dhicks

Guys
I have a Black 97, 993 which is soon (once the dreaded winter goes away) to get its first, polish and wax by me.....Anthony has given me good advice in the past and I am looking forward to using it when I do this job.......I am going to tape all the trim areas before I begin....will probably use the blue masking tape one can buy from home depot....is that ok.....on a sep point....how do you and what do you use to cover that soft seal around the sunroof to stop it getting damaged/ waxed?
Thanks

Anthony Orosco

Hey David,

Tape of the seal as you would the other areas. The blue painters tape is perfect for masking as it has a low adhesion.

Another detailer trick is to spray those areas with a silicone spray, often called "Trim Shine"......it's in aerosol form and it is designed to give black trim a nice shiny appearance. Well it works nice also as a "mask" of sorts. Spray it on the trim, do your polishing and waxing and then spray some trim shine on a towel and then buff down the previously sprayed trim. Polish and wax won't stick to the silicone.

Happy Detailing!
Anthony

dhicks

Thanks Anthony

Smiles

TTT

I just got a '96 C4S and there's already white wax residue embedded in this seal.

What's the best way to remove the residue and darken the seal?

Thanks!

Matt

gmblack3

Anthony, Would then the wax or sealant not stick to the paint in the area of the trim? Unless you can spray it without overspray onto the painted surfaces?

Anthony Orosco

The polish will usually remove the overspray which is on the paint but it acts as a buffer of sorts on trim. It won't do much for full direct contact of pad and compound but for a slight hit it does the job. Then go over that area with more dressing applied to a towel.

Porsche's have a lot of trim and while I prefer to tape there are times where the extra time for that is not available so I use an aerosol trim spray to cover that area first.

Also, for the sunroof area I do it like this. If you're going to do a full interior and exterior I would do the exterior first, at least all of the roof area. I begin by opening up the sunroof all the way and then taping off the exposed felt or rubber seal at the front of the sunroof. I then tape off the 2 strips of seals along the edge of the roof line and also the front rubber seal along the top which seals the windshield. On early models those 2 strips of seals on each side are not present but you'll want to tape off the painted rails as they can be thin in paint coverage.

I then begin the paint correction in that masked area. Yes some splatter and dust will get into the sunroof area and even some in the interior which is why I do the interiors last. Now on some models the sunroofs tilt and this helps out a great deal. After that area is finished, from correction to my final buffing I'll remove the tape, remove the adhesive and product build up and then go over that area either by hand or Cyclo with soft pads and something like FPII or a paint cleansing lotion. I just re-did a Artic Silver 996 I had done about a year ago and all along the sunroof was an adhesive line with product stuck to it, very faint, but still an eyesore. I felt like an idiot! When taping I try and get just enough of the tape on the paint as needed to get good adhesion so as to prevent these mishaps.

I then close the sunroof, or tilt it depending on the model, and continue on the back half of the roof area. The roof area is perhaps the most time consuming because in many cases a 4 inch backing plate and pad are needed and then switched out to a 6 inch.

When I do the actual correction on the sunroof area I usually tape off that area like a large rectangle instead of trying to tape along the round contours. I then buff that area through all steps of correction then remove the tape and clean it up before I move on. I have pictures of this whole process but can't find them now

My biggest beef is with the raised "Carrera" lettering on the rear lid. Those things suck! I remove everyone that I can and either talk the owner into keeping it off or buying them a new one and reattaching it when done.

Also gmblack, an upsell you can do is to remove the stone guards on the 911 hips and then re-installing new ones. We do this a lot and it gives the whole detail such a finished out look. The owners love it because if they are all tore up and you do a good amount of paint correction and it looks great then you have these dingy, yellowed and scuffed stone guards that detract from all your hard work. If interested I can tell you how to go about that.

Phew.....sorry for the long post.
Anthony

Anthony Orosco

Try some rubbing alcohol on a soft microfiber towel and go along the seal being careful to stay off the paint as much as possible. If the seal is a felt type material then get a soft toothbrush and cut it so it's just the size of the felt strip (actually a firmer brush works better) and wet the area down with soap and water and gently scrub the felt strip again being careful to not brush the surrounding paint. Use firm pressure but not so much that you jack up the felt type material. The soap and water will act as a cushion for the paint and material and help flush away any crap you dislodge. On really bad strips I use a product designed for this called GR-40.

Toothpicks and credit cards can also come in handy for both rubber and material type seals.

When you have it cleaned and you want to wax that area only wax up to about an inch from the seal. As you remove the wax and/or polish your towel will carry some wax to those areas as you carefully wipe along the edges. Or use one of the many spray waxes out there now which do not contain any of the carrier agents/abrasives which cause that white residue.

Anthony

Smiles

Great tips. Thank you, Anthony!

Marine Blue

I use a similar technique although I use a boars hair brush (gentler on the paint and the felt) and I use a quick detail spray for better lubrication. If you're doing this while washing the car you can use the car wash soap which will also work well.

After brushing use a microfiber to soak up any of the quick detailer and some grime and then follow up with a good quality rubber/vinyl protectant. Wipe the excess protecant from the paint.

Black993

Another thing you can do (I found this out after my first detail on the 993 and not taping it up ) is to use a compressor and blow it out. Take a rubber tipped nozzle to it and get it right up against the felt. It probably won't work if its dried up or been there a while but if you DO manage to get some on it when detailing that works very well to get it out.

Smiles

Thanks, guys.

Justin, it's the dried up and been there for a long time kind.

The ideal clean would be to use a wax remover followed by a dentist-style suction to get ever last bit of solvent back up...

gmblack3

Thanks for the info!

TOGWT

Thanks Anthony- some great practical detailing advice

Smiles

Thanks also for this tip; I'm going to add it to the detailing arsenal.