Red porsche owners - how do you look after your paint ?
Discussion
I already had some replies from the detailing section but I put this into the porsche section as i would like to have some owner experiences.
My 1994 , guards red 993 is now suffering from some serious colour fade.
I took some advice from the detailing forum, - clay bar, paint cleaning, polish and layers of carnauba wax ( all meguiers products ) and the finish is superb. Until the next wash, say 3 -4 weeks. I lose all gloss on all horizontal surfaces, almost a matt pink colour. I guess this is the oxidising process, I then have to poslish and wax all over again. This cant be good for the paint.
Have any of you had a similar experience and found a wonder product which gives a longer and durable finish?
My 1994 , guards red 993 is now suffering from some serious colour fade.
I took some advice from the detailing forum, - clay bar, paint cleaning, polish and layers of carnauba wax ( all meguiers products ) and the finish is superb. Until the next wash, say 3 -4 weeks. I lose all gloss on all horizontal surfaces, almost a matt pink colour. I guess this is the oxidising process, I then have to poslish and wax all over again. This cant be good for the paint.
Have any of you had a similar experience and found a wonder product which gives a longer and durable finish?
red_slr said:
If its starting to fade you need to get someone to machine polish the car IMHO.
There was a recent thread on a forum somewhere with a very faded 944 in red, machine polished and looked ten times better, if not almost OE.
my problem is what to use to maintain its shine. It goes back to matt after a few weeks, or am I not polishing it enough? I get a good gloss out of it after polishing out the "mattness"There was a recent thread on a forum somewhere with a very faded 944 in red, machine polished and looked ten times better, if not almost OE.
I use meguiars carnauba wax.
red_slr said:
Tell me what you have had done to it so far.
The affected paint is original "indian red" some of it has been repainted over the years, which now shows up the faded original.I had washed and sometimes polished with autoglym products over the years, but noticed the fading was increasing, a quick polish and all was OK.
Last year I was getting concerned that the fading was increasing between monthly washes so took some advice from the detailing forum ( claybar/paint cleaner/carnauba wax - all meguiars )
So now the sun is out , its bleaching the paint and I need to polish/ wax each time I wash to bring back the gloss.
I thought 993 paint had no clearcoat?
It will be, what is known as single stage paint, i.e no clearcoat (the same as all those pink vauxhall corsa's, you have ever seen)
You have to cut back the oxidization to reach fresh paint underneath in days of old, it would be the dreaded T-cut, a rag and a huge dose of elbow grease, now pro detailers will machine it back with a rotary polisher.To prevent re-occurrence, it will need treating with a quality sealant and to guild the lilley, so to speak, a wax top coat for exta piece of mind,this will need re-applying at least at six monthly intervals to maintain the finish.
You have to cut back the oxidization to reach fresh paint underneath in days of old, it would be the dreaded T-cut, a rag and a huge dose of elbow grease, now pro detailers will machine it back with a rotary polisher.To prevent re-occurrence, it will need treating with a quality sealant and to guild the lilley, so to speak, a wax top coat for exta piece of mind,this will need re-applying at least at six monthly intervals to maintain the finish.
As has been said, the fading is caused by the paint oxidising under the effects of sunlight. It's unlikely that hand polishing (and I MEAN polishing, not waxing) will remove sufficient oxidised paint to remove the problem. A machine polish is more likely to result in a sustainable finish. Once restored, a good wax protection - preferably one with some UV protection - should keep the finish for a few months. Washing with Meguiars car shampoo should not harm the wax protection.
Most 993 colours DO have a clearcoat, but Guards Red (indichrot) does not. When you polish the car you should see the red colour come off onto the cloth.
If the finish has been machine polished in the past there is a chance the problem is too severe to solve this way, in which case a repaint is likely the only solution.
Regards
Dave
Most 993 colours DO have a clearcoat, but Guards Red (indichrot) does not. When you polish the car you should see the red colour come off onto the cloth.
If the finish has been machine polished in the past there is a chance the problem is too severe to solve this way, in which case a repaint is likely the only solution.
Regards
Dave
garyjones1962 said:
BIG BAVARIAN said:
...it will need treating with a quality sealant...
computamedic said:
...a good wax protection - preferably one with some UV protection....
Such as? Can you/anyone recommend something?e.g.
http://www.detailingworld.com/forum/showthread.php...
Prior to this I found Autoglym EGP to be acceptable, but it's old hat now, and Zaino is far superior.
MasterBlaster said:
I already had some replies from the detailing section but I put this into the porsche section as i would like to have some owner experiences.
My 1994 , guards red 993 is now suffering from some serious colour fade.
I took some advice from the detailing forum, - clay bar, paint cleaning, polish and layers of carnauba wax ( all meguiers products ) and the finish is superb. Until the next wash, say 3 -4 weeks. I lose all gloss on all horizontal surfaces, almost a matt pink colour. I guess this is the oxidising process, I then have to poslish and wax all over again. This cant be good for the paint.
Have any of you had a similar experience and found a wonder product which gives a longer and durable finish?
I had the same problem on my GR 964 before I sold it last September. In April last year I had the car Permagarded, which is a polymer that bonds to your paint and offers a great finish with UV protection. A year on, the new owner reports the paperwork is still great looking. My front wing was very pink and had a white residue on it, which Permagard cured (and apparently continues to prevent a year on). My 1994 , guards red 993 is now suffering from some serious colour fade.
I took some advice from the detailing forum, - clay bar, paint cleaning, polish and layers of carnauba wax ( all meguiers products ) and the finish is superb. Until the next wash, say 3 -4 weeks. I lose all gloss on all horizontal surfaces, almost a matt pink colour. I guess this is the oxidising process, I then have to poslish and wax all over again. This cant be good for the paint.
