1968 Porsche 912 original paint, need detail advice

[Rwm514]

Hi, I was directed here from a Porsche forum. I recently purchased an original 1968 Porsche 912. It is light ivory in color (6804) and in really good shape. The paint actually looks decent but is pretty dull overall and I doubt it has been polished or waxed in a very long time. There are a number of rock chips in the paint which show as rust since the paint has been missing for so long. Based on other recommendations, I am think of applying a rust converter first and then maybe a little touch up paint although I`m a little hesitant because there are so many rock chips up front. Mainly I want to do a good clay and polish and wax. I have never really polished a car before but I want to try on this car. I am a little worried about burning thru the paint. I was hoping for a recommendation of where I could purchase all that I need (polisher, touch up paint, Rust inhibitor, supplies etc) from one shop and maybe some basic advice of how to go about it. Thx! Rob

[Accumulator]

Rwm514-Welcome to Autopia!



You have the right ideas :xyxthumbs



When you have a lot of to-the-metal rust chips, then yeah...it can be a big PIA to fix `em all! The good news is that, awful as it might sound, you can often just let them go. Yeah, I know..but really...as long as you keep the vehicle well-detailed they hardly *ever* get serious. I let some chips stay lightly surface-rusted on my Jag for over 20 years (until my painter fixed them because they bugged him so much) with zero problems. But yeah, to do it right you`d treat the rust (IMO, first with an acidic decontamination product, at least in this case), then rust-convert, then touch up. Then *maybe* level the touchups so they`re less obvious, but I`d think twice about doing that (or maybe use Langka`s Blob Remover to do it).



I`d treat those with a product called "Iron-X" (link: http://www.detailersdomain.com/carpr...pgel500ml.aspx ) although that won`t really work with the one-stop-shopping approach because for everything else I think the best approach is this-



Contact Mike Phillips at AutoGeek (link: We Are Car Care -- Car Wax, Car Polish, Auto Detailing Supplies, Car Buffers & Car Accessories Store ). You can tell him I recommended you contact him. Mike is an authority on how to work with such vehicles and anything I`d spend an hour posting here/now he already has written up (or on the tip of his tongue). There are some very specific products and procedures that make all the difference when dealing with original old single stage paint.



Other than the Iron X, AutoGeek sells everything you`ll need.



"It`s only original once" so you want to do this one right. Mike and I do basically the exact same things on paint like this, and it *works*. Since your car is so special in that "time capsule" way, I`m confident that Mike won`t mind some one-on-one coaching about what you oughta do.



Burning through the paint shouldn`t be an issue, but you should be very gentle so you don`t take off too much. Some might say you oughta work on something less precious first, but I think you should just go about it gently.



Thumbnail version:



-Wash

-Decontaminate with Iron X (Mike might recommend something else)

-Clay (this might come before/after the decontamination, different schools of thought on this)

-Rewash

-Deal with paint chips

-Pre-treat with M07

-Polish to reduce marring (minimal work here, maintain your paint thickness rather than try for perfection)

-Retreat with M07

-Wax

[5pointadam]

My advice would be to take the 300-400 dollars you`d spend on a good polisher and all those chemicals and hire a well trained detailer. Assuming it is original paint, that means it will be a single stage. If that is the case and it is oxidized you will need a professional polisher and compound to get it back to being shiny. Now I know that detailing isn`t rocket science but an untrained job at best will come out spotty and at worst could end up costing you thousands to repair. If you really want to be hands on with your car get it done once by a professional and then get some high quality wax that is easy to use and get out there and wax your car once a month and it will stay shiny for the rest of it`s life!