Whitt944

Howdy folks,

My black 944 has a lot of fine scratches on it. It looks almost as if the previous owner tried to scratch something like tree sap or something off of it. The scratches are not deep, but they show up white. Is there anything i can do to take these out or lessen their appearance?

ltc

Hawaii?!
I would be more than happy to come over personally and detail your car

I would start with something mild, like 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, then, if necessary, move up to 3M Swirl Remover (for dark cars, based on your avatar). Both of these can be used by hand in a small area at first if necessary.

You can then move up to a random orbital (I use a Porter Cable 7336 with bonnets/pads from Griot's Garage.....it's hard to go wrong with Griot's products for polishing)

Did I mention I'm willing to fly over?

Good luck.

Whitt944

It IS 85 degree's here, but the sun hasn't shown itself in almost a week and there was flash flood warnings earlier today. Not as bad as snow, but definatly depressing!

JBH

I was just at the Big Island and Maui. We had spectacular weather for the full ten days. Where else in the world can you find 60s at night and 80s during the day; 365 days a year?

Black paint shows scratches very easily. The good news is you can take most of them out.

I recommend a random orbital polisher from Porter Cable. I have used hand polishing and find the results not to be nearly as good (many will dispute this I am sure). I use P21 paint cleaner, it goes on easy and comes off with little effort. Use a foam pad to apply. Wipe off with a high quality microfiber cloth (not those you buy in a auto part store). The Imperial Glaze is a good product, but it is petroleum-based. I don't like the smell and it is tough to get it off. Scratches are caused by rubbing so I like to minimize contact even with a microfiber cloth.

You may have to polish several times to get all the scratches out. Deeper scratches require something more abrasive so you might have to work in stages starting with an aggressive polish and fininshing with the P21. Never use anything other than a polish!

IMHO, Car Care Specialists are the best best place to buy products and get advice - even though they believe you should always polish by hand. They carry every polish, foam pads, cloth, soap, brightener, cleaner imaginable.

Good luck and have fun - you will be amazed by your results. Post before and after pics!

Monique

Said before: random orbital polisher.

I use Meguiar products and their Scratch X should do the trick.

Have not used the others mentionedy.

Anthony Orosco

JBH gave some pretty good advice

3M's IHG will NOT remove scratches but rather it fills them, hides them, and then as the product evaporates and washes off those scratches reappear.

Paint needs to be polished and then sealed. After this you need to really pay atention to how you wash and dry the car. What good soes it do to spend the time and money polishing the scratches out and then re-introduce them again with bad washing habits?

Use a deep sea sponge to wash, wash in linear lines, top to bottom, rinse after every panel, rinse out the sponge after every panel, Use a good lubricating car soap, plenty of rinse water.

Use an electric leaf blower to dry the car BUT don't use the leaf blower for anything else but the car, no leaf mulching! Do not scrub the car dry but rather BLOT the car dry. Wash and dry in the cool of the day, in the shade, not under any trees. Use a quick detailer while you dry, This helps give your drying process lubrication.

There are many more things that go into washing and drying (use only microfiber towels, waffle weave) but these are a few guidelines to follow.

Anthony

rodtraut

Anthony,
What a great idea using an electric leaf blowerto help dry. Where do you get the waffle microfiber towels? Those are better than good quality cotton towels?

Thanks.

Anthony Orosco

Hello Rod,

Glad you liked that idea, it is a great time saver PLUS you no longer have those water drips down the rear lenses and side view mirrors.

Always dry the car with the leaf blower right after your final rinse. This way with the ground being wet it doesn't kick up dust onto the car. It will take a bit getting use to but after a few times you'll be doing it like a pro.

Waffle weave towels can be bought here http://www.topoftheline.com/microfiber-glass-towel.html

The key to a great expereince with these towels is to wash them several times before using them. I wash mine in cold water, no fabric softner, either in the wash or in the dryer, dry them on low heat or just tumble dry. After washing and then spin drying there is not much moisture left in the towels so they don't need alot of heat to dry. I prefer mine with a very slight damp feeling rather than dried to a crisp.

Always wash them seperate from terry towels as the terry towel lint can infect the microfiber material (by infect I mean can transfer and then cause your MF towels to lint bad).

Also use a quick detailer as you dry. After blow drying the car, spray half the rof with some quick detailer than with your ww mf spread the qd around, flip the towel and then buff dry. Do this over the whole car and you'll have a great looking finish.

