Upcoming Porsche (GT3) detail - need some advice

lawrenceSA

lawrenceSA

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So I will be detailing my first Porsche this weekend and have a few questions.

The owner has some decals on the car which he wants to keep so no chance of removing them. Will a tar remover (like AF Oblitarate) and iron remover (AF Iron out) be safe to get on the decals? If not, I will probably just clay only to decontaminate.

Has anyone got some tips for taping off the decals. I don't want to be polishing over them, especially if the car needs some compounding (Haven't seen it in person yet).

Is the paint 'generally' hard or soft - color is midnight blue.

Any known issues with Porsche paint or anything out of the ordinary to look out for?

Thanks in advance
 
Man I feel ya!! Sorry for the lack of advice. I would tape off the decals. As for the paint a spot test is in order, however, I do believe all German made cars are hard. As for a great wax there is a wax specifically made for Porsche Paints and that would be the final coat. I can at least give you that advise.

But most of all you will do fine and you will KICK A z z as you will be using your talents!
 
I don't think you need to worry about removing the decals. If you are, just don't spray that particular area. I believe others have said Porsche is a soft paint and thin on the protruding areas.
 
Thanks guys

Here is a low quality pic the owner just sent me.

View attachment 26035

What are your guys thoughts on getting tar/iron remover on those decals

I certainly cannot remove them

Gonna be fun and games trying to tape that lot off, whilst still leaving access to polish the surrounding paint
 
lawrenceSA said:
So I will be detailing my first Porsche this weekend and have a few questions. The owner has some decals on the car which he wants to keep so no chance of removing them. Will a tar remover (like AF Oblitarate) and iron remover (AF Iron out) be safe to get on the decals? If not, I will probably just clay only to decontaminate. Has anyone got some tips for taping off the decals. I don't want to be polishing over them, especially if the car needs some compounding (Haven't seen it in person yet).
Is the paint 'generally' hard or soft - color is midnight blue.
Any known issues with Porsche paint or anything out of the ordinary to look out for? Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Advice:

- Tape off the decals really well. These can be rather expensive to replace, and Porsche owners tend to love them.
- Soak the car in Iron Out in the shade for 10-15 minutes. You'll be surprised what comes off when you rinse it.
- Once you think it's rinsed off, keep rinsing.
- Porsche paint is soft as butter, highly unlikely you will have to compound it.
- Make sure to get an ultra-fine polish and pad to finish it. Menzerna 4500 or Rupes Ultra Diamond work great.

Best of luck...I'll be watching this one :dblthumb2:
 
Most of the GT3 and GT3 RS cars I have done in the past have had pretty soft paint in my opinion.

Most of the time, unless you are repairing a heavy scratch or very heavy swirling, you should be able to do almost all of your correction with a polish alone with the right pad choice.

I would suggest taping the decals off while polishing just for good measure and to be safe. This I suppose also depends how much time you will be spending on the lower areas and in general to fit the customers budget.

I don't think you should have any problem with an iron remover or tar remover, but I would try to avoid any overuse if necessary(along with test spots as usual) Either way they are pretty resilient, and I've never had an issue personally.

I will tape slightly over the line so polish doesn't jam in the seam of the vinyl. I then remove the tape and make one pass close to or overlapping the vinyl to clean up and line. Some may do it different, but just my suggestions.

There may be an occasional thin area, but unlike the Ferrari paint, Porsche paint will have much less orange peel and will be overall better in finish. Not nearly as many issues, defects, or irregularities in the paint. The only other thing I can think of is check for carbon ceramic brakes to determine your plan of attack for wheel cleaning.

Sweet cars for sure! In fact, probably one of my favorites!

Have fun and Congrats! :props: I wouldn't be worried at all from the other write ups and cars I've seen you post!

I'll be waiting for the finished :Picture:
 
Test spot first, I think a polish such as rupes keramik will do fine.
Do yourself a favor ,do the motor after you was, first one I did I forgot the engine gets wet when washing!LOL!
 
smack said:
Dont have any advice for you Lawrence as I have not worked on one.

Can't wait to see you get your hands on it!
Click to expand...
Thanks for chiming in anyway Mike. I must admit I rather excited to see what it looks like before and after myself.

TundraPower said:
Advice:

- Tape off the decals really well. These can be rather expensive to replace, and Porsche owners tend to love them.
Noted
- Soak the car in Iron Out in the shade for 10-15 minutes. You'll be surprised what comes off when you rinse it.
I am very concerned about letting the iron out dry on the car, perhaps unnecessarily so.... I always have the car indoors when I spray it down (using around 300ml to 600ml depending on the size of the car) but tend to then let it sit for about a minute then spread with a damp mitt, and then pull it out to rinse.....). Do you think I am not allowing the product sufficient time to work? What are the risks of letting it dry?
- Once you think it's rinsed off, keep rinsing. Standard practice:dblthumb2:
- Porsche paint is soft as butter, highly unlikely you will have to compound it. Could you compare it to Subaru paint? I have done a few with nothing more than SF4000 on a crimson pad...
- Make sure to get an ultra-fine polish and pad to finish it. Menzerna 4500 or Rupes Ultra Diamond work great. I wish. This is South Africa and access to products is severely limited and shipping costs and the exchange rate even make AG too costly....:bash: I do have some SF4000 though and may have to rely on Blacklight to eek out some gloss:dunno:

Best of luck...I'll be watching this one :dblthumb2:
thanks:xyxthumbs:
Click to expand...

David@LakeCountry said:
Most of the GT3 and GT3 RS cars I have done in the past have had pretty soft paint in my opinion.

Most of the time, unless you are repairing a heavy scratch or very heavy swirling, you should be able to do almost all of your correction with a polish alone with the right pad choice.

