1999 Midnight Porsche Boxster Restore

Excellent work Richard :xyxthumbs



Just one question about the process, you said two passes of #80, then #83, then #84 on a 9006 pad (then PC). Isn't that kind of in reverse ;) or was that while stepping up?
 
VERY VERY NICE WORK!!!!:2thumbs: You worked long and hard on that one and in a driveway too!!!:wow:



Deanski
 
Fantastic work and a supberb write up to go with it! Very well done. That car looked like it had led a very hard life... :( Supberb turnaround now, car looks sweet! :up
 
Jeez... '99 w/100k in that condition. It looks like a great Ebay buy for about $12k. You would have thought the seller would have found you before he sold it. Nice job.



....but the key marks didn't leave with the bump/scratch man, eh?



j i m
 
Yeah I kind of worked in reverse thanks to always working from least aggressive to more.



It was my process. I initially tried out two passes of M80 and it worked on the spot I tried. I should have done more test spots as I found that it wasn't aggressive enough for all parts of the car. My pad was becoming saturated before the swirls were removed, so I went a step more aggressive using M83. FWIW, I used approx 7 buffing pads for this car.



M83 worked for certain sections but not all. Essentially ended up using a number of different processes on select portions of the car to get the best results. At one point I used my old standby trick of using the M84 Compound with the Finishing Pad--W9006 on my Makita.



The trouble with working on a car in this bad of a shape is you don't know the history. Has the car been buffed? How many times? Did they do any sanding on the paint? What risks am I taking by following my steps. It's best to have the owner fully involved and in sections that were extremely risky, the owner knew if I didn't try to make it look better that a repaint would be necessary anyways, so the risk was worth it to him.

Zet said:
Excellent work Richard :xyxthumbs



Just one question about the process, you said two passes of #80, then #83, then #84 on a 9006 pad (then PC). Isn't that kind of in reverse ;) or was that while stepping up?
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Great turn around!! As always your work is fantastic!! Someone else asked but you haven't asnwered yet....What product did you use on the trim?
 
I saw all the requests about the product I used. It's called ShowCarGarage Trim Dressing. :laugh: Actually the product is from All Brite, but it's kinda hard to source, so I'll be making it available at my shop in Placentia--and for those that can't visit--via online.



admac said:
wow. great job. what is the trim dressing?
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Very nice turn around especially considering its condition when you started.



If I may bring a few things to your attention, and please don't take them in the wrong manner, just trying to help.



You spent alot of time cleaning up and dressing out the trim but you missed the lower trim pieces on the front nose area, just in front of the front tires.



Also make sure you clean the seam where the body panels meet. Porsche's are notorious for harboring dirt in those areas and stick out like a sore thumb when the rest of the car is nicely detailed.



Lastly, when I buff a ragtop I usually just put the top down, buff away then I clean the interior last. On a Porsche Boxster I'll put the top down then cover the area that shows.



I've detailed a few Porsche's and I just wanted to throw a few things I have learned your way.



Again, nice work.

Anthony
 
Looks like a ton of work. Looks great though, very nice turn out. How did your back feel after that long day?
 
Thanks! Actually I did dress the front trim just forward of the front tires. I was on the ground on my back going over the entire car looking up with my Xenon flashlight to make sure I didn't miss anything. All the trim on the car was white or grey before I dressed them, but to the best of my knowledge I did address that particular issue. But looking over that one side view picture it seems I may not have evenly applied the dressing.



I had the ragtop up so that I could wash the car. Because the top itself needed cleaning, which I had used my hot water extractor as well as the Meguiar's Xtractor brush to remove lint, I didn't see any benefits to working with the top down.



This was my 5th Porsche in the past 7 months and the worst of them all! LOL



As far as body panels go, I normally tape these off to prevent wax/polishes from getting in the crevices in the first place. When I'm all done, I go over everything with my Meguiar's Triple Duty brush and QD and clean anything that may have still slipped into the cracks.



Richard





Anthony Orosco said:
Very nice turn around especially considering its condition when you started.



If I may bring a few things to your attention, and please don't take them in the wrong manner, just trying to help.



You spent alot of time cleaning up and dressing out the trim but you missed the lower trim pieces on the front nose area, just in front of the front tires.



Also make sure you clean the seam where the body panels meet. Porsche's are notorious for harboring dirt in those areas and stick out like a sore thumb when the rest of the car is nicely detailed.



Lastly, when I buff a ragtop I usually just put the top down, buff away then I clean the interior last. On a Porsche Boxster I'll put the top down then cover the area that shows.



I've detailed a few Porsche's and I just wanted to throw a few things I have learned your way.



Again, nice work.

Anthony
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Let me put it this way. It's Friday, well Thursday night. I did the work on Monday. I'm still sore from that day.



panger said:
Looks like a ton of work. Looks great though, very nice turn out. How did your back feel after that long day?
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Yeah i hear ya sometimes when I get home my back is shot and my hands are numb but nothing feels better than seeing an amazing finished vehicle.
 
It's hard work restoring a finish! I actually look forward to when work slows down giving me more time to recover between jobs. I was working everyday for 3 months at one point and I was so beat up and broken that it was unhealthy to be pushing your body so hard without proper rest. I mean it was great being busy, and the money was good, but that was just too much.



panger said:
Yeah i hear ya sometimes when I get home my back is shot and my hands are numb but nothing feels better than seeing an amazing finished vehicle.
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OctaneGuy said:
I saw all the requests about the product I used. It's called ShowCarGarage Trim Dressing. :laugh: Actually the product is from All Brite, but it's kinda hard to source, so I'll be making it available at my shop in Placentia--and for those that can't visit--via online.
Click to expand...

what's the durability like? i might drop by some time and pick some up.
 
I'm targeting my shop to be open for business by Feb.1. I just signed the lease papers today, and still moving in. I've used it on my MINI Cooper which has a lot of black trim. It lasts for months, and reapplication is very simple. I've tried all kinds of dressings that last only a week, or leave the surface sticky to attract dirt.



admac said:
what's the durability like? i might drop by some time and pick some up.
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