a small yellow applicator and all can say is I just knew it was right as I was applying and removing. My wife, who thinks I’m completely nuts and is truly bored with all things related to detailing actually stopped and commented on how “wet� the car looked after this step.

[russ968]

So here’s the final product….



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/11555glamour17-med.jpg

http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/11555glamour3.jpg



And the results from the concours…



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/11555concours2-med.jpg

http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/11555concours3.jpg



1st place to add to last year`s...don’t get too excited there were only 2 cars in my class. :D



So, Final Inspection, 3M PI-IIIMG and the Klasse twins are the real keepers here along with the Pakshak towels. I liked Pinnacle Sovereign but don`t think it is a good value. What would I do differently? Allow more time! I started 2 weeks prior to the show and I got pushed layering the SG. I`d also be a little more aggressive with the first abrasive pass in both pad and cleaner/polish.



Overall I am impressed with the depth, clarity and wet appearance this process delivered. I do have renewed respect for those that do this for a living and people that prepare show cars, because, while I`m pleased with the results, the car truly is far from perfect (but that`s another story).



Again, many thanks to all here for your assistance. :xyxthumbs

[BoxsterCharlie]

Sensational job...both the prep and your documentation of it!



I can only hope my 986 looks as good in ten years as your 968!



Regards,

Charlie

[Acura_RL]

That is a gorgeous car!

[hondaguy2582]

very nice car and shine. Klasse is one of my favorite products, definitely the most durable.

[Nebraska99]

Excellent posts and great work!

[imported_Greg]

Looks absolutely fantastic. My next car will be a Porsche, I love it!!

[lexite]

Splendid work on this magnificent car! I`ll see ur around as I am ur neighbour. Yes! I live in MV

Great writeup too with pretty clear pictures.

[imported_CBX Carl]

Curious- How long have you been using the "Boars Hair Brush" ?

[russ968]

Thanks for the comps all...



I`ve been using the boar’s hair brush for about 6 years and I like using it. I do keep a mitt close by for those hear to reach areas like in between the exterior rear view mirrors and the door panel. For me, using the brush has reduced the amount of self-inflicted marring at least in the wash phase.

[Accumulator]

russ968- VERY good job :xyxthumbs



As you`ve found, single-stage paint takes not only the right products, but also a certain mindset to really get right (or at least to get past the "OMG, lookit all the paint coming off!"/urge to say "that MUST be good enough"). For your first time with the new products and techniques, you really did great. ESPECIALLY for only two weeks!



And I`m with you on the Boar`s Hair Brushes. Used RIGHT, they are great.

[russ968]

Thanks Accumulator...I owe you for the 3M PI-IIIMG recommendation, vendor and the mind-set that I had enough paint to "push it" a little with the cleaner/polish steps...:bow

[Onehole]

Your car looks awesome...great job!



Congrats on the win! Nice trophies as well:)

[PakShak]

Hi russ968,



Very nice Porsche! Congratulations on the win! :xyxthumbs



With Aloha,

Ranney :)