Red Car Care Maintenance? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

mikes_box · 03-06-2009, 10:45 PM

how do you guys with the red colored cars keep you paint looking nice and shinny? do your cars show a lot of the swirl marks the blacks and dark blues do? any way to get em out? thanks.

jwade · 03-07-2009, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikes_box

how do you guys with the red colored cars keep you paint looking nice and shinny? do your cars show a lot of the swirl marks the blacks and dark blues do? any way to get em out? thanks.

All depends on how you take care of the car. Mine is and has always been garaged, so when I bought it a year ago, I did go through an extensive orbital buff job using Meguiar’s products. It did have some minimal scratches on it, but I think this was due to the former owner just covering it all the time, dirty or not. You really need to clean a car and also make sure the cover is clean prior to installing it.

As far as wash type formula, I use the Deep Crystal wash with a microfine wash mit. This wash works on the entire car and I even clean the wheels with it all by hand. Crazy as it sounds, for such a little car, I still spend a while just washing it.

I use the Meguiar’s NXT wax and it really works well for small surface scratches. They will disappear when you use a buffer.

If you have a car that has been outside for a while, your going to need to do more work to the paint to get it back. Might need to look at taking it to a pro detailer shop if you are not comfortable using a high speed buffer w/ compunds to cut the paint down and polish.

I used to detail cars a long time ago, so I am pretty comfortable in this area. You CAN make jet black look absolutely stunning if you use the right buffer / polish / wax. Been looking at switching out my 20 year old ACME cast iron orbital buffer with one of the Porter Cable 7424 variable speed ones.

There are youtube videos on how do use them and they explain proper procedure for striping, polishing, waxing, etc... it's worth taking a look. even shows how to deal with the plastic headlights and bringing them back to life.

jmatta · 03-07-2009, 04:47 AM

I've owned numerous red and black Porsches over the years. My current Box S is black. Do yourself a big favor a purchase the Porter-Cable 7424 (as jwade mentioned). Watch the video and take your time; the results are far superior to what you could ever do by hand. With the right polish and wax, the car will glow with color and depth.

Just like beer, everyone has their favorite products.

Go to www.carcareonline.com or www.autopia-carcare.com - watch the tutorials and read about the different products.

Jaxonalden · 03-07-2009, 06:13 AM

As far as wax is concerned, I use Super Glaze by The Wax Shop. It goes on fast with minimal effort because its a thin liquid. Removal is the same way with no residue. The shine is the best I've found yet. In between waxing I wash the car with Kit Wash and Wax (with carnauba wax) and have absolutely no complains.

Adam · 03-07-2009, 06:22 AM

Best car wash/wax tip out there is touch the paint as little as possible. The more you wash and wax the car, the more swirl marks you're gonna get. If you already have light swirls/scracthes in the clear coat then you try an oribital buffer and a fine grit swirl removal product.

Motobob · 03-07-2009, 07:21 AM

I am doing to get my detailed from a professional in Denver and then take care of it as stated below. When I got mine in Oct, I had lots of swirls and I want them to be gone! Bob :dance: Red 2001 986S

mikes_box · 03-07-2009, 09:05 AM

man all of you have beautiful cars.... i just picked up the arena red and it looks like more work to maintain than the artic silver i use to own.. the silvers are just so easy... will have to work with my detailing skills....

03-08-2009, 05:14 AM

I have been in a few Concours, and one particular Guards Red Boxster always looked great. He used RejeX wax.

jmatta · 03-08-2009, 05:49 AM

Funny you mention the RejeX wax (polymer); I just picked up a 16 oz bottle to apply to the daily drivers. A friend of mine, John Takehara, who is the PCA National Concours head, always used to recommend NuFinish on the drivers... RejeX is even better.

I'm half tempted to try it on my black Box instead of the Zymol Carbon I always use; and at $16.95 + shipping on eBay, it's alot cheaper than the $38 I'm used to paying.

Perfectlap · 03-08-2009, 11:13 AM

red is the easiest color to get A+ shine with. The brand of wax you use really doens't matter. I've tried virtually ever brand and 9 out 10 couldn't pick a Meguiars car from a whatever car. Do yourself a favor and don't spend a lot of money buying 6 different products.

1-get yourself a few bars of detaling clay. When the car is sudsy from a wash rub the paint with the clay. that will unlock most of the shine. wash the car again.

2-use any over the counter paint polish. most have virtually all the same ingredients. You don't have to spend a great deal more to get a polish with more concentration. Duragloss, FK1, Chemical Guys all have no frils polishes used by pros at rock bottom prices.

3-once the paint is clean use any synthetic wax. They all last forever as long as your not constantly washing the car with a cheap car wash soap. A sealant is mostly a waste of money unless you plan only touching your paint once a year.

The two out of the ordinary things I would recommend you do is use buy top notch towels. They're pricey but look for the silk binding. Poorboysworld.com and chemical guys have some good deals that work out to less than three bucks a towel. Cheap towels will just make using expensive waxes a waste of time. The other thing, which I swear by, is using an ant-static spray to keep the synthetic wax from being exposed for too long. It's like teflon. Doesn't make the car shinier just keeps the wax going 10/10's shine until you reapply the wax every few months. I use Fk1 425 for this (see link below).

p.s.
use voodooride.com's Hyp'd for tires. Nice matte black shine.