My guards were a cracked mess. And now, I can say I'm an expert at removing them. All I used was a heat gun, several plastic putty scrapers (from home depot), and, what made the job easy....Sticker Shock bumper sticker remover.

1) Heat with heat gun
2) scrap stone guard off with the putty scraper, keeping the area heated every few minutes
3) Once the plastic film is gone, and you are left with stickey backing that looks like it will never come off...blast it with the Sticker Shock. Wait 5 minutes, and use the putty scraper to scrape the hell out of the stickey stuff. In minutes, you can see paint under all the goo. Hit it again, and it just starts peeling off.

It's an annoying job, but very satisfying in the end! Sure, the sticker shock stuff is toxic, and probably killed a few brain cells. But no way was I gonna spend hours trying to work the sticker off with citrus degreaser!

Also, I used 3M Imperial Glaze after the clay treatment. The clay got off stuff the 3M Glaze would never be able to.

 

Awesome, thanks. So the paint underneath matches the rest of your paint? Is it faded or brighter than the uncovered paint?

 

Claying sounds easy enough, mainly as it's readily availabe considering my dad does taxidermy!

All the 3M Imperial Finish does is buff the paint. It makes it as smooth as glass in the process, but removing road grime and what not? No. It would make the paint really nice after claying, I would imagine.

 

Andy, your car looks spectacular. My friend always harped about clay bars. His 1990 miata literally looks like it's 3 days old. That stuff, along with your tips on stone guard removal, and the 3m imperial glaze, and a load of meguire's oxidation remover, just might bring back the guards red on my 944. Thanks!

 

Big... just to give you heads up, it's NOT that simple... it's a specialized clay... can't use say, potting clay or sculpting clay, or whatever... Also, it MUST be used with a lubricant, a spray detailer such as Griot's speed shine or, what I do, after I'm done with the car wash, i don't dry it, I pull out the soapy wash mit, clean it, and use fresh clean soapy water, wipe a section of the car, run the clay over until smooth, rinse, repeat on another section, and the like until the car is done... then, rinse one more time, dry, and carry on with the rest of the detail.

 

Are there any good guides out there regarding paint care/restoration? There seems to be a ton of different products and methodologies for how to go about doing it best, but I haven't been able to make sense of it really. My 944's coat has a decent look to it at present, but I was hoping to put in some elbow grease to bring out its best. Just wondering what best practices are, start to finish.

 

Senihele, Welcome to Rennlist.

Anywho, yes, there are. www.autopia.com (I think) has one that you can download that's fantastic. tells you how to polish, wax, clay, etc. etc. with pictures. Also, Griot's garage sells a handbook that says how to use everything, explains how it works, etc. etc.... However, the griot's one seems a lot like a glorified catalogue... it says, "Using the griot's *insert product name here* makes a splendid shine if you use it like this!" Well, it goes in for any product...they all generally work the same way. any more questions, feel free to ask.

Edit: Hyperlink should be www.autopia.org, not as listed above.

 

Thanks very much Porschephile. This looks like it will be very helpful.

 

I do what I can. The link for Griot's is www.griotsgarage.com

 

Hmm seems like I need to do that on my 944 Turbo.

 

Well, sorry for me jumping to the conclusion it was simple...

Anywho, where can this special clay be acquired? I knew that a lubricant would have to be used as clay does leave a residue and tends to stick. Atleast with the kinds of clays I have worked with. I might have to buy the things needed, and try this.

I have found a test victim to show the effects of 3M Imperial Finish for anyone that wants to see. I'm thinking of doing a door on my dads 87 Toyota with very faded paint.

Almost forgot...Andy, the car looks great man! Even for a white one!

 

Nicely done. Looks great!!!!

 

Thanks all...nothing like a shiney Porsche, right!?

Also, anyone interested in the where/why/hows of detailing should check out the concours forum right on Rennlist. I posted there too, and they taught me everything about claying, etc! Search the Concours forum, and you'll get all the answers you need!

 

Andy,

Looks nice. Make sure to leave the Rejex on for at least 12 hours. It really does make a difference. I left it on my wife's van for 24 hours and after a few months and several washings it beads up very nicely.

 

Andy,

Great job! I guess I need to get motivated and do my cars also.