2017 Porsche Cayenne S Exterior Detail

Not long ago, my neighbor brought home a beautiful, black, 2017 Porsche Cayenne S. While admiring this beautiful vehicle and hearing the story of how it ended up in his driveway, the conversation turned to how he could keep it looking good. A few minutes later we agreed on a full exterior detail. I was really excited about the opportunity.

With everything arranged, I then contacted the good folks at Autogeek and pitched the idea of using this vehicle as a canvas to demo new products. I’ve been a regular participant and reviewer on their forums, not to mention a steady customer for many years and felt this was a great opportunity. They agreed, and in a few days a box full of products arrived. Everything was set!

Starting Condition
When the Cayenne first came home, it was late evening under hazy skies. Not the best lighting conditions to evaluate the paint, but overall it looked pretty clean and well maintained. A few days later while setting up the exact day to do the work, we both noticed the black paint actually had metallic flake! This brought back memories of detailing another car I initially assumed to be a boring gray color, but turned out to be a very attractive silver metallic once fully polished out. We also noticed a few swirl marks, but I was now really intrigued and couldn’t wait to see how this beautiful Porsche would turn out.


Step 1: Washing
This Cayenne is a daily driver and several days of wet, rainy weather left it pretty dirty, but nothing a good wash and clay bar treatment wouldn’t fix.

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For the washing stage I start with Optimum’s Car Wash. This car wash continues to be my favorite. It cleans really well, rinses off easily, and leaves no glossing agents or waxes behind. After a good bath the Cayenne already looks better and is now ready for the next step: clay bar.
For those not familiar with detailing clay, it is very similar to the modeling clay you may have used in art class, only stickier. This step removes grime and particles of dirt embedded in the clear coat which leaves the surface feeling rough. Using a clay bar will leave the surface feeling much smoother and will actually brighten lighter colors. Unfortunately for the purpose of this article, the Porsche was maintained well enough nothing was visible on the clay to photograph, but I did notice the surface become much smoother.
Once clean, the Cayenne is looking pretty good, but the water behavior shows a lack of any protection.

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Step 2: Polishing
Before pulling the Porsche into my garage, I took a close look at the surface. Work lights are great for seeing swirls and scratches in specific areas, but nothing beats bright sunlight for assessing larger areas and seeing the true condition of the paint. In bright sunlight I was able to see more swirls than previously realized. This area of the tailgate is a good example.

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Removing Swirls

Work lights provide a different perspective of the swirls and scratches needing removal.

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Since I’ve never worked on this vehicle, I started with a polish and Lake Country’s white Thin Pro pad. This didn’t correct much, so I moved on to a compound and the white pad; my go-to combination for polishing out most vehicles with hard paint. Again, I was not happy with the lack of correction. I then attacked the area with the most aggressive combination in my arsenal: an orange Thin Pro pad and a compound. The good news is this combination provided good correction. The bad news is this approach forces me to take two polishing steps and twice the amount of work. Below is what the 50/50 picture to show what will be possible.

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With a process and a product plan in place it was time to attack this vehicle and make it shine. With a process and a product plan in place it was time to attack this vehicle and make it shine. Before now I've never personally seen things work out to show such a great example.

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Below are a few more before and after pictures.
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I used the new DP polishes for this project and you can find my detailed review HERE

Step 3: Protection

Unlike the polishing steps, there really isn’t much to talk about when it comes to applying a sealant. The key to getting the best results from any modern sealant or wax is to apply it even and thin. Most products shouldn’t be applied really think and will go much further than you realize. Applying it too think only makes it harder to remove. I actually use a very soft, black, Lake Country Flat Pad on my polisher to quickly apply a nice thin coat of sealant evenly across an entire vehicle. I was able to cover the entire Cayenne in only about 20 minutes. Here is a view of a portion of the hood after application.

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A review of the sealant used for this project can be found HERE

Results

Well…what can I say. I’m really happy with how everything turned out.

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Remember that picture of the tailgate with all of the swirls and the metallic flake looking a little dull? I can safely say it looks much better now. Look at how the metal flake pops!

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My neighbor was really pleased with the end result and I am too. This Cayenne S is a beautiful vehicle and now the paint is in great shape it really turns heads! Mission accomplished.

One last picture of this great looking Porsche.

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SWEET!!

Looks awesome, Nate. :props:

Nice work, came out great!

Love it

Nice work on some really hot days! I don't even want to wash my vehicles right now, let alone do a detail!

Looks good!

Wow, beautiful work and documentation. You really transformed that black Porsche. I can well imagine the owner couldn't believe the transformation.

Well done. The new Wolfgang SI02 sealant is the bee's knee's and the icing on the cake.

Thanks for taking the time put together and share.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. It really was a fun project.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pilotpip

Nice work on some really hot days! I don't even want to wash my vehicles right now, let alone do a detail!

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I actually did the work back in early June and finally had a chance to do the write-up. However, it was still high 80's/low 90's and VERY humid. I had a hard time staying hydrated and an even harder time not dripping sweat all over the car while applying the LSP.

The same neighbor wants me to coat their other car, but I'm waiting for it to cool off. Not only would the work be really miserable, but the products simply don't work right in these temps.

Awesome work!