Two Cars with different needs - Help needed

[93ls1rx7]

So late in the summer I was lucky enough to pick up a 2008 Porsche 911 Turbo that is Midnight Metallic Blue with a black leather interior. The gentlemen I bought the car from had decided to also get rid of a 2002 Dodge 2500 Dually Pickup truck that he was going to give away....I told him I would take it and basically ended up with an almost ridiculous 2 for 1 deal. So enough of the background, on to my issues:

1. The Porsche problems (Midnight Metallic Blue Paint): The gentlemen I bought the car from was big into horses and spent a lot of time at his farm that is located in the Black Forest in Germany (I am currently stationed in Germany). The only issue was he would take the Porsche to the farm and park it under the trees. This resulted in a lot of small sap drops on the car that unfortunately sat on the car for a long time....there are also some other small issues like water spots, 1-2 small scratches and one spot where it looks like bird droppings were left on the car. Never smoked in and the interior is perfect.

2. The Truck problems (Black Paint): This was the horse hauler and was probably never washed except for rain since it was bought new in 2002. There are some small rust spots that I will address but the detailing is what I want some advice on. There is pretty heavy oxidation, some decent scratches, and the interior.....the interior was smoked in, ashtray used but NEVER cleaned.

So the questions I have are this keeping in mind I have no equipment/chemicals etc right now except a clay bar and some wash soap:

1. Porsche Sap removal - I tried clay barring it and it worked on some of the sap but it took literally 2 days and there is still sap left. What recommendations to remove the sap? More grit clay bar? Chemical (if a chemical what is something that wont hurt the Porsche paint (150k+ new car cost, I dont want to kill the paint)

2. Porsche Water spot removal - pad type and compound type?

3. Porsche bird dropping removal - pad type and compound type?

4. Porsche scratch/swirl/cleanup/final detail - pad type(s) and compound type(s)?

5. Truck exterior oxidation cleanup - pad type and compound type?

6. Truck Scratch removal - pad type and compound type?

7. Truck Interior cleaning - techniques, chemicals to clean and remove the smoke smell?

I am getting a PC 7424xp for the machine work if it makes any difference.

Thanks for the help, I know this is one heck of a first post!! I can post pictures if it helps, I attached one of the Porsche on the day it was purschased.

[Evan.J]

First off welcome to the forum and Thank You for your service!

Where are you stationed at in Germany?

There is a Member here Smack aka Mike who is stationed in Germany as well. If you two are close maybe he could give you a hand.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

There is a Member here Smack aka Mike who is stationed in Germany as well. If you two are close maybe he could give you a hand.

Thanks for looking out Evan.

First off, welcome to AGO!

I am stationed in Germany as well. Im on Spangdahlem. Where are you?
Would not mind helping a fellow member out.

Mike

[93ls1rx7]

Mike, I am in Stuttgart so I am about 4 hours away. It would have been great if you were around.

[wheaton2010]

That is a gorgeous Porsche! It makes me want to start looking for one!

You will need to have a lot of patience since you have an incredible vehicle which has been severely neglected. And… you are new to detailing. I would not rush into the polishing at first. My approach would be as follows: Start with the truck, don’t start with the Porsche. What you learn detailing the truck will save your bacon. Leave the compounding / polishing / waxing until last.

First, I would wash and clean the vehicle so that it is immaculate. Clean everything including the engine, wheels, wheel wells, windows, etc. There is not a lot of accomplishment feedback in this part and it will not look that great, but it will prevent the dirt and grease from being spread around.

Second, I would do as much with the clay bar as possible. There are some things that will come off with a clay bar that even a polisher will have a hard time with. Go over the panels again and again. Anything you can get off with the clay bar means you are not compounding the clear coat. I have spent days claying paint and it is absolutely amazing what comes off. It is preparing the paint for compounding and polishing.

Third, I would wash the vehicle with Iron-X. This will remove the iron contaminates that the clay bar missed. It is difficult to clay in between door panels, etc. and the Iron-X will reach those areas. If you did a great job claying, you will think the Iron-X is not working very well. In reality, you just did a great job claying.

Fourth, polish the vehicle to remove the scratches and swirls. Use a non-aggressive polish/pad combination at first. This is so you don’t screw it up. Start with something like an orange pad with Maguire’s M205. Start on a lower body panel that will normally not be inspected. If this doesn’t remove the scratches and swirls to you satisfaction, you always use something more aggressive like a yellow pad with Maguire’s M105. There are a lot of other good products.

Fifth, use a wax or sealant to finish off the vehicle. I like Collinite 845 wax but lately I have been really happy with Maguire’s M21 sealant. It puts a nice protective finish on the paint.

I estimate that you will easily spend between 80-150 hours to get your truck to look like new. Hopefully, at the same time you will be reading this forum, watching videos, reading this forum, and trying various products that others have found to work well. And did I mention reading this forum?

Since you don’t have a lot of experience and this is not a time sensitive project (i.e. someone is not picking up the car tomorrow), don’t feel like you have to get it looking perfect the first time. You can always polish and wax it again next month. Once you’ve made some mistakes on the truck (but now it looks brand new), hopefully you won’t make the same mistakes on the Porsche. I don’t have all of the answers, but this is how I would start. Good luck!

Oh, and a huge THANK YOU FOR SERVING US! IT IS APPRECIATED MORE THAN YOU KNOW! :xyxthumbs:

[vet]

Welcome to the forum, thanks for serving! Sounds like you got a great deal on the purchase. Congrats!

[93ls1rx7]

Wheaton thanks for the advice. The plan was definitely to learn on the truck. Hopefully by the time I get finished with it, th Porsche won't be as scary.

I have been reading the forum a lot the last few weeks but honestly when you first get here it takes a long time to figure out all the different stuff folks talk about....flat pads vs curved, 10000 different compounds, different colored pads from different manufacturers that may or may not be different and the list goes on. Shoot it took me a week to figure out with da I wanted!

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

For removal of tree sap I would use CarPro TarX. This should remove what the clay bar could not.

Have you ordered the machine yet?

For pads I would order the Lake Country 5.5" hydro tech pads. You will need all three pads from the line up with at least three of each.

For polishes order Menzerna. Sounds like you will need a great variety based on description of paint problems. Pick up FG400, SI1500, SF4000, and SF4500. This way you will have all products on hand to get you through your test spots on what needs to be accomplished with the paint.

Mike

[93ls1rx7]

Mike I haven't ordered the machine yet. I was going to do one bigger order to help reduce shipping costs.

Thanks for the advice!

[wheaton2010]

Be careful with the clay. If your clay is too aggressive (like CG purple) you can easily rough up the clear coat. It's nothing that a DA won't take out, but just a FYI.