7/25/2017 Detail Day 11, hardtopI had removed the hardtop while I worked on the body of the car due to the 1-2" overhang around the clamshell. Once reinstalled, the top presents a few challenges. First, my hardtop has several scratches from the previous owner who had stored the top without a cover, and then leaned a ladder up against it. When I purchased it almost 10 years ago, I used OEM Porsche Touch Up Paint to try and repair the damage, and did an very poor job. I made the scratches much, much worse, including installing more scratches when I attempted to wet sand the touchup paint.
7/23/2017 Detail Day 8-10, compound and polishAs I mentioned before, I severely under estimated the time required to do a two step paint correction. I just finished, and I would say I spent about 12 hours total on the paint. Compounding was fairly straightforward, and worked well using the microfiber cutting discs and D300 compound. However, I found the thin 5" pads are difficult to use everywhere other than the hood, as almost every panel of the 986 is curved. Even the door panels have a concave curve that made using the thin pads troublesome. I think I will probably use an orange foam pad next time. As a beginner, I think the thicker pad will be more forgiving and easier to use, which will help me achieve better results.
7/17/2017 Detail Day 7 - paint correctionLet me start by saying, I totally underestimated the amount of work a two step paint correction would be. I started very slowly and have been taking my time. I started by cleaning the panel with Optimum Paint Prep to make sure there was nothing on the panel that could get into a microfiber or foam pads and cause scratches. I then tested a white foam polishing pad with Menzerna SF3500 finishing polish. It took out a lot of the minor scratches, but was not taking out the bigger ones. After that first test, I felt confident I was not dealing with soft paint, so I went to a microfiber cutting pad with D300 compound.
7/16/2017 Detail Day 6 - paint prepI decided yesterday that I needed to include my hardtop in this detail instead of doing it later. After installing it on the car I performed another strip wash with car soap and dawn, and used a clay bar to remove any contaminates from the hard top. I was surprised by how much came off the front of the hardtop, although it makes sense since the top is arched.
7/14/2017 Detail - emblem cleaningDuring the week I had a little spare time, so I decided to work on the rear Boxster emblem. This emblem has been incredibly frustrating to keep clean, and I have thought about removing it completely, but I am not a fan of the de-badged look. My emblem had a lot of wax and other gunk in it, and simply washing it had not done anything to clean it up.
7/9/2017 Detail Day 5 - interior & trunksToday I started by treating the leather seats with Griot's Leather Care. I had never used this product and initially I thought it did not work very well, but I realized I was applying way too much. Once I started using less it went on really well, I let it sit for about 30 minutes then gently buffed the leather seats, steering wheel and shifter boot with a microfiber towel. I then reinstalled the seats and airbag deactivation bar and torqued to the correct 48 ft-lbs. I also reinstalled my fire extinguisher after hitting it with some spray sealant that made the red powder coat pop.
7/8/2017 Detail Day 4 - interiorI did not have a ton of time today, but I did some work on the interior. I reinstalled all of the carpet and the floor mats, then wiped down the entire interior using a damn microfiber cloth to pickup any dirt or dust. I paid special attention to the painted center console, which had some things hardened on the surface. Once everything was clean I applied Spritz Sealant (similar to a spray wax) to a foam applicator pad and applied it to the painted center console and painted roll bar. While not necessary, I lightly wiped/buffed the painted surfaces after a few minutes.
I started early and washed my car again, with foam and water only, to remove any dust that had accumulated on the paint while I waited for a few replacement products to arrive, after I had two different orders arrive with leaking bottles. I focused on cleaning the wheel wells thoroughly, and also agitated the soft top with a brush to see if it was possible to remove any more of the black marks caused by the top mechanism. Unfortunately, it looks like those are permanent.
6/28/2017 Day 2 - Detail, service & wheel wellsToday, I lifted the car and performed an oil change. I used the wooden cribs seen in photo above to lift the car 6" before putting it on my Esco stands which have a minimum height of 13" inches. I used the rear jack point to lift the front onto stands, then the center rear jack point under the engine to lift both rear wheels onto stands.
6/26/2017 Day 1 - Detail, strip wash & wheel waxI recently decided that I need to correct the swirl marks in my Ocean Blue Metallic 986. The car has never been polished or had any paint correction, but I have always kept it clean and waxed. To begin my multi-day detail, I first needed to thoroughly wash the car and strip any remaining wax or sealant from the paint. I began early to avoid the heat.
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