Porsche Finish Restoration (Part1)– Jan.2005

[glenncof]

Porsche Finish Restoration – Jan.2005

This DIY project was finish restoration on a 19 year old Porsche 911 which had minimal maintenance and used two other vehicles to develop the process.

911 Porsche Cabriolet, 1985 – Platinum clear-coat, owned 13 years put on 133K miles, driven daily as commuter, garaged in San Jose, CA, no surface maintenance except rare wash, paint generally good except 100’s of nicks; Air dam, areas behind front/rear wheels severely damaged by stones

1991 Range Rover SUV – White, no clear coat with lots of black trim, 174K miles, parked outside for last 8 years, minimal surface maintenance.

1997 Chevy Tahoe SUV – Black with clear coat, long scratches from bushes, swirl marks from Turtle Wax rubbing compound, 114K miles in excellent surface condition, garaged, used daily.

Tools
1) orbital polisher with foam pad
2) dual head flood light with stand (optional unless painting, Sears $20)
3) garage
4) white terry towel (piles from health club)
5) old T-shirts for polish rags

Process

1) Start reasonably clean with no bugs, tar, or wax
2) Wash / Clay in sections
3) Clean Paint
4) Touch-up and/or paint (optional)
5) Wash / Clay again (optional if no touch-up)
6) Polish 1 - course
7) Polish 2 - fine
8) Wax - protect

Wash / Clay

Use automotive soap, not dish soap. I used two pans; one soapy, one clean each with their own sponge. Put Clay in soapy water to use it as lubricant. When water gets dirty renew it. Do one section at a time.

Sequence; soapy wash, clay while wet, soapy wash, clean water wipe, towel dry.

The Clay was amazing process, removing all surface contaminants. I got mine from
www.topoftheline.com but Mother’s off the shelf ($15) would get you started. Lubricant spray can be soapy water. See http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-clay.html and
http://www.properautocare.com/usclaybartor.html

Clean Paint

First determine whether your paint is single stage or clear coat. Although not absolutely required, it is a good idea even if just doing the detail portion of this process. Finding the paint number is important if getting touch-up or spray paint. My 911 had it located inside the front trunk and passenger side. Consult owner’s manual or dealer. Most polishes are probably clear coat safe but check. See www.levineautoparts.com/spraycanofto.html or
www.paintscratch.com
If you’re planning to paint, you need to know what is a surface scuff in clear coat vs. nick in paint. I used Meguiar’s #38 Dual Action Cleaner Polisher (DACP, $19 for 32oz, ordered through NAPA) with a rating of 6 (range 0-10 abrasiveness). It is paintable, no silicon. It is not recommended for hand application though.

Afterwards, do spot prep by hand use a rubbing compound such as 3M but make sure it is paintable (if painting) and intended for hand application.. Turtle Wax rubbing compound was too abrasive for paint but good on polished aluminum wheels.

I used Mequair’s ScratchX ($9, bad idea not paint safe) which is really good stuff if let dry/buff.
This is really handy for spot fixes.

Touch-up/Paint

I got small bottles of base paint/clear coat at Porsche ($15 for both) assuming it would be my reference. Also I ordered spray can from www.levineautoparts.com/spraycanofto.html ($20 + shipping). Surprisingly the Porsche paint & clear coat did not match at all and the Levine spray was perfect after clear coat (SUV DupliColor from Kragen http://duplicolor.com/ ). These are both lacquers, so automotive thinner was used, as was a gray primer. Other items used were tooth picks, cotton swabs, 3M multi-pack of fine wet sand paper, tack cloth. A rubber eraser used as sanding block, as was, pencils with sandpaper dots glued to eraser. Swab nick with thinner before paint.

The metallic Porsche touch up never really worked right, I could cut it down with thinner/swab after five minutes or use rubbing compound after drying but both seemed to pull the gold out. Metallic is generally a pain anyhow. The shade matching was the REAL problem for Porsche paint. I am considering to re-do the touch up with the Levine spray. I found I could blend the Levine (new to existing paint) using the DACP compound after clear coat.

Interesting thing was the Porsche and Levine base looked similar (light gold), but the Porsche stayed the same while Levine darken under clear coat.

I removed body panels from the 911 for spray paint; air dam, front bumper, behind rear wheels, under rocker panels, headlight rims, and driver side mirror. They are all bolted/screwed together but not in an obvious fashion. Prepare for this project by removing panels in advance.

I consumed two cans of primer, one can Levine base coat, and 3.5 cans of clear coat. Of course sanding, washing, then wipe with thinner were done on all surfaces to be painted. I even used clay for surface cleaning before/after spray..

Two coats of gray primer were used and then wet sanded with 600 grit ands washed. Two coats base were used 10 minutes between coats at 70+ degrees F. The base coat was then wiped lightly with tack cloth after 30-45 minutes. Three (3) applications of clear coat were added with 10-20 minutes between each.

The drying times were derived from a combination of manufactures’ recommendations adding some time (but not too much as I did not want the base/clear coats to be ‘completely’ dried before next coat). Drying times can also be adjusted according to temperature, humidity, and experience as you progress.

Spray painting technique; only two things. Paint edges or hard to get surfaces first then fill in center areas. Light coat first, then heavier but must “flow” without dripping on final coat.

I set up mini paint shop using large cardboard box and the floodlights. Monitored temperature to be 70-90F, warmed spray can in 100F+ microwaved water. Avoid rainy days. I did this in winter, Northern Cal.

I waited 48 hours to polish (per instructions), and in case of painted bumper I sanded with 1000 grit to level. I’m curing large areas for 30 days before wax.

Orbital Polisher

I got a Porter& Cable (PC) 333 buffer from Sears ($60 + pads $7; one foam, one wool). This is orbital as opposed to rotary. It’s ‘almost’ fail safe. Rotaries can be quite dangerous to paint but also quite effective at leveling the paint. I decided to repeat the process rather than take risk. This tool has anti-spin control, I don’t know about others allowing to start/stop off the surface.

The 333VS has variable speed but I used the 333 with light dimmer to adjust speed. Sears also had branded ones with variable speed at same price as the PC but the dust collection compartment was a bag and the PC was hard plastic & useful as handle (had to put two screws in). Pep Boys may have some other low cost orbitals that are usable if you’re careful.

See: http://www.detailcity.org/forums/ for tutorials on using 7424 pro tool ($130 +accessories). See http://www.topoftheline.com/polisherpads.html for pads.

Cleaner/Polish Application

I worked in sections, starting at rear quarter panel behind driver and worked around the vehicles counter clockwise. This has you finishing at the drivers door.

I used terry, foam-filled pads to apply the polish to the complete section that I was working. I did not put it on the buffer pad as recommended but rather as an even coat directly on the surface. I was going for consistency. Store all pads in plastic baggies once dry. I marked one as CC (clear coat) and one RR (Range Rover white, single stage paint) to prevent cross contamination.

Course Polish

Start with heavier abrasiveness and move lighter as you move through the process. I tried to limit my chemicals to specific purpose and avoid multi-step items (such as clean/wax).

The DACP looked like a fairly heavy abrasive for a beginner but isn’t as I am using orbital buffer. I used the DACP for the Paint Clean and Polish since these vehicles really needed it. Always read instructions; work wet then remove ( I allowed some setting time but not let dry).

Probably will try the wool pad as a heavy cut process with the DACP next time I re-wax.


See Part 2. Porsche Finish Restoration (Part 2) – Jan.2005

[carnutzzz]

I think you're heading in the right direction by considering the synthetic alternatives.

That is an awful lot of work for what sounds like daily vehicles.