1957 Guards Red Porsche Speedster

A

Anthony O.

New member
Well this detail was a pure joy. Not very often I get to detail an almost all original 57 Speedster....it has some updated engine work plus some tranny work which upgraded gears.



It's a signle stage Guards Red which was repainted about 20 years ago. The repaint is OK but alot of sanding marks still visible. A complete strip down would of been ideal and then wetsanding but the owner just wanted it to be made as perfect as possible without going to that extreme.



Ron and I spent around 10 hours on this car but it was enjoyable as the garage was clean, it had central heating, gracious hosts and it was filled with several other classic cars!!



As I began the No-Rinse on the exterior Ron fired up his steamer and began the interior cleaning. Ron did a fantastic job on the interior, lots of chrome and metal to polish plus a painted dash board....don't see many of those :D



Ron using his steamer, metal polish, steel wool and some brushes for the interior chores.









57Intclean.jpg










We went through alot of towels on this detail mainly because of all the aluminum both inside and outside of the car. Here is a before picture of the aluminum runningboard strip.









57railbfr.jpg










After some English metal polish









57railaftr.jpg










After all of Rons hard work he had this to show for it











57IntAftr.jpg










Ron used a cyclo pad attached to a drill and OCP to polish the metal dash. Chrome polish was used on all the instrument rings and levers.....alot of detail work.









The exterior was oxidized but not as bad as I had expected. The exterior chrome and wheels were in bad shape but with some love and elbow grease they came out gleaming.



My process for the exterior:



Optimum No-Rinse

Optimum Hyper, Metabo and orange pad

Optimum Compound, Metabo/Dewalt green pad

Optimum Polish, Metabo, blue pad

Optimum Polish, Metabo, white pad

Optimum Polish, Cyclo, new Precision white pads



I sealed the paint with Optimum beta Sealant



Here are a few before/after pictures (sorry no outside pics, the sun was set when we finished but we'll be going back next week and hopefully we can get some outside pics)









57whlbfr.jpg










57dull.jpg










57whlaftr.jpg










57-Optseal.jpg










57GrdsRed.jpg










57PrscheSpdstr.jpg
 
Kenney said:
Anthony, Do you use microfiber towels to do ONR or a mitt of some sort?



Thanks



Kenney
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Glad you al enjoyed these pictures...it's a rare and beautiful machine. I'll be doing more of his cars soon.



I use mitts but they are microfiber mitts...you know the kind that look like a large mitten? When those are dirty I'll use a microfiber towel. I usually use about 2 to 3 towels per car, the dirtier they are the more towels I use.



Take care,

Anthony
 
SilvaBimma said:
Wow why 3 steps with Optimum Polish? Doesn't i finish down super nice?
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It does but if someone is paying for perfection, you give it to them. Plus, more polishing steps equals a more refined and deeper finish.



It could also be very soft paint. On most cars I can go straight from OP using a polishing pad to my LSP. On a few cars, like solid black G35s and Porsches, I can't. I need an even finer polish to ensure a mar free finish.
 
SilvaBimma said:
Wow why 3 steps with Optimum Polish? Doesn't i finish down super nice?
Click to expand...



It does finish down very well but I always strive for the finist finish I can obtain....if the client is willing to pay for it.



The repaint coverage was excellant but their prep work (sanding) was not that great as it left alot of sanding marks so I sought to reduce those as much as possible without more sanding.



The new Optimum beta sealant I applied gave the car a freshly repainted look, even the client commented on this as he came into the garage...."Wow, looks like it's been freshly painted" were his words. So from about 4 feet it looks perfect, upon closer inspection you can see some paint defects but this also gives the car its character, after all it was hand crafted.



Thanks for the compliments,

Anthony
 
Very nice!



Interested in hearing more about the English Polishes. I'm VERY tempted to try them! I buy those like people on here buy polishes and LSP..wait..i do that too HAHA



I've got a Sportster with alot of polished Aluminum and some Chrome...and have some friends that NEED to polish their aluminum and are restoring some vintage bikes
 
Anthony,



You and Ron are without a doubt two of the best out there (if not THE best). I always look forward to your C&B threads. The car looks awesome. What's the deal with the new beta sealant? You had to know someone would ask. I'm a big fan of the Optimum line, and I've been using Poli Seal like crazy since I got my supply.
 
sspeer said:
Very nice!



Interested in hearing more about the English Polishes. I'm VERY tempted to try them! I buy those like people on here buy polishes and LSP..wait..i do that too HAHA



I've got a Sportster with alot of polished Aluminum and some Chrome...and have some friends that NEED to polish their aluminum and are restoring some vintage bikes
Click to expand...



Simple superb polishes for metal.



I tested them all for Top of the line before Irene carried them and the ones I use are the "Metal Restorer" and the "Custom Blend". Their "Show Blend" is also nice to have on hand.



The forumulas are pretty much non abrasive and work more on a solvent base so if you have something is really nasty you may need to get some "Rolite" metal polish and use that first.



You'll love the English metal polishes because they clean up really nice.....also, here is a hint you may or may not know. To help clean up aluminum residue after polishing rub the area down with some cornstarch on a clean towel....it works great BUT the only problem is cleaning up the cornstarch!:aww: The key is to use very little.



Anthony
 
Way2SSlow said:
Anthony,



You and Ron are without a doubt two of the best out there (if not THE best). I always look forward to your C&B threads. The car looks awesome. What's the deal with the new beta sealant? You had to know someone would ask. I'm a big fan of the Optimum line, and I've been using Poli Seal like crazy since I got my supply.
Click to expand...



Hey...thanks for the gracious words, very grateful and encouraged by them.



The new sealant isn't really all that new. Been working on it since early 05 and we are just about there with this last beta sample.



Back to the sealant....it is wiped on and then it evaporates, there is no need to buff the paint to remove any residue. So far....and I know how this sounds, but on my very first test car it has lasted over 2 years. The very first batch though was very difficult to apply but man it has been durable. The new batches I'm not sure yet of the durability because David has had to tweak it some to get it to apply better, more gloss, slickness, etc. I'm confident it will last a year or more easy though. This will not be a sealant for your weekend warriors though but mainly geared to the professionals.....I'm sure some will fall into the hands of the enthusiast though.





Here are a few pics of two Jag's we'll be detailing soon owned by the same guy who owns this Speedster....









1952 120





Jag120.jpg










an xke, I think late 70's??





jagxke.jpg










See ya,

Anthony
 
Anthony Orosco said:
Many people don't know that Optimum is mainly David...Ron and I call him Dr. G but in private we think of him as the "nutty professor"....in an endearing manner of course.
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If he needs an employee, I'm there! :D





Sealant sounds awesome. I'd love to apply that on top of Poli Seal.



Looking forward to the jag details.
 
Scottwax said:
It does but if someone is paying for perfection, you give it to them. Plus, more polishing steps equals a more refined and deeper finish.



It could also be very soft paint. On most cars I can go straight from OP using a polishing pad to my LSP. On a few cars, like solid black G35s and Porsches, I can't. I need an even finer polish to ensure a mar free finish.
Click to expand...



I hear ya, what would you go even after OP? Glaze (PoliSeal)or WerkstattPrime? I can understand considering how so many of the clearcoats and conditions today can be mega painful.



Thanks for the Info Anthony. When do you think this Sealant will be out, and how would David restrict it :chuckle: ? Do the English Custom Polishes "clean" up metal in a way, or do they clear up Metals & take out scratches/swirls. Metal I feel nowadays on even luxury vehicles are mass marketed and are troublesome to clear up perfectly.
 
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