Hope this helps and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Anthony

Pesty

Hi,

Ive been looking around for somewhere in the uk that sells 3m imperial hand glaze. I found a place and noticed they also sell this stuff.

http://www.colourpro.biz/cart/index....roducts_id=286

Is this only for streight after painting or can it be used as a polish before waxing.
Sounds ideal for geting rid of scratches and swirl marks.

the more I look into this car detailing the more products i keep finding and the more confused i keep getting.

rodtraut

Thanks Anthony. I live in Illinois so I'll probably be the only guy in HD looking for a leaf blower today. i am also going to get some of those microfober towels. Have always used good cotton towels before without any real problems, but always looking for something better. Thanks again.

177mph

Wow - good tips. I guess I have a few new things to try. Ok - so I have a black 97 carrera with some paint work (hood and sunroof panel). The paintwork on the hood doesnt look as great as the remainder of the original paint. Plus it has some rock chips with poor repairs (raised dots of paint). At this point - I'm concerned that any further work will make the hood look worse.
There are some scratches in the clear coat on certain parts of the car that I would like to "eliminate" or "reduce". Are we saying there is no way to get rid of them completely? I used griots hand polish (by hand) and it didn't seem to do much. Followed it up with best of show wax. Is it time for an orbital? What do you guys reccomend?

Truble10

A leaf blower will work but an air hose might be easier. Works well for me.

Anthony Orosco

Hello, I apologize for the late reply. I have been rather busy lately. I took a look at the product you gave a link to and while I personally have never used it it seems to be your general light polishing agent. It may though work best with a rotary and youmay only get minor results by hand or with an orbital.

Detailing products need not be confusing, it's the manufacturers that make it so really, so what you need to remember is fancy packaging and names do not make a product work better they just make the product more appealing, as in "eye candy".

Most modern paints respond well to a mild polishing agent and a foam polishing pad. A dual action orbital (one that spins or moves in an oval fashion and/or vibrates) is good for laying down wax and sealants, and while it can do some mild polishing, it doesn't have the power to correct deep scratches or heavy swirls. You almost always need a high speed rotary for this type of work.

In the UK you can get Menzerna products and also 1Z products. Both lines come highly recommended.

Thanks Anthony. I live in Illinois so I'll probably be the only guy in HD looking for a leaf blower today. i am also going to get some of those microfober towels. Have always used good cotton towels before without any real problems, but always looking for something better. Thanks again.

Rod, glad to be of help

Wow - good tips. I guess I have a few new things to try. Ok - so I have a black 97 carrera with some paint work (hood and sunroof panel). The paintwork on the hood doesnt look as great as the remainder of the original paint. Plus it has some rock chips with poor repairs (raised dots of paint). At this point - I'm concerned that any further work will make the hood look worse.

The reason your re-paint doesn't look as good is most likely because of a poor finish out on the body shops part. It may just need to be wetsanded (which is also called "block sanding" or "color sanding") and then buffed out. This though does two things. 1) It can greatly reduce the clear coat protection, thus the UV protection and 2) it greatly reduces the orange peel, which is part of every factory Porsche.

Now #2 may not be a problem if 1) the body shop planned for a proper wetsanding, hence they applied more than enough clear coat and 2) if you don't ever intend to concours your Porsche. In concours a Porsche with reduced orange peel (so called because the top coat of paints surface looks like the skin of an orange) gets reduced points. A top notch paint guy can mimick the factory orange peel almost exactly.

So I am guessing (and I do so without physically seeing the paint job) that a professional detailer can properly wetsand your re-painted areas and then buff the car out to a mirror finish. This of course depends highly on how well the re-paint is. Your concern about any further repairs making it worse are valid. Remember this saying....."The cure is sometimes worse than the illness"

I say this often to my clients when they wish to touch up or fix little minor things, like rock chips. Most small chips are easier on the eyes than several globs of touch up paint, which never matches the original paint in the first place! So easy on the paint touch up, seek out if wetsanding is an option for you and then learn how to properly polish, wash and dry your Porsche

Hope that helps,
Anthony

177mph

Thanks Anthony! Good advice.

Damian in NJ

Anthony, do you have any experience with the 'Chips Away' franchise that does small spot/keyscratch/chip repair?