Deanriffs

...but not for sale!

After 4 years of ownership and about 5,000 miles, I decided to give my car a "spa day". I have never clayed a car before, but I washed her with Dawn detergent, used a Mothers clay bar and waxed her.

Not too much dirt came off on the clay bar from the hood and doors, but the bumpers sure made the bar darker! More came off of the roof than I would have thought, though. The process also wasn't as tiresome as I assumed it would be either.

Just thought I'd post a few pics. My main conclusion is that I need a better camera! Off topic, but any camera recos for <$1,000?

Enjoy some gratuitous pics below...I'm off to the autocross with the PCA tomorrow if it's not rainy.

Warpig

Nice! I need to do the same to my Polar Silver 95 soon. I got caught in the rain the other day. She doesn't look dirty from 50 feet away but to me she looks filthy. I need to spend a day washin waxin and preppin soon. Unfortunately too busy this weekend.

Nick

matt777

Looks good. It seems silver always looks good even when it is dirty. The clay bar job is on my to do list too. The car has lived indoors for most,if not all, of it's life so I'm not too sure how much dirt the clay will pick up. Perhaps I'll save this job for winter.

logan2z

I also just did a clay bar/polish/wax treatment on my '95 Polar Silver 993 and the paint is as smooth as glass. So smooth, in fact, that I tried to put my car cover on and it slid right off onto the garage floor I spent an hour at a local laundromat today washing the cover in a commercial washer, but it was worth it! Pics to come...

Deanriffs

Matt777 and Warpig, thanks for the comments. My car will be 15 years old next month; I think she still cleans up pretty well.

logan2z, looking forward to the pics. Your car looks nice with the splitter and rear wing. Cool wheels too. The RS look is one of my favorites.

bluejam

I recommend a DSLR camera. They are larger than any "point and shoot" but worth the fine photo quality. A great camera w/ lens can be had these days for around $1,000...the Nikon D90. It even has HD video capability. Another, for a bit less $$$ would be the Nikon D60, which I think is being replaced by the D5000. I am sure the Canons are good also. Im always a Nikon man.
Go to www.dpreview.com for the best camera advise on the planet.

freeman

In 35 years of owning Porsches, I have never clayed a car. The alternative is wash it often and garage it. I do not use soap when I wash (the car, that is). I wax when the water beads tell me to. The attached pictures do not do the car justice.

logan2z

Thanks for the compliments. Here's a link to the pics as promised:

Clean 993

Deanriffs

bluejam, thanks for the camera recommendations. Will look into those.

Freeman, yes, the claying was not dramatic for my car, as I wash it often, but it might have added a bit more clarity on certain body panels.

Deanriffs

logan2z,

Pics look great - what a sweet ride. Thanks for posting them.

AOW162435

Come again?



Andreas

Arena993

Yes do tell. I am stumped.

Mike

murfysflaw

I'm going to dig into this task this weekend and get some good pictures for my sale attempt. I used the clay bar for the first time last year and it didn't get much off, but it was much easier than I expected, so I'll give it another whirl this time around.

Raptor

+1 on No-Soap. I have never used soap on my cars. As in EVER. If they are polished and waxed frequently, there seems to be no need. I suppose some detail guru will have a valid contradiction. Nonetheless, I do clay bar whenever a water wash doesn't leave the car glassy smooth. (Also do the bead test for waxing frequency.) I dry the car with an Air Force Blaster, and finish with Sonus Towels. I am not ****, but the finish is clean and smooth by most any standard. As to clay bar - if the car is clean, the clay bar stays pretty clean. I always wash before claying. Also recommend using Griots Speed Shine as a clay lubricant (don't know if really helps but since it is a "shine" product, must be better, huh?), and while I'm spouting off, I like Clay Magic bars better than the 3 or 4 other brands I've tried. I spritz a bar before putting it in a zip-lock baggie for storage. End of "look how smart I am" post.

D-Uber Cars

Great thread as there are many nice Polar Silver '95 C2's.
Logan, nice pix! Sweet ride.
Had my Polar Silver '95 C2clay bar'd and detailed last year. For a 14 YO car, still looks great.