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So these are the results of my first attempt at doing a paint correction. Started with a thorough wash, then clay bar, 3 stage paint correction, alcohol wipe down, then 9H ceramic coating. Certainly not professional results, but I’m pleased for my first attempt. Still have to take the wheels off and do them, then it’s onto the interior. She looks respectable for a 19 year old car.
Excellent!
The selfie with a before and after would have been good.
I've got so many rock chips that I'm not sure it's worth the effort, but I do have some fading on the backside that needs correction.
I know, I should have. But I suck at remembering to take before pictures. It was your typical loaded with micro scratching. There still is some scratching I couldn't get out with the polishing, perhaps a real professional could have. I more did this to see if I could do it and how I liked the results. The OCD perfectionist in me still picks up every little scratch the longer I look at it, but if I walk in the house then back out in the garage, the car looks excellent. My wife's Macan needs the same treatment, I may have a professional do that so I can compare the results to see how I did compared to a pro. I would do her car, but this took me somewhere between 10-15 hours working on it after work for a week. I can't keep her car down that long, I can hardly get her to park it for more than 2 hours at a time.
I know, I should have. But I suck at remembering to take before pictures. It was your typical loaded with micro scratching. There still is some scratching I couldn't get out with the polishing, perhaps a real professional could have. I more did this to see if I could do it and how I liked the results. The OCD perfectionist in me still picks up every little scratch the longer I look at it, but if I walk in the house then back out in the garage, the car looks excellent. My wife's Macan needs the same treatment, I may have a professional do that so I can compare the results to see how I did compared to a pro. I would do her car, but this took me somewhere between 10-15 hours working on it after work for a week. I can't keep her car down that long, I can hardly get her to park it for more than 2 hours at a time.
Just do one panel at a time, so what if it takes a month to complete.
Also, your deeper swirls may just need a mild compound then polish vs polish only. Deep scratches = wet sand, medium scratches = compound then polish and the fine swirls just need a polish.
It's a lot of work, and I don't want to work when I'm not at work!
It looks amazing but you didn't mention if you had a orbital polishing buffer. I can't see these results being done all by hand and foam hand pad but maybe. Do you have a orbital buffer? If so which one?
Here's a shot or two of my 2001 C4. I purchased this car in November 2018 with 87,300 miles on it that a nice lady neighbor had and she was the second owner.
Before
After
Same process as yours. Wash, clay, three stage buffing with first pads first pad being a Micro Fiber one which is pretty aggressive. Waxed, by no ceramic. Wheel were refinished by the Porsche dealership and new tires!
Enjoy that car! And tackle the wife's next!
It looks amazing but you didn't mention if you had a orbital polishing buffer. I can't see these results being done all by hand and foam hand pad but maybe. Do you have a orbital buffer? If so which one?
Here's a shot or two of my 2001 C4. I purchased this car in November 2018 with 87,300 miles on it that a nice lady neighbor had and she was the second owner.
Same process as yours. Wash, clay, three stage buffing with first pads first pad being a Micro Fiber one which is pretty aggressive. Waxed, by no ceramic. Wheel were refinished by the Porsche dealership and new tires!
Enjoy that car! And tackle the wife's next!
Eric
Yes, I purchased an Adam's polish 15mm orbital buffer, their microfiber pad and 3 foam pads. I then used the microfiber pad with their heavy correcting compound. I then went with their blue foam pad with the heavy correcting compound but found that step was more or less redundant so I didn't do that. I then used their correcting polish and then their finishing polish. It did an excellent job. I have some scratches almost like somebody had washed or dried it with a dirty mitt or towel that I couldn't completely remove, but I have to look at it just right to see them. It did a fantastic job making the finish deeper, which is mostly what I was after. For the clay bar I used Chemical Guys clay bar kit. As far as the ceramic coating, I didn't go high end since I didn't know what I was going to think about it. I used the Color N Drive 9h ceramic kit. It looks good now but we will see how well it holds up over time.
