Detailer's Domain: 01 Porsche 911 - Clear Film Removal Nightmare!!!!!!

Detailer's Domain: 01 Porsche 911 - Clear Film Removal Nightmare!!!

You've seen this story play out on Facebook and Instagram, here it is in its entirety.

Subject: an 01 Porsche 911 Carrera needing some much needed love.
Requirements: Remove 1st gen 3M Paint Protection Film - wow has clear film gone a long way! - Full paint correction, Quick Engine Detail, Interior Detail.

This 01 Porsche 911 had a pre cut 1st generation 3m clear film on the car installed when new, unfortunately I'm not sure why dealers sell products without providing proper information to clients. We try very hard to let customers know that clear film should last 3-5 years before it should be removed and or replaced. Clear film will turn and change color over time. It can scratch and it can haze. Some can be polished out and some can not. This takes it to a new level, 12 years of being on the paint without proper car or attention or just old technology? After 20 hours (I know I'm gonna get all the critics for this one, so I'm ready) we were able to remove all the clear film off the mirrors, partial hood, leading edge, and full front bumper. Material used - plastic razor blades, 30 or so mf towels (tossed out later as the adhesive embedded in the towels) 10 microfiber cutting pads, 4 gallons of water in the steamer, lots of blood (bloody knuckles) and blisters. While removing the film we found the installer broke the Porsche crest without replacing it (I've seen this before but why not do the right thing and replace it), the new one is on order and will be shipped to the customer.

After the clear film removal we were able to get 85% + level of paint correction on this car, the normal trouble spots we were not able to approach - hard water spots on the rear decklid and around the rear Carrera badge, years of left over compound and polishes. We danced around those area to avoid breaking the emblem. The products used to correct the paint were Menzerna FG400 with an Meg's MF Cutting Pad, Adam's Paint Correcting Polish with Meg's MF Cutting Pad and Adam's Orange Pad, and finally to get the Guards Red to pop like a candy shell we used Sonax Perfect Finish with an Uber Orange Pad this was all done with the Rupes Bigfoot LHR15 and LHR21. To protect this new found shine and look we used Sonax Polymer Net Shield.

Interior was cleaned up with a quick vac, carpets extracted, leather cleaned and conditioned. (all products used listed below)

Engine was hit quickly with APC and agitated and Adam's In and Out Spray was used to dress it out. (all products used listed below)

Exterior

- Wheels were prepped with Sonax Wheel Cleaner and cleaned up with various brushes
- Tires were spritzed down with Adam’s All Purpose Cleaner and washed down
- Wheel wells were cleaned up
- Washed with Adam's Car Wash
- Decon with Wolf's Decon Gel
- Wash down and rinsed
- Door jambs were cleaned up
- Nano Scrub AutoScrub
- Dried
- Tires dressed
- Masking
- Paint Measurement
- Compound - Menzerna FG400
- Final Polish - Sonax Nano Polish
- Last step - Auto Finesse Desire
- Inspection with Fenix, Brinkmann, and natural sunlight
- Wheel wells were cleaned and dressed
- Rubber and Plastics Treated
- Exterior windows and mirrors cleaned and sealed
- Exhaust tips cleaned
- Windows were auto scrubed, cleaned, and sealed

Interior:
- Complete interior steam cleaned
- Complete interior vac
- Vinyl/Plastics cleaned up
- Leather cleaned and condition

Engine
- Clean
- Dress

Links to products used -

Adam's Car Wash
Auto Finesse Iron Out
Stoner's Tarminator
Auto Finesse Oblitarate
Adam's All Purpose Cleaner
Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner
NanoSkin AutoScrub System
Menzerna FG400
Adam's Paint Correcting Polish
Sonax Perfect Finish
Sonax Polymer Net Shield
Adam's Super VRT
Auto Finesse Crystal Glass Cleaner
Auto Finesse Mercury Metal Polish

Interior
1Z einszett Plastic Deep Cleaner
1Z einszett Cockpit
Leather Master Rapid S
Adam's Leather Conditioner

Tools used
Uber Wool Wash Mitt
Uber No Name MF Towels
Griot's 6 inch Random Orbital Polisher
Rupes LHR75
Rupes BigFoot LHR 21ES Random Orbital Polisher
Rupes BigFoot LHR 15ES Random Orbital Polisher
Uber Buffing Pads
Adam's Orange Pad
Meg's MF Cutting Pad
Defelsko Paint Meter
Fenix TK35
Brinkmann
Kranzle Pressure Washer
Uber Foam Canon
2 Grit Guard Buckets with Caddies
Adam's Firehose Nozzle
Metro Air Force Blaster

Interior before
Leather Master Strong Cleaner used on the leather


1z einszett Plastic Deep Cleaner used over Cockpit for cleaning ability, take a look at how much dirt and grim was pulled off the plastics and leather.


