Help with finishing old Porsche 911 paint

[KyuKyu3]

Hello,

I am a noob to detailing. I am restomodding a 91 993 911 I picked up a year ago. It has two stage paint called zenith blue which is a metallic blue. Most of the car is original paint with a door and fender resprayed at one point of it's life.

I am wondering if you can recommend what I do next.

Here is the background...

My car is a driver and has lots of swirls and surface scratches and the original paint sections have pitting as the car started in Arizona and eventually in California for most of it's life. My guess is the car has not had a paint correction before.

I used a PC 7424XP and have assortment of pads from chemical brothers, lake county, and Griot's. And have Meguiar clay, m105 compound, m205 polish, m21 synthetic sealant, and m26 carnuba wax

I started with clay and then a test run of m205 and orange pads which removed the swirls easily. There were lots of scratches still so I then used m105 and smaller 3" orange pads. The m105 removed the light scratches and I left alone the deeper ones that I could feel with my finger nail be as my goal is to preserve the paint.

After one pass of m105 of the entire car, I went back to certain light scratches I wasn't able to get out and hit them again with m105 and removed them.

I left the pits alone as the m105 didn't do anything. I assume you need to get more aggressive which will remove more clear that I am trying to preserve.

I then did one pass of m205 of the entire car with white pads and the paint is starting to be very glossy and mirror like.

I am at a point the paint looks good but not perfect as you can see the pits, rock chips, and deep scratches.

I have m21 synthetic sealant and m26 carnuba wax available.

Is there anything I should do or any other products I should apply before putting on m21?

I saw someone put Rupee/Yellow on a black 95 993 911. What is Rupee/Yellow?

Thanks!







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[JKDesign]

As a disclaimer- DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE THE PITS/ROCK CHIPS/DEEP SCRATCHES! Porsche paint is very much on the thin side (avg of 3-4 mils) and typically soft. Keeping with your goal of trying to preserve what you have is the correct idea. As for what to top it with- that depends on your goal, what you have for products available to you, and what you feel comfortable using- And as Mike Phillips always says- Use what you like and use it often. Your Meguiars products should work fine.

Also I believe FrankS and SizzleChest have extensive experience on this forum when it comes to detailing Porsches.

[FrankS]

I've worked on a few Porsches, I think SizzleChest has done more than me.

JKDesign's recommendations sound good to me.

Factory paint is thin so I wouldn't mess with the deeper scratches if you're trying to preserve the original paint.

You may be able to remove some of the scratches on the repainted areas (since the paint will normally be thicker on resprays) if you feel comfortable doing some wet sanding.

Rupes yellow most likely means, Rupes yellow pads used with the Rupes yellow bottle.

[KyuKyu3]

Thank you!

When I bought the car the PPI indicated 5-6 on the original paint panels (Common for the 993 and prior 911s as these were the last of the hand made/painted Porsches) and 7-9 in the resprayed ones.

Unfortunately, the scratches are on the original paint panels. I did a quick look over in the sun today and got the surface scratches out. Left alone all of the scratches that I could "feel" with my finger/finger nail. I don't have touch up paint yet as I am getting the front bumper cover resprayed next month. When I do, I will fill in the rock chips and the scratches that are down to the primer. For the scratches that are down to the base coat, should I touch those up and buff the finish smooth or leave them alone?

[rangerbay]

Porsche paint can be very finicky. I would leave the deep scratches alone, if they are actually thru to the primer. They may not be as deep as you think, and you might be able to heavy compound or wet sand them out. Very carefully!!!

I would touch up the rock chips. It is nearly impossible to touch up chips and buff them "smooth" if you mean blended. It will still look touched up from up close, but will preserve the panels, and that's what is important.

I hope you have joined the Porsche Club Of America. Its a great group of people, and are helpful and friendly like the folks here.

Bill

[Sizzle Chest]

I would love to see some pictures of your 993! I am going to agree with the statements made in the previous replies...

If you are attempting to 'preserve' your factory paint and are happy with the looks now, leave it as is and put your choice of wax/sealant on it and call it a day and be proud of the work you accomplished!

Yes, you can touch up some of the rock chips/deeper scratches, however, they will most likely always look 'touched up' and not as good as they were as 'chips/nicks/scratches'. My vote would be to leave them alone, especially with your Zenith Blue--it has a fair amount of flake in it and almost looks a bit pearlescent. If you touch up those areas, I'm afraid you will not be happy with the results.

I hope this helps!

[KyuKyu3]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all of the tips. I followed your advice and topped the car off with two coats of M21 synthetic sealant 2.0, and cleaning all of the rubber seals all over the windows and panels. Paint looks amazing now. Will post some pics of my work.

Last two questions...

1. I noticed the M21 sealant does not clean easily from my waxing/red pads. I am using Chemical brothers citrus cleaner which worked fine with M205/M105. What do you all use to clean your pads when sealant is used?

2. I have a bottle of M26 pure carnuba wax . Have not used it in a long time. I heard some people topping M26 on top of M21 for additional pop. What do you think?

[KyuKyu3]

Hi Guys,

I ended up putting one coat of M26 wax on top of the M21 sealant. The finish really pops now. Light was a little flat today but here are a few pics (no filters) of the finished work. Talk about a marathon job. First night-> compound with M105, Second night-> polish with M205 and coat of M21 sealer, Third night-> another coat of M21 sealer, Today-> coat of M26 wax and random black trim cleaning and dressing.





Thanks.

[FrankS]

Nice work, looks great!

[lj993]

When you said old I was thinking of a 60s model, shocked to see the 993. Great car! Drive it like you stole it. Try some Fuzion after you get the paint smoothed out. It will make that blue really pop. Phil