Seeking advice on how to clean small front end chips of polish

When I was in Rochester NY this week, a young guy in a pickup pulled up next to me and shouted over "Nice clean Porsche, I dig it!"

This was after driving 400 miles and leaving it outside overnight for 2 nights. But it does look great in the sun now. I just have to finish the "chip work" and then put a protective sealant on it. It should really shine then. My order from Autopia came in this week with the Backfire crystal sealant. I`m looking forward to trying it.
 
When I was in Rochester NY this week, a young guy in a pickup pulled up next to me and shouted over "Nice clean Porsche, I dig it!"

This was after driving 400 miles and leaving it outside overnight for 2 nights. But it does look great in the sun now. I just have to finish the "chip work" and then put a protective sealant on it. It should really shine then. My order from Autopia came in this week with the Backfire crystal sealant. I`m looking forward to trying it.
 
An update, none of the APCs I`ve tried remove the white spots. These are really really tiny but on this dark green metallic paint they stick out like a sore thumb. I`ve only had time to go to one FLAPS and they didn`t have the paint prep solvent so I need to look around some.

Just for experiments sake I tried the Dr Colorchip stuff on these spots knowing the color would be off. It didn`t do anything, just wiped completely off. These are REALLY small specks. I tried multiple techniques and none of the Colorchip would stay in/on the spot. I hope the paint prep solvent works. I spent a lot of time working on the car and to get this far. These spots are much more noticeable than the oxidized finish I had before. Probably a good washing and then a coat of black fire crystal seal would have looked better and been far less work.
 
mhackney- Aw man, that must be frustrating! With any luck the solvent will take care of the white residue, and maybe help the DrColorchip paint to stick.

You try using the DrColorchip paint as if it were conventional touchup paint? As in, not wiping (at least not much) with their leveling solvent..that`s how I usually prefer to use it.
 
Yes, I tried that too. But even if it did work the color is way to blue and so I was only doing this as a test. I just tried isopropyl alcohol and that had no effect. I think these are just so small that these solvents/cleaners don`t wet them. I tried letting the APC sit for 5 minutes and massaged gently into the area with my finger tips but that didn`t seem to work too well either.

Do you have any recommendations for the solvent? I see that 3M`s is water based.
 
I do have some paint scratch touch up paint that is spot on color wise. But is not like the Dr Colorchip in the way it applies. I just used a tiny microfiber brush to spot a dozen spots a few minutes ago. It leaves more on the surface around the spot. After drying, I`ll hand polish smooth down to the surface. Are there any recommended polishes that don`t leave a white residue or are easier to remove if they do? Now knowing this, I suppose I could try an APC immediately after polishing while it is still moist and that might make it easier to remove.

I did just email DrColorchip to tell them that my order several years ago was off color but that paintscratch has a good match and if they can do something to match that.
 
The Dr. Colorchip people have been very helpful and you might be able to send them a dab of the color you have for them to give you an exact match. Their customer service is very good and knowledgeable. Tell them what you are experiencing and I bet they have an answer.
 
Thanks, yes that is what I did. They do say that they will color match if you send a sample so I could easily do that. Then they could adjust their formulation for all those other Moss Green Metallic Porsche owners!
 
Isopropyl alcohol on a Q tip light rubbed in a circular motion seems to be working on some of the white spots but not all. Seems like the small ones are removed but the slightly larger ones are not.
 
Rather than IPA, I use a pre-painting solvent like bodyshops use. IPA has its uses, but IME it`s a lousy product for preparing for paintwork (if it worked, bodyshops would wipe down cars with that instead of PrepSol/etc.).

I use *tiny* touchup brushes and lighted magnifying goggles to do small chips. You could try the "whittled-down toothpick" approach, but I prefer brushes (and I`m not talking about ones as big as a #1 or even a #000).
 
As mentioned a paint prep solvent will work. Prep-All made by Klean Strip is wide available in liquid and aerosol. As they say " in finer auto parts stores".
First clean the area with ONR diluted as a detailer/clay lube (1/2oz ONR to 31.5oz distilled H2O).
Spray Prep-All directly on the micro chips and wipe with a microfiber towel.
I would be careful around the areas you just painted as touch up paint is not always as hard or durable as your OE paint or professional automotive paint.
Klean Strip | Prep-All
 
2002glxv6- How well does the Prep-All work? I`ve heard that the post-VOC products aren`t as effective as what I`m used to...
 
Good news to report! I found some Dupont prep sol locally. I used miniature microfiber brushes and Qtips to carefully clean each of the white spots. I was able to clean all of them except for 4 (on the entire car). I even tried using a needle to tease the white stuff but to no good end. It simply taunted me back. These are the brushes I used: https://amzn.com/B017YBW5Q4 Do they make them smaller than this?

But, the weeks of hard work finally paid off. Both of my door edges were badly nicked. I rebuilt the edge with color and then dozens (literally) of thin coats of clear. I used one of the little Meguiar`s blocks to smooth and blend the new paint. I have to say I can`t even see the repair myself. And all of the road rash, although not perfect, is more than acceptable now.

So after doing all of the above I did a final polish with Meguiars Polish. I quickly cleaned out the remaining polish from the small chips while it was still moist. That went easily. I then tested the Blackfire Crystal and although it looked fine, I wanted to try the Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax. My earlier experiments showed that it does not leave a white residue either. It applies like a more conventional wax with a pad and then buffed off. I like the experience of waxing by hand and the fragrance of the Meguiars is excellent too - very, dare I say, sensual. I finished up last night and the car looks better than it probably has for 30 years or more. It isn`t perfect but nothing is. There are still a few places where I might come back later and rework.

So one question I have, the front nose of a Porsche 911 takes a beating. I wonder if a simple clear vinyl "bra" on just the first 12" or so would help minimize future rash. I did a little research but everything I found was like a full front end clear bra treatment. I don`t want to go that far, just a simple 12" stripe across the hood. Anyone have experience or thoughts about this?
 
mhackney- Hey, that`s great!

That (limited area) PPF film on the hood might be just the ticket IMO, there are PPFs that aren`t obvious too.
 
Any recommendations on PPFs that you think would work, this is new territory for me!

I really wish I had taken some before photos! Although the "prepurchase photos" I have on my photo site capture a bit of the ugliness.
 
Accumulator said:
2002glxv6- How well does the Prep-All work? I`ve heard that the post-VOC products aren`t as effective as what I`m used to...
Click to expand...

It has worked very well for me used before sanding to remove wax and as a LSP before priming and or painting. When I read mhackney`s post I grabbed a can and tried it on some micro chips and it lifted any residue right out. I`m not certain that Prep-All is totally VOC free.
Most post VOC products are not quite as effective as there previous formulations, but they are a lot easier on the brain cells! And I`ve lost too many of those already. They also seems to be safer on wider range of surfaces which is also good.

I`ve also used Rust-Oleum Auto Wax & Tar Remover which is more of a soapy based product and totally VOC free. It works very well, but takes longer for the surface to dry.

Either way I usually go for a second pass just to be certain I`ve got a good clean surface. A little more time and expense in prep work saves time and money in the long run.
 
2002glxv6- Thanks for the feedback. One of these days I`ll run out of my Pre-VOC stuff and I`ve been wondering what`s still effective.
 
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