New to detailing- Where should I start?

[IFlyLow]

Hi all,
I am completely overwhelmed by the information on this forum! I drive an '01 Speed Yellow Porsche, with a decent finish. Looks like the bumpers were damaged and repaired befre I picked it up, but overall in good shape.

Without going into detail (get it?) What should be the first step in the paint detailing process? It looks like the previous owner used the car wash quite a bit, and there are plenty of swirls.

I don't own any power tools, but father's day is coming! :xyxthumbs:

 

[LuxuryMobile]

I would start with a full wash and get all the door jambs and wheel wells/wheels etc clean. The car will probably need to be clay barred and you could probably use some Iron-x on it.

Once the car is clayed you can determine if you want to try to correct the paint by hand. I would suggest using a quality sealant then wax and skipping the correction until you have the proper tools and knowledge to accomplish that task.

Where are you located?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Wash the car and get it really clean, then do

The Baggie Test - How to inspect for above surface bonded contaminants


Check to see if the paint needs to be clayed. If it hasn't been clayed in the recent past then it will likely need to be clayed.

Then move the car into bright overhead sun and look for swirls in the paint, move the car and stand in a way so that the sun reflects onto the hood and you can see the sun in the finish.

You'll probably see something that looks like this only because the paint is yellow, (a light color), the swirls won't be so apparent like they show up on black paint.

If you see swirls, you can opt to remove them by hand, (time consuming and requires a high degree of skill and elbow grease), or by machine.

New to Machine Polishing?

How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project

New - Video: How to pick the right polisher


Read this, it's a real-world story and you can do the same thing... this was this guy's FIRST time machine polishing.

Proof You Can Do It! - Joe The Detailer - Black Porsche Turned into Black Pearl!


Once you decide to move up to machine polishing, the PC style DA Polishers are the easiest to learn how to use and master, so take a look at one of these, another option is the Flex 3401, you'll find ardent fans in both camps.

 

[Nozama]

On that note, I got my Flex yesterday and ran one panel real quick. Such a meaty machine and cut like the 7424 never has.