EBPcivicsi
GOT PREP?
Hi everyone! I have been on Autopia for a bit and lurk when I can. I haven`t been able to be as active as I would have lilked over the last few years, but I hope to be around more in the furure. I hope all of my old friends are doing well! I am still doing the same thing..running my shop in Memphis, raising a family, etc.
I recently purchased a 05 Porsche Cayenne Turbo (the deal was too good to refuse)...it is jet black. I have done hundreds of Cayennes throughout the years and the paint seems to range from rock hard to butter soft (seems like most of the older ones were on the soft side). The paint on the truck that I have been working in is *very* soft. I corrected it 99% and was able to finish out (even with a FLEX) with several products..OPT polish, Menzerna PO85RD, M205, Griots finishing crème, etc. The aggravation comes when attempting to wipe these products off..the paint would mar with all of them except M205. All of the other products have more "grab" when removing them..the M205 you can wipe away with the softest of touches. I did try to a towel soaked in ONR to aid the other products in removal, but it made the marring worse(perhaps the fiberd "wicked" and made them more stiff). So I polished it to as close to practical perfection as I could with M205 (99%), then devised a plan to coat it. The problem was that Opticoat needed a paint prep wipe down(especially after M205), which I knew would mar the paint as it gets "grabby." Also, the Opticoat itself is certainly not slick upon initial wipe (removing high spots on the panel). My thought process was then was "how do I apply paint prep to the surface without using a towel?" I decided that I would use a finishing pad, spray the paint prep into the pad, apply to paint..worked great. Now I needed a way to remove the Opticoat without a towel. For this, I simply applied it as usual after the paint prep by hand with a new foam applicator, waited for it to flash (about 3 to 5 min), grabbed some Optiseal, sprayed Optiseal into a foam applicator, and used it to level high spots..worked great..only had a few high spots which I "tickled" off with an ultra plush MF. I then inspected the paint under various light sources and decided it was time to check it in the sun. I could see very faint "tracers" from the foam applicator pads...the paint is so soft that uneven pressure from the hand foam applicator lightly marred the paint. :mellow:
At this point, I switched gears...I was on the fifth day of correcting and thought I was in the final stages. I began to think about maintaining the paint after this. Even using the best and most careful washing/drying techniques, could I maintain it to suitable standards? So I pulled it back in, lightly polished it with M205...this wasn`t a quick buzz around either...in order for M205 to finish on this soft paint it took very slow arm speed, small sections, multiple pads ,etc. I put some NXT on it and pulled it out....I can live with that finish and looks like I will need to apply it monthly depending on how many times a week I wash it
So to my question...what products are you guys using LSP wise that have durable, long-term fillers? I need something quick, easy to wipe off (again, anything that grabs will cause cloth inflicted marring), and preferably not stain trim...
Anyone else have suggestions on a different approach? I really planned on correction, coating, maintain for a few years, lightly polish, recoat, maintain for a few years, etc. That changed once I started working on the paint!
I recently purchased a 05 Porsche Cayenne Turbo (the deal was too good to refuse)...it is jet black. I have done hundreds of Cayennes throughout the years and the paint seems to range from rock hard to butter soft (seems like most of the older ones were on the soft side). The paint on the truck that I have been working in is *very* soft. I corrected it 99% and was able to finish out (even with a FLEX) with several products..OPT polish, Menzerna PO85RD, M205, Griots finishing crème, etc. The aggravation comes when attempting to wipe these products off..the paint would mar with all of them except M205. All of the other products have more "grab" when removing them..the M205 you can wipe away with the softest of touches. I did try to a towel soaked in ONR to aid the other products in removal, but it made the marring worse(perhaps the fiberd "wicked" and made them more stiff). So I polished it to as close to practical perfection as I could with M205 (99%), then devised a plan to coat it. The problem was that Opticoat needed a paint prep wipe down(especially after M205), which I knew would mar the paint as it gets "grabby." Also, the Opticoat itself is certainly not slick upon initial wipe (removing high spots on the panel). My thought process was then was "how do I apply paint prep to the surface without using a towel?" I decided that I would use a finishing pad, spray the paint prep into the pad, apply to paint..worked great. Now I needed a way to remove the Opticoat without a towel. For this, I simply applied it as usual after the paint prep by hand with a new foam applicator, waited for it to flash (about 3 to 5 min), grabbed some Optiseal, sprayed Optiseal into a foam applicator, and used it to level high spots..worked great..only had a few high spots which I "tickled" off with an ultra plush MF. I then inspected the paint under various light sources and decided it was time to check it in the sun. I could see very faint "tracers" from the foam applicator pads...the paint is so soft that uneven pressure from the hand foam applicator lightly marred the paint. :mellow:
At this point, I switched gears...I was on the fifth day of correcting and thought I was in the final stages. I began to think about maintaining the paint after this. Even using the best and most careful washing/drying techniques, could I maintain it to suitable standards? So I pulled it back in, lightly polished it with M205...this wasn`t a quick buzz around either...in order for M205 to finish on this soft paint it took very slow arm speed, small sections, multiple pads ,etc. I put some NXT on it and pulled it out....I can live with that finish and looks like I will need to apply it monthly depending on how many times a week I wash it
So to my question...what products are you guys using LSP wise that have durable, long-term fillers? I need something quick, easy to wipe off (again, anything that grabs will cause cloth inflicted marring), and preferably not stain trim...
Anyone else have suggestions on a different approach? I really planned on correction, coating, maintain for a few years, lightly polish, recoat, maintain for a few years, etc. That changed once I started working on the paint!
