Request for advice - Porsche 911 Jet Black paint

[DoubleDare]

Hi all,

I recently traded in a Mineral Grey BMW 435i for a Jet Black Metallic Porsche 911.

On the 435i, I'd gotten good results with Menzerna SF-3500 (Lake Country white pads), then Menzerna PowerLock and P21s Concours or 100% Carnuba wax.

I understand 911 paint, especially black, is a lot softer though, so not sure where to start.

The 911 has about 700 miles now, and there's light scratching on one door, but everything else looks good.

Thoughts on what works best for 911 black paint?

Also, there's a lot of exterior black plastic trim - front spoiler, rear spoiler, engine vents, etc. Any recommendations for that?

Many thanks. . .

[zmcgovern45]

Is SF-3500 the only product you have currently?

If not, please list what you currently have at your disposal with regards to machines, compounds, polishes, and pads... that will help us help you :)

[DoubleDare]

Is SF-3500 the only product you have currently?

If not, please list what you currently have at your disposal with regards to machines, compounds, polishes, and pads... that will help us help you :)

Hi Zach,

Thanks - here's what I have:

- Menzerna 3500 and 3800

- Flex 3401 DA polisher for large areas and Rupes LHR 75e DA polisher for small areas.

- 3" and 5" LC pads in white, red and black.

- Powerlock and Blackfire Wet Diamond sealants

- Blackfire Souveran and Synergy waxes, and P21s Concours and 100% Carnuba waxes

- Blackfire and P21s paint cleansing creams

- various clays, clay lubricant and diluted isopropyl/distilled water mix.

I'm open to other products if they'll provide better results. Looking for paint protection first, then shine and depth, with durability desirable but last priority.

The front end now has X-pel Ultimate full coverage.

Thanks again.

[acuRAS82]

Once polished: Synergy is the most protection and durability from my experience, powerlock second. Both look great in their own way (as does Blackfire sealant). Souveran would look great for a little while on any of those if you want to spice things up.

[Sizzle Chest]

Start with your least aggressive combo first and see what results you get with that. If need be step up pad and or polish/compound, do a section/test spot, and see where you are.

Then you will know what your paint 'likes'!


And coat your black plastics. It will help in the maintenance of it as well as the looks!

[DoubleDare]

Once polished: Synergy is the most protection and durability from my experience, powerlock second. Both look great in their own way (as does Blackfire sealant). Souveran would look great for a little while on any of those if you want to spice things up.

Thank you Scanlon. So if you were aiming for depth and warmth, would you use Souveran over Powerlock or something else?

[acuRAS82]

Thank you Scanlon. So if you were aiming for depth and warmth, would you use Souveran over Powerlock or something else?

For depth and warmth on black, I would (but haven’t tried yet) use souveran on top of Blackfire sealant. Blackfire does really well with the Wet Fire over Ice look, in this case switching up the Midnight Sun paste with Souveran, I imagine this would be a great, wet look. The base of Blackfire may not last quite as long as Powerlock based on my own personal experience, but it’s not a huge difference. Besides, it’s going to be the topcoat of Souveran that you will want to re-apply more often as the deep carnauba look starts to dissipate after heavy rains, enough washed or just natural causes. I do think Souveran looks as good as anything else on black paint, so whether you use Blackfire or Powerlock underneath, the final look will look deep and warm. Hope this helps, sorry if I’m back and forth, but I think there are numerous combinations that will satisfy you eye based on your LSP inventory.

[acuRAS82]

DoubleDare, I just noticed you do have the Blackfire paste wax. Given that your Porsche has metallic black paint, using the Blackfire’s together might do well for the flakes, whereas Souveran may mute the flakes a bit. I haven’t used P21S in sometime so can’t recall if it mutes flakes... or more importantly, whether you desire to have flakes “pop” vs muted.

[DoubleDare]

Thanks Scanlon, a few things to think about there.

@Sizzle Chest, coating the plastics sounds like a good idea. Do you have a favorite for Porsche plastics? CQuartz DLux seems like a possibility. . .

[DoubleDare]

Thanks again gentlemen.

In case helpful for others, I'm getting excellent results from Menzerna 3500 on LC white pads, four section passes normal pressure, then 2-4 light pressure to bring up the gloss.

Tried Menz 3800 on LC grey pads, then Menz 3500 on LC grey pads, but scratches remained.

[Sizzle Chest]

DoubleDare: I've used Dlux with good results. I don't necessarily have a favorite, I've used a bunch!