Have any of you had a similar experience and found a wonder product which gives a longer and durable finish?
I have all my cars treated with this stuff regardless of colour. They are based near London City airport, but may travel I guess?
garyjones1962 said:
BIG BAVARIAN said:
...it will need treating with a quality sealant...
computamedic said:
...a good wax protection - preferably one with some UV protection....
Such as? Can you/anyone recommend something?Edited by garyjones1962 on Monday 1st June 10:03
I have both, being a professional trade valeter/detailer,zaino Z2 and Z5 are most effective with the ZFX accelerator additive,(basically add three drops to 1oz of product,shake for 1 min and apply as per normal, for extra durability) highly recommended, also finish kare FK1000p sealant paste, is worth a look and at £17.95 a tin an absolute bargain applied every three to six months the tin will last years, as you will use so little, even on a large 4x4.
http://www.seriousperformance.co.uk/Products,52,to...
Collinite 476 , 915 paste sealant wax or 845 gel, are also old favourites ,smells slightly of "moth balls"/solvent, as the wax itself is formulated from naptha,not ideal,but this stuff is durable, easy to use and around £13-14 mark, so not wallet busting by any means.
http://www.seriousperformance.co.uk/Products,52,to...
Collinite 476 , 915 paste sealant wax or 845 gel, are also old favourites ,smells slightly of "moth balls"/solvent, as the wax itself is formulated from naptha,not ideal,but this stuff is durable, easy to use and around £13-14 mark, so not wallet busting by any means.
I have a Guard's Red car - heading for it's seventh birthday, now.
Paint's as good now as it was when I bought it new.
The key? My superb car polishing skills? (pah!) Well - it does look good if I bother to do the whole wax strip, wax application and polish up thing.
But the key is that it's garaged. Sunlight is the killer.
Paint's as good now as it was when I bought it new.
The key? My superb car polishing skills? (pah!) Well - it does look good if I bother to do the whole wax strip, wax application and polish up thing.
But the key is that it's garaged. Sunlight is the killer.
You need to establish whether your car has a clear lacquer over basecoat finish or a single topcoat.
Get some T-cut on a light coloured rag and T-cut a small area. If the rag goes red then you have a single layer topcoat. This needs to be machine polished with a proprietary cutting compound. Doing it by hand will tickle the surface and make it shiny for a while. You need to remove a good thick layer of the paint to get back to un-oxidised paint. All the waxes you use will not take off any of the oxidised paint (or at least not any significant amount). They will improve the look of the paintwork for a moment in the same way wetting the car does but eventually it dries faded again.
If the rag from your little test T-cut remains rag / T-cut coloured then you have clear lacquer over a based coat. It`s game over I`m afraid. The oxidsed colour pigment is sitting under a layer of clear protective lacquer and you can`t get at it to remove the oxidised surface. A re-spray is the only option.
Remember to test every panel on the car because they may well have been painted at different times in the car`s life and there`s no point wasting money on having the car machine polished if one or 2 panels are going to remain pink.
Ultimately the best solution is to re-spray the car.
The post about the clear lacquer "wearing away" is nonsense. It is possible for lacquer to become U/V or heat damaged and fail but that results in either a scratch like finish not unlike brushed stainless steel or very dull paint coupled with an extremely rough to the touch surface where you can feel the edges of the lacquer that does remain and you wouldn`t even get a layer of polish off. It would get stuck under the exposed edges of the lacquer. You notice this phenomenon most on the bonnet of cars in hot countries. The heat from the engine combined with the sun`s rays speeds up the chemical degradation of the lacquer. The brushed stainless steel like flaws in the lacquer are more common in the UK particularly on metallic silver finishes.
Hope that helps.
Oh and don`t worry about the "wouldn`t use T-cut on my car" brigade. If your paint is oxidised you`re going to be removing a good thick layer of paint when it gets machine polished. You`re not just tickling the surface with chocolate smelling carnauba wax and the inside of your good ladies thighs !
Henry
Get some T-cut on a light coloured rag and T-cut a small area. If the rag goes red then you have a single layer topcoat. This needs to be machine polished with a proprietary cutting compound. Doing it by hand will tickle the surface and make it shiny for a while. You need to remove a good thick layer of the paint to get back to un-oxidised paint. All the waxes you use will not take off any of the oxidised paint (or at least not any significant amount). They will improve the look of the paintwork for a moment in the same way wetting the car does but eventually it dries faded again.
If the rag from your little test T-cut remains rag / T-cut coloured then you have clear lacquer over a based coat. It`s game over I`m afraid. The oxidsed colour pigment is sitting under a layer of clear protective lacquer and you can`t get at it to remove the oxidised surface. A re-spray is the only option.
Remember to test every panel on the car because they may well have been painted at different times in the car`s life and there`s no point wasting money on having the car machine polished if one or 2 panels are going to remain pink.
Ultimately the best solution is to re-spray the car.
The post about the clear lacquer "wearing away" is nonsense. It is possible for lacquer to become U/V or heat damaged and fail but that results in either a scratch like finish not unlike brushed stainless steel or very dull paint coupled with an extremely rough to the touch surface where you can feel the edges of the lacquer that does remain and you wouldn`t even get a layer of polish off. It would get stuck under the exposed edges of the lacquer. You notice this phenomenon most on the bonnet of cars in hot countries. The heat from the engine combined with the sun`s rays speeds up the chemical degradation of the lacquer. The brushed stainless steel like flaws in the lacquer are more common in the UK particularly on metallic silver finishes.
Hope that helps.
Oh and don`t worry about the "wouldn`t use T-cut on my car" brigade. If your paint is oxidised you`re going to be removing a good thick layer of paint when it gets machine polished. You`re not just tickling the surface with chocolate smelling carnauba wax and the inside of your good ladies thighs !
Henry
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff