Jason's 99 Boxster doc thread

[Radman]

Got a P0302 Cylinder 2 misfire code last night as the wife and I were about to arrive at our date night location. Car was, and still is, running fine. It's always been lumpy at idle and I keep meaning to clean the MAF sensor. I replaced the plugs 5 weeks ago and inspected the coil packs and tubes at that time and everything looked good. No running through water recently.

So, I'll start with the MAF and go from there. The car did have an O2 sensor code, though