Para82

Ever consider options for giving the paint a nice treatment? I've got a couple minor hairline scratches that bug me - not sure if they would even come out. Wondering if anyone here has experience with more aggressive details?

Overall i'm very happy with the paint finish, looks new at 10 years old and polishes very well. Wondering what to do about the imperfections though.

Marine Blue

Chasing a deeper scratch with wet sanding will leave you with very little paint to work with in the future. If the hairline scratch is something you can feel I would say it's too deep to correct unless you want to sacrifice most of your paint. If it's not something that can be detected by touch you might try a two step polishing process to level the paint. Can you post a picture or two capturing the scratches?

GermanCarSpecialists

I did wetsand a small section of my quarter panel due to an annoying hairline scratch. Porsche paint is delicate to work with. Then I proceeded with full polish, wax and opticoat the rest of the car. Took me 2 days total doing it on and off 3 hour sets at a time. Opticoat had to wait a day before I drove it back home (did it at the shop). Now it is a breeze to wash the car, also makes me paranoid. After all that work you do not want it to get dirty

Para82

Think i'll start with a more conservative approach, maybe invest in an orbital polisher.

Good resource... http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polisher.html

Para82

Can only be seen at certain angles....

Marine Blue

A dual action would definitely be the right place to start. For that deeper scratch you'll definitely need a two step approach. For the minor swirls surrounding the scratch a simple finishing polish will work perfectly.

Lots of good two step products out there. My current favorites are Meguiars 105 and 205 with the Griots Orange Cutting Pad and Detailers Domain Blue Polishing Pad.

Jaye Bass

Griot's Garage should fix you right up.

Para82

Think it's time to step up my polishing game. In 98% of lighting the car looks immaculate, but if you place it under spot lighting (which i have in my garage) and stand at a certain angle you can find the imperfections. Even in broad daylight most of this stuff is invisible.

Going to make a visit to the local Auto parts store today and see about an Orbital and a 2 step kit.

Might practice on the wife's Jag first

Jaye Bass

Get a random orbital.

Para82

That's the one I want!

Ni_Mo

Para 82 mine will be going in for a full correction, which will include wet sand with 1K then slowly working all the way up to 3K. Clear coat measurements will be taken at all stages, I'll get some before & after shots. I'm doing this predominately due to some "orange peel" on the front end after having the bonnet re-sprayed. Wet sanding is just reducing the clear coat, as said if it isn't too deep and orbital will get it out.

Ezkill

If the back of your fingernail isn't catching in it you can polish it out. I wouldn't sand. Least aggressive option first and even if you do have to sand because the polish won't be enough you'll need to remove the sanding marks with a quality polish. Less aggressive is always better as you can't put paint back.

I could go into an extremely long diatribe about this but it will just be repeating a lot of stuff on this forum. I would use Menzerna FG400(possibly one step more aggressive) and an aggressive microfibre cutting pad on that area mounted on either a porter cable or griots garage machine. It doesn't hurt to paint gauge the area as you work to know what you're starting with and how much you're taking off. It's hard to tell the depth from a picture but you could probably just polish it out and not worry about it if your car hasn't been aggressively polished on a regular basis. It's hard to make a solid recommendation without knowing a lot of the history but it's a pretty safe DIY as long as the car hasn't seen multiple aggressive polishes each year.

TLDR - DA from Griots or Porter Cable, Aggressive Microfibre cutting disk(mothers), Menzerna FG400 or one step greater, Finishing Polish to jewel the entire car since you're at it anyway.

For further information check out this page and see the damage that was removed from a black BMW with FG400. Having used probably close to 100 different polishing compounds over the years I'm stuck on the Menzerna products: http://www.detailersdomain.com/Menze...int_p_822.html

Edit - No affiliation with Menzerna or Detailers Domain, just like the products

Robocop305

I agree, Menzerna products are great!

Bruce In Philly

People who clay are wet sanding........

I use a Porter Cable orbital (I burned out two Pep Boys cheapies) with Meguiars Ultimate Compound. I used mild chemical polishes up through pretty abrasive compounding materials and this stuff is about the safest cutter you will find. Even a knuckle head can't screw it up. Don't listen to comments about burning the finish or wearing out the paint...... unless you have no brain.

http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotiv...mate-compound/

My Boxster S at around 150K miles...... fenders back is all original paint.

https://plus.google.com/photos/10133...009?banner=pwa

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Para82

Looking good Bruce, especially with 150,000 miles.

Somebody yesterday asked me if my 911 was a 2013 - nope 2005 - person was shocked it wasn't new. Can't wait to see how it looks after a nice orbital polishing.