This beautiful 09’ Porsche 911 Carrera S was purchased as a leftover and the odometer was showing only 34 miles when it arrived at the shop. The new owner had literally just picked it up from the dealer and brought the car directly to us for a new car prep and paint protection film (clear-bra) to make sure the car got off to a healthy start. I had been talking to the owner for a couple weeks prior to the appointment and discussed clear-bra options. The goal was to provide maximum protection to the areas that are most prone to stone chips, without taking away any of the cars natural beauty. We decided to install film to the entire front-end of the car (complete hood, complete fenders, complete front bumper), side mirrors, the lower rocker panels and the area behind the rear wheels. Before the film could be applied, it was critical to get the finish looking as perfect as possible. The film is so clear that any defects underneath would be visible, so it was very important to take our time on the prep to make sure the film would look its best and have a perfectly prepped surface to adhere to. Knowing that dealers LOVE to use cheap glazes that mask defects, I was pretty sure that the exterior was going to need some serious attention. Being a leftover meant that the car has probably had its fair share of improper washes and plenty of wipedowns with dirty towels, etc. over the last year or so. As we all know, dealerships are the worst culprits for improper techniques, which normally results in some sort of damage. The first step was to wash and prep the exterior to get it ready for polishing. I began to rinse the exterior and saw that the paint was beading like crazy, which meant that there was some sort of wax, sealant, glaze or quick detailer embedded in the paint. All wheels, tires and wheel wells were extensively cleaned with a variety of different brushes using Optimum Power Clean diluted 4 to 1. In order to strip whatever products were embedded in the paint, I gave the exterior and wash using regular car soap, then followed behind and degreased the paint with CG Grime Reaper using a microfiber towel to ‘scrub’ the paint until it was no longer beading as seen below. As you can see, the degreaser worked well at stripping any previous products from the paint (no longer beading). After the car was fully washed and stripped, I dried the exterior, wiped down all door, hood & trunk jambs with a microfiber towel and purged all cracks & crevices with compressed air to remove any remaining water. I inspected the car carefully under halogen lighting to see what I was up against and discovered some moderate damage scattered throughout the car. The pictures below give you an idea what we were dealing with on this BRAND NEW car. As you can see, some of the areas were not bad at all, but others needed some attention to make the car look its best. Paint thickness readings were taken as a precaution, then all trim and moldings were masked off with blue painters tape to prevent any possible damage when polishing. Since Porsche paint is very soft, I was confident that a 2-step polishing treatment would do the trick. Ryan and I polished the complete exterior using M105 (new version) using an orange foam pad via PC 7424XP to remove the heavier defects, then followed behind using Menzerna 85rd using a black Uber foam pad via PC 7424XP to ensure a perfect, swirl-free finish. Here’s Ryan and I hard at work!!! Me giving the sunroof some rotary love… After all of the polishing was complete, I called my clear-bra installer to set up an appointment for the following day. In the meantime, I decided to detail the interior since we couldn’t go any further on the exterior until the film was installed. Here’s a few pictures of what the interior looked like before any cleaning. Notice the adhesive on many of the panels, which really took away from this beautiful interior. Both front floor mats were shampooed using my Thermax extractor and hung to dry. To remove the adhesive from the panels, I used a citrus cleaner, which worked really well. I wiped down the complete interior using a damp microfiber towel, misted with Optimum Power Clean and purged with compressed air. After the interior was complete, I wrapped things up for the night and met the clear-bra installer the following day. I gave all areas being covered in film a quick alcohol wipedown to ensure there was a perfection foundation. The pictures below show the condition of the paint after the alcohol wipedown, prior to the clear-bra install. The paint looked perfect (as a new car should) and polished out nicely. Here is the PPF (paint protection film) laid out on the hood… The install took a while, so I worked on another car in the meantime. After the clear-bra install was complete, I applied Collinite Marque D’Elegance Carnauba Paste Wax #915 to the complete exterior and clear-bra for maximum looks and durability. All wheels were sealed with FK-1 Hi-Temp Wax (1000P), then all tires and wheel wells were dressed with Super Blue dressing. Last but not least, all windows were cleaned and every crack & crevice was inspected for excess wax. And now for what you’ve all been waiting for…. The after pictures!! Please note that the entire front nose, bottom rockers and the area behind the rear wheels are covered in film. The PPF install came out phenomenal, which was hardly noticeable outside. The factory protection film on the rear quarter panel was stained from the dealer and didn’t polish out very well. I mentioned to the owner that he should go back to the dealer to have the pieces replaced to make the car absolutely perfect. Enjoy!!! The interior cleaned up nice too! Thanks for looking!!
just awsome. it looks increidble. was there like sand or somthing inthe car thats what it looked like. awsome turn around
WOW, Great job Rick. Might be in touch again to have PPF installed as I have not heard from the only PPF installer around me. It'll give the wife time to shop. Sean