I think you're going to want to try the micro fiber pad to get the deeper scratches out. I have a few like yours and that's what cut those down the best and made them more acceptable. I have more work to go on a few of them but they are tough to see now. Small world as Adam's is what I used too! Adam is a personal friend of mine and their products are great! Not the highest cost but some where in the middle and great customer service. Try the micro fiber pad. Adam's said start with the blue pad and that I should be able to get the results I wanted but some of the scratches from the previous owners poor washing techniques were just to much for the blue foam pad. I highly recommend you purchasing a micro fiber pad and a micro fiber pad brush to fluff it back up from use. And the heavy correcting compound (blue in color). Those scratches will disappear and you will have the results that you desire!
I'm working on the interior now as she had a kid the kick the heck out of the center console with his feet as he was perched in his child seat! Fun, fun!
Wow, that is so great...I am very close to trying this on my own as well. While I respect professional detailers, I am not that keen on forking over hundreds of dollars when I could just spend that money on some nice equipment and do it myself.
I think you're going to want to try the micro fiber pad to get the deeper scratches out. I have a few like yours and that's what cut those down the best and made them more acceptable. I have more work to go on a few of them but they are tough to see now. Small world as Adam's is what I used too! Adam is a personal friend of mine and their products are great! Not the highest cost but some where in the middle and great customer service. Try the micro fiber pad. Adam's said start with the blue pad and that I should be able to get the results I wanted but some of the scratches from the previous owners poor washing techniques were just to much for the blue foam pad. I highly recommend you purchasing a micro fiber pad and a micro fiber pad brush to fluff it back up from use. And the heavy correcting compound (blue in color). Those scratches will disappear and you will have the results that you desire!
I'm working on the interior now as she had a kid the kick the heck out of the center console with his feet as he was perched in his child seat! Fun, fun!
Eric
I had the blue microfiber pad, the brush, and the blue compound. In hindsight, I could have probably spent more time with that pad trying to get the scratches out, but I didn't want to go too far either. Doesn't matter now, it has a coating on it. Perhaps when it is time to do it again I will spend more time trying to get them out all the way.
You should! It's true that there is an initial cost involved however if your **** like me and want your car to look amazing you should absolutely do it! It's not difficult and the orbital polisher will not damage your paint. It's pretty much idiot proof and once you archive a certain leave of perfection in your paint you just have to maintain it by an occasional clay and waxing and maybe some light buffing every once a year or two! Go! You can do it! YouTube has a ton of videos and so does Adam's polishes and how to...
It looks amazing but you didn't mention if you had a orbital polishing buffer. I can't see these results being done all by hand and foam hand pad but maybe. Do you have a orbital buffer? If so which one?
Here's a shot or two of my 2001 C4. I purchased this car in November 2018 with 87,300 miles on it that a nice lady neighbor had and she was the second owner.
Before
After
Same process as yours. Wash, clay, three stage buffing with first pads first pad being a Micro Fiber one which is pretty aggressive. Waxed, by no ceramic. Wheel were refinished by the Porsche dealership and new tires!
Enjoy that car! And tackle the wife's next!
I know, I should have. But I suck at remembering to take before pictures. It was your typical loaded with micro scratching. There still is some scratching I couldn't get out with the polishing, perhaps a real professional could have. I more did this to see if I could do it and how I liked the results. The OCD perfectionist in me still picks up every little scratch the longer I look at it, but if I walk in the house then back out in the garage, the car looks excellent. My wife's Macan needs the same treatment, I may have a professional do that so I can compare the results to see how I did compared to a pro. I would do her car, but this took me somewhere between 10-15 hours working on it after work for a week. I can't keep her car down that long, I can hardly get her to park it for more than 2 hours at a time.
Don't worry about it, it could be a variety of factors. The last time I paint corrected a 996 my polisher and I created magic. Fast forward to my working on my own car this week, its a dramatic improvement but I have a bunch of minor marring myself. It could be me, it could have been sanded in the past and needed more cut, it could need another compounding step, etc. I needed to get it clean enough to work on getting Opti-Coat applied for testing purposes so I will give it another go at some point. The reality is most of what you see online is the best of the best, people don't want to say at some point there is only so much you can do without risking the clear.
01-16-2019 | 12:59 AM
First attempt at paint correction
