ginch

So finally had a chance to have the car professionally polished. For anyone living in Calgary, you should really give Jed from Mobile Reflections a call. He does an amazing job! Onto the pics.....

























Derek

ble2011

That is unbelievable. I'm not sure I would be able to drive it. Stunning. Too bad I can't find someone WI to do detail work like that.

Nurburger

Mai oui....

The Brewmeister

If I box my car up can I ship it to your detailer?

Ed Hughes

Quick, take it to a Concours event!

Nothing like a shiny black car.

The Brewmeister

^That's right, before the pollen starts to fly!

paa502

Looks great Derek. Black is tough (as you know), shows everything, especiailly swills. Like how the wheels really pop against the black.

ginch

Not too bad for a 15 tear old paint job eh?

Ed Hughes

Ain't that the truth. I can assure you Midnight Blue ain't any better....

Jeff U

Beautiful car !!!

Learning to detail a car is a lot of fun and can become addictive.

I am new to the 993. I just recently sold my 1986 911 and picked up a 1996 C4S.

Polishing paint is not that hard to learn and the cost of paying for one professional detailing will probably cover the necessary equipment.

This is my 1986 taken about a 18 months ago. The car was my year round daily driver and had 149,000 at the time of the photo.

I did this at home:

mr_bock

Both cars look like mirrors!!!!!
Awesome work!!!!!!!

al993

that's so damn beautiful, love it very much

H.H.Chinn

Absolutely stunning! Nothing like a freshly polished car!

Spidey 993

Both cars are stunning.

Jeff, what's your secret?

Jeff U

Thanks!

Rule number one - use the least aggressive polish/product first. Only move up if that does not get the job done.

I had been a committed hand polish/wax kind of guy. But trying to get perfect paint by hand is back breaking work and I could never get it looking as good as I wanted. I was afraid of using a machine. I now wonder why I waited so long to try one.

The key is getting a "dual action" polisher. The DA is much more user friendly and idiot proof than a "rotary" machine. The most common machines I have seen are from Porter Cable, Meguiars, Flex, & Griots. I have a Flex XC 3401.

That photo was taken after the first time I detailed the car using a machine to polish. It had 24 years of built up swirls in the paint so needed a fairly aggressive polish.

That was done with these steps:

1. Wash
2. Clay bar
3. First polish - Meguiars M105 on a white Lake Country foam pad
4. Second polish - Mequiars M205 on a black Lake Country foam pad
5. Protect/Sealant - Blackfire Wet Diamond

Once you get the paint polished you will rarely, if ever, need to use an aggressive polish like M105.

Menzerna makes some excellent polishes and I really like their Menzerna Micro Polish PO85rd.

There is a great site called "truth in detailing" where you can find lots of information. I am no great detailing expert and have only been at it for about two or three years.

There is great satisfaction in learning to do it yourself. Although there is the danger of getting addicted to having perfect paint. You will then spend countless hours chasing small marks that your family and friends will never notice, even when you attempt to point them out. They will think you are nuts.