Hey All, so i've been a member of the board for quite a while but haven't really posted much in the mean time. Just last weekend I took possession of a black on black '03 996 carrera with only 16k miles on it. I had the car shipped enclosed and when i took delivery the paint seemed to be in good condition with only minor swirls under bright sunlight. Last night I washed the car to use my usual combo of Klasse HGSG and P21s. What i found was a ton of heavy swirling in the paint (not very noticable in the shade but if any light hits it you can def tell its there) to my surprise. I feel as if the person before me had never actually polished the paint but had just been using some kind of filler with wax over it for the entire duration of having this car. And reccomendations to what I can use to remove these swirls? I used to have a random orbital from when i used to detail my old BMW but it was actually a rigid random orbital sander with the pads put on it so i dont even think this was the best option. Thanks in advance for your help!!

 

There are a couple of ways to look at this situation.

The good:

Your new car probably has plenty of clearcoat left since the paint has not been repeatedly corrected.

Black Porsche paint corrects fairly easily, and finishes beautifully.

It's the perfect time to invest in a good Cyclo polishing machine, clay bar, pads, polishes, and a good wax or paint sealant.

The Bad:

You will have to spend a full day in the garage with your Porsche, or take it to a professional.

Call me optimistic, but this can pretty easily be remedied.

John

 

Congrats on the new-to-you Porsche. We all know how hard it is to find the "right one" and you managed to do that. It is a bummer that the paint isn't up to par with what you'd like it to be, but the good news is, IT CAN BE FIXED. Porsche has some of the best paint of any manufacturer and it's very forgiving. There are two routes you can go. The first would be to hire a professional detailer that is reputable and is an expert with your car. Prepare to spend upwards of $500 for a proper detail.

The other route, one I think you'd enjoy as it seems you're already a DIY detailer, would be to do the work yourself. With the modern technology from polishers to polishes and pads, with a little patience and passion, you can get results that rival any detailer. Our go-to product combo is FLEX-Menzerna Polishes-CCS Polishing Pads. Depending on your budget, this would be an excellent kit for you:

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...sh-Kits/Detail

It's our best-seller and once you use it, you'll see why. Since you already have a good wax, P21S, you can simply do a 2-stage polish, get the paint dialed in, then wax.

Wish you all the best and let me know if we can be of further help.

 

Sounds like a fun project to me! Give it hell and don't forget to put up some photos when you're done.

 

Get a pro to do it then maintain it from there.

 

Good advice all around.

Seeing how it's new to you, I would think you could have a good time doing the first detail yourself. Most of us car guys enjoy detailing to a degree(some more than others). If you find that it's a bit much for you, speak to a few local detailers who have good reputations and guarantee satisfaction.

16k mile black Porsche. Easy stuff.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies!

Moe,
I actually still have a bunch of my detailing stuff from before i am just out of pads haha so I would at the minimum have to order those. The polishes that i have (or at least can find) are, Menzerna Intensive Polish, Menzerna Final Polish II and Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze. My only concern is that these are several years old and have been sitting in my garage for several years.
Do you think that any of these polishes would do the job or will I be needing some new supplies? I also found my old random orbital. I did forget to mention one thing in my previous post, I am a student and do have a somewhat limited budget so a flex is a bit out of my price range as would be shelling out $500 for a professional job. I was looking at the PC7424XP with maybe a 3" or 4.5" backing for a bit more power. Would this do the job? What are your reccomendations on a limited budget?
Thanks

 

Like John and moe have said Porsche paint's fairly easy to correct. And it seems like you have experience correcting some paint. I would recommend getting a PC 7424XP or the Flex VRG3401 (a lil more powerful but still as safe as the PC). Get the proper pads or at least Orange, White, Green, Blue and Red. About 3 each as the pads get saturated they tend to not correct as well. Menzerna SIP and Orange would probably be your go to combo (depending on the amount of correction needed) Than top off with your P21S, or invest in some blackfire wet diamond. Check out Detailedimage.com for some supplies and compare it to john and moe.

 

Understood...if your polishes are more than a couple years old, I'd get rid of them and get new stuff. Plus, Menzerna SIP and Super Finish are the newer technology and will perform better than what you have.

Since you're on a budget, get the PC kit we have on promotion:

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...dsh-Wax/Detail

We can substitute the polish/wax combo in the kit for the Menzerna SIP/Super Finish combo; you'd just pay the difference. You may want to add the orange and yellow pad and omit the red pad. I think based on your needs and your budget, this would make a great combo and will be an excellent value.

Let me know if this sounds good to you.