Okay, I have taken my 2004 Cayenne to a local professional detailing place to have it throughly gone over (AJ's in San Jose, CA) as my truck had light scratches over alot of it from the previous owner. These are not heavy scratches but small ones that are noticable from an angle. The Cayenne is artic silver if that matters.... my idea since the polish and buff only reduced the scratches but did not remove them was either a wet sand and polish or a pearl clear added on. There are several spots that need real paint touch up and I was going to add a wide body kit anyways so that is why I was considering the pearl coat over the whole truck. Most of the the original paint is in good shape. Thoughts or opinions on this idea...

P.S. If I did do the pearl clear cost, should I go with a light silverly type pearl or more of a smoke to darken the original color?

 

It all depends on how deep these scratches are. Without seeing them, I can't remedy your situation. With that said, I can tell you if there are scratches deep enough that I'd feel it would compromise the clear, I wouldn't wetsand or compound it down. The only way to tell is to measure the paint. Your detailer may have done that and came to the same conclusion.

As for applying a clear, this can be very expensive and the results may not be worth it if not done right. You're essentially repainting the whole car again. Moldings have to come off, there may chances of over-spray in areas you don't want, and it will definitely make the paint look different than a traditional porsche color. These things will effect the resale value of the car. If you don't mind all those said above, and know a great painter that can do this, I'd say go for it. If you're not happy with the current condition of the car, life's too short to live with these imperfections. Just make sure a reputable shop paints the car. Let us know how it all turns out.

 

Yeah, resale is not really an issue... just getting it to look good enough for my standards. The market value on the Cayenne is lower than dirt so I did not pay much for mine to begin with, means I can play with it and not worry about resale. Since there is some repaint needed and the body kit I might just pursue the pearl coat. Might be a good way to make the Cayenne look a little different while also taking care of the scratched clear coat. Has anyone else done just a clear or pearl coat on the factory paint? Just wondering how the results were...

 

I personally love working on Porsche paint - pretty detailer friendly.

Without sounding mean, I'd say that your experience is pretty typical. Most shops don't know how to level paint.

It sounds like you are leaning towards a repaint, but if you change your mind find one of us who can actually do the work and get the results you are looking for. m2c

 

I agree, let a repaint be your LAST resort!!

 

Okay, maybe I "thought" I was talking to the right people on this... but maybe not. Is there anyone local (San Jose, CA) that could help me on this?

The repaint was a last resort... which is what I thought I was looking at.

David

 

Wetsand for light scratches? That kills me!

A lot of cheaper detail shops don't really buff the scratches out, they just use a filler product to hide them. The car will look great for a few washes, then they come back.

Light scratches are very easy to fix & remove. It just takes the right polish, skill & time.

yes, if you add a pearl clear it will change the color of the car. A body shop should be able to help you out there. But your current paint should be fixed before you have them do a pearl coat, as it will show all the blemishes under it.

 

Okay, okay... I was misinformed!!! Sounds like going to the RIGHT detailer can help my issue. So, anyone want to PM me a good person to go to in the SF Bay area?