How do you maintain your paint

TargaEuro · 08-06-2001, 06:32 PM

I have a GP white SC Targa that is garaged and here are my steps.
1. Wash and strip wax tar and bugs etc. off.
2. Clay all the paint work (using lubricant along with the clay).
3. Using a high speed buffer and 3m Perfect-it 3 glaze/swirl remover buff entire car leaving the valances and rocker panels for last.
4. Clean up any spatter with 100% cotton towels and if its gets on any rubber trim use the clay bar to remove it
5. Apply and remove Perfect-it 3 hand glaze.
6. Apply favorite wax (Uberholspur in my case).
7. Grab a cold drink and admire the beauty youve created.
Keep many fresh 100% cotton polishing cloths within reach. I always keep some fresh water in a spray bottle on hand too, it helps remove spatter and excess glaze, wax etc. I would also recommend taping off any rubber and plastic trim so you dont burn it with the buffer. I do all this about once a year. I dont always need to buff the paint with the rotory buffer I only do it when the scratches wont come out by hand with a swirl remover. Since the car is garaged and hardly sees rain if ever, after a drive I go over it with a California Duster and Meguires Final Inspection and by doing this I minimize how many times I have to actually wash it. I do wash the wheels, valances and rockers more frequently but its better than washing the whole car all the time. How do you do it?....TargaEuro

89911 · 08-06-2001, 08:12 PM

If your car is used excessively in foul weather that sounds right. For me, it would be overkill. My car, when not in use, is in a garage with a cover. The most that happens to it is it get dusty when driven. The cars that need the most work in my house are the daily drivers, but unfortunately the 911 keeps stealing all my attention.

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8 9 9 1 1, The last of the line.

TargaEuro · 08-07-2001, 03:32 PM

Actually its not used in foul weather but you DO get better results when old wax is stripped and the paint is cleaned with a clay bar from time to time (atleast once a year). Unless you dont drive it or only put 100 miles per year on it....TargaEuro

911pcars · 08-07-2001, 05:32 PM

FYI, glaze and swirl removers, per say, do not remove them. They are temporary fillers that decrease the visual appearance of swirl marks created by machine buffing with a wool bonnet or hand polishing marks. That's why cars look so damn good right after detailing and then looks like *@3$ after the glazing compound washes off.

If a detail shop is doing your car, make sure they don't use any glazing compounds; all this does is hide the/their swirl marks. Using a spray mix of water and alcohol on a panel at pickup will show if this is the case.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

TargaEuro · 08-07-2001, 07:13 PM

3m Perfect-it 3 system does remove scratches, I do alot of painting and I use the system to buff out the sanding scratches from the 1000-2000 grit paper. The system consist of rubbing compound, machine glaze and hand glaze to aid it spatter clean up aswell as removing haze(not sctatches) left over after buffing. 3m calls it machine glaze BUT... it contains fine abrasive particles that break down as your buffing from the heat created.

....TargaEuro

TargaEuro · 08-07-2001, 07:16 PM

Also check this site out...http://products.mmm.com/us/auto_marine_aero/products/aad.jhtml?powurl=GSV4S6J59MbeGSLPLPKL4XgeGST1T4S9T CgvGS8V45YN4Pgl or http://www21.3m.com/dr/v2/ec_Main.Entry?SP=10007&SID=28181&CID=0&CUR=840&DSP=0&CACHE_ID=0

[This message has been edited by TargaEuro (edited 08-07-2001).]