Carpet were cleaned up


Dirt and grime coming out of the mats


Questionable stains on the rear seats - maybe mold, something spilled



After seat cushion


Under the cushions we found



After




Engine: Before



During





Engine: After - a nice quick clean up so the motor job is more complete, this was not a concours leave engine detail - it was clean and dress.



Clear film removal

The mirror


Don't let your clear film get this bad.






Steam - 4 gallons of water used


and now the plastic razor - we repeated these steps till all the clear film was removed, following that we used Tarminator and Obiltarate to soften the adhesive, then we sacrificed more than a few microfiber cutting pads with various compounds to clear it out.





Close up








Pieces of the clear film in the vac




Some of the products used (most were thrown out already)


The moment we all say AHHHHHHHHHH





Broken Porsche crest



Wheel wells were hit up with some Adam's APC and the Wheel Woolies



Wheels cleaned up
Before


Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner






Tires hit with APC and brushed



Full prep on the car after the film removal


Before shots
Hard water spots/dull paint/swirls/scratches/bird poo - this is as good as it gets.







Paint Correction
50/50 shot


50/50 shot


50/50 pass door


50/50 of the pass door and front fender


After
Close up



50/50 shot


Finishing touches (Pre wow followed by Black Wow - advised the customer that this would be a temporary solution and the fading may come back)




Pre Wow pulled quite a bit of dirt and grime off.


Black wow applied




Afters



























Just a recap
Before


After


Enjoy

 

dang! what a pain in the a$$ but them results are awesome the customer had to be thrilled with that turn out!

 

Great work Phil! Lots of determination and patience went into this one. I'm not sure I would have been able to keep my cool with that front clear bra.

 

Wow, Phil and Team !!!!
Unbelievable turn around of a totally neglected, abused, P-car !!!
I am so sorry that the Owner allowed this much ga-ga to happen to one car..
Thank goodness it was brought to you and your team because not many others could/would take this disaster and turn it into ultimate beauty again !
You guys are still the BEST !
Thank you for all the hard work and awesome pics and editing !
Dan F

 

I swear, that old film looked like the "crackle-finish" that my wife would use in ceramics class! Oy, such a nightmare. So much for just grabbing an edge and peeling the film off!!! Well done as always.

PS: saw this on Facebook and had to chime in directly.

 

Wow! I had seen the pics on Facebook with my phone but I couldn't see how BAD it really was! I honestly don't know if I would have taken a job like that on know just how tedious of a job it can be. Props to you and your team Phil for doing the work and bringing her back to life! :applause::worship2:

 

thanks guys! all the pics on Facebook were from my Iphone ; ) so this is the true story right here.

 

Wow. Not much else to say. I've seen a couple of cars on the road that had this problem over the years, and honestly, I figured they were beyond saving. Very nice work bringing a beautiful Porsche back to form.

I do have a question, but it's totally unrelated to the clear film uninstall, which is of course the star of the show. You wrote that you used Leather Masters Strong on the leather. Shortly after that, you wrote, "1z einszett Plastic Deep Cleaner used over Cockpit for cleaning ability, take a look at how much dirt and grim was pulled off the plastics and leather." I have a botttle of Plastic Deep Cleaner, and I rarely use it on anything, because it seems so very strong. It's okay to use that on leather?

I mean, I guess it must be okay, since you did it, but I was quite surprised.

Thanks for the post!

 

Unreal Phil!

That is about the worst PPF I've ever seen... can't believe you managed to turn that around. Glad to see you're making use of the Paint Correcting Polish and seeing good results

 

:applause::worship2:

amazing.

 

That's some serious work, Phil!!! Amazing turn around!

 

Very,very nice Phil !

 

AMAZING Phil!! Always a pleasure to read your write ups.

Do you mind telling me how you applied the wolf decon? Do you spray it on or rub it on as it comes in a jug kinda thing.
Also, I saw that you used both FG400 and Adams Correcting Polish. Can you tell me the difference between the two and which one you find better.

 

the Plastic Deep Cleaner was used on the rear seats did you see them ; ) as well as steam.

 

AMAZING TRANSFORMATION ... you guys killed it!! By far the most dramatic transformation of this year!

 

That clear film was ridiculous.

 

wicked job DD Team!

 

Crazy patience to take that bra off!

So the brittle clear was softened by the steamer? How long did it stay soft?

How long was that bra on the car? That paint was beat up too, that alone would be a massive turn around.

Cheers,
GREG

 

Nastiest PPF I've ever seen and great job removing it. You gave this one a major face lift!

 

Damn......if that paint could talk......!!!?