Dr. G

I know a few people on the forum have mentioned wet sanding their 993 with incredible results. My first question is whether any of the 993TT owners here have done it - and how did you go about finding the right person to do it (no chance I'd try that one myself). Also, how often do most people have the car detailed professionally. I have a Porter Cable Polisher and when I first took delivery of the car I spent two days polishing the finish - but after being caught in some heavy weather once or twice the finish has suffered a little bit.

FWIW, when I first detailed my Arena Red TT the color changed dramatically, bringing out more of the cranberry and deep purple-red hues. Once the car picked up some small scratches from road film and dust the predominant hues became more of a dark rust/orange through the red. I'm using Zaino products on the car, but have a fresh batch of Souveran sitting on the shelf. I'm wondering if I should just start over.

Also, I was wondering if the paint on our cars is different than the paint on the newer models, as I (perhaps wrongfully) think that the older paints have more lustre.

whyb2nd

Wet sand only if the clear is shot, and find an excellent custom painter/body Shop to perform the work. Most wet sanding results in another clear coat, if it doesn't you can do it yourself most times with good product. I can't see your paint but it would surprise me if the clear was gone, there are many ways you can bring back that wet look on your own. Your a Zaino user(I was) so first clay bar the **** out of the paint, then use Auto Glym resin polish (two coats) followed by 1-2 coats of Auto Glym extra gloss protectant.
I have used every paint product under the sun and Auto Glym is better then Zaino on shine, out lasts it two fold on my cars and best part doesn't collect dust after application. It's made in England, do a search for a distributer close to you. If you have problems locating one call me..You will like this product if you like your car wet with a deep shine.
Tripp

David in LA

Search.....Dr Ken Garchow (sp?) did an outstanding DIY colorsand on his 3000 miles, black 993TT.

Damian in NJ

G, I see you're in NJ. I had my slate grey metallic car wetsanded by John and Ray Paterek in Chatham to remove some acid rain marks. As they are the PCA paint gurus they know what they're doing, it's easy to make a mistake and ruin the paint if you're ham handed. My car was clear coated and although they had to be careful they made a big improvement on the appearance.

I've also got a great detailer who works out of Verona, you can pm me for his info. He spends about 12 hours on the exterior.

Kevin

One word of caution, by wet sanding or color sanding a car that has 8 years old paint. You must realize that you are taking of the thickness of the clearcoat. Especially care must be taken if the car has had this done in the past.. In the process the clearcoat must be heated to move around to get rid of the fine scratches from the westsanding. You must have a good base of clear to begin with. With 3M's new line of products, using power buffers with foam pads will restore your paint shine.. I've seen to many 993's with rubbed through clear coat lately..