I would suggest taping the decals off while polishing just for good measure and to be safe. This I suppose also depends how much time you will be spending on the lower areas and in general to fit the customers budget.

I don't think you should have any problem with an iron remover or tar remover, but I would try to avoid any overuse if necessary(along with test spots as usual) Either way they are pretty resilient, and I've never had an issue personally.

I will tape slightly over the line so polish doesn't jam in the seam of the vinyl. I then remove the tape and make one pass close to or overlapping the vinyl to clean up and line. Some may do it different, but just my suggestions.

There may be an occasional thin area, but unlike the Ferrari paint, Porsche paint will have much less orange peel and will be overall better in finish. Not nearly as many issues, defects, or irregularities in the paint. The only other thing I can think of is check for carbon ceramic brakes to determine your plan of attack for wheel cleaning.

Sweet cars for sure! In fact, probably one of my favorites!

Have fun and Congrats! :props: I wouldn't be worried at all from the other write ups and cars I've seen you post!

I'll be waiting for the finished :Picture:
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for your kind words and advice, all of which is well noted:props:

Mike lambert said:
Test spot first, I think a polish such as rupes keramik will do fine.
Do yourself a favor ,do the motor after you was, first one I did I forgot the engine gets wet when washing!LOL!
Click to expand...
Test spots are ALWAYS my starting point - some of the best advice I EVER received....

As mentioned earlier, product selection is very limited so I will have to make do with my limited Menz collection.
 
lawrenceSA said:
Thanks for chiming in anyway Mike. I must admit I rather excited to see what it looks like before and after myself. Thank you very much for your kind words and advice, all of which is well noted:props:Test spots are ALWAYS my starting point - some of the best advice I EVER received....As mentioned earlier, product selection is very limited so I will have to make do with my limited Menz collection.
Click to expand...

1 minute is not enough time to let Iron Out work. 5 minutes minimum, 15 minutes maximum. Let it soak indoors just like you are and don't let it dry. I do not spread it around by hand I just make sure everything is coated. I probably use too much but that's okay.
 
TundraPower said:
1 minute is not enough time to let Iron Out work. 5 minutes minimum, 15 minutes maximum. Let it soak indoors just like you are and don't let it dry. I do not spread it around by hand I just make sure everything is coated. I probably use too much but that's okay.
Click to expand...

Please can you explain to me how you are able to keep the iron out 'wet' for 10 minutes.....

After 3 to 4 minutes, even in the garage, the stuff is starting to dry out on the paint.... am I spraying too little? How much will you use on an average sized hatchback?

Or is it the weather over here that is an issue - I would guesstimate temps are on average somewhere between 25 to 30 degrees celcius and humidity 60 to 80%

I do 'feel' like I am not leaving it on long enough, but don't know how to stop it from drying so quickly...paint is always cool....?

:dunno:
 
lawrenceSA said:
Please can you explain to me how you are able to keep the iron out 'wet' for 10 minutes.....
After 3 to 4 minutes, even in the garage, the stuff is starting to dry out on the paint.... am I spraying too little? How much will you use on an average sized hatchback? Or is it the weather over here that is an issue - I would guesstimate temps are on average somewhere between 25 to 30 degrees celcius and humidity 60 to 80% I do 'feel' like I am not leaving it on long enough, but don't know how to stop it from drying so quickly...paint is always cool....?
:dunno:
Click to expand...

Sounds like you're just not putting enough on. I imagine 1 liter would be about right for a small hatchback. I had to use 2 liters on a white Mercedes sedan. Make sure every inch of the entire car is saturated. It should drip off the car onto the ground. Iron Out is expensive. I charge $50-$75 extra to use it.
 
TundraPower said:
Sounds like you're just not putting enough on. I imagine 1 liter would be about right for a small hatchback. I had to use 2 liters on a white Mercedes sedan. Make sure every inch of the entire car is saturated. It should drip off the car onto the ground. Iron Out is expensive. I charge $50-$75 extra to use it.
Click to expand...

Thanks - yip definitely sounds like I am using too little then.... have never used more than 500ml.......

But am very keen to try your method and see the results.

Thanks for the advice:dblthumb2:
 
Beautiful car, and I know you're going to do great. I agree with the advice given, as a Porsche owner, and think that if you're methodical with your approach you'll have no problem. Can't wait to see the write up!
 
Iron x you can use, but I would not use tar x or any tar remover because that could remove decals, even if you get a bit on it, not worth the risk.
 
Radarryan said:
Beautiful car, and I know you're going to do great. I agree with the advice given, as a Porsche owner, and think that if you're methodical with your approach you'll have no problem. Can't wait to see the write up!
Click to expand...
Thank you, not only for your kind words, but also for chiming in as a Porsche owner. Being a VAG enthusiast, I truly appreciate the chance to get to detail a Porsche, especially the GT3:dblthumb2:

HUMP DIESEL said:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/78169-ford-fx4-black-black.html#post1069300

Check this out. This Ford had the decals on the side. I carefully taped them, actually letting the tape come over the edge of the decal onto the paint to not inadvertently get polish under the tape and therefore under the decal. I did seal over it with Opti-Seal.

HUMP
Click to expand...
Thanks - yes I am going to have some fun taping up the decals... will be like being in junior school again :laughing:
 
The black Porsche GT3 I detailed a few months ago was SUPER SOFT. I basically used a black pad with Menzerna SF4000 and litterally did 4 passes to get it corrected to 95%. Here are the defects I was seeing on inspection (other pics in the FB album)

999580_560040437391668_2058959778_n.jpg


The decals and emblems were all taped (wide tape so I could overlap it with the polisher).

The end result made the countless hours worth it!

1016399_560040874058291_800140532_n.jpg


Good luck on your project, and make sure to create a Show 'N Shine for it!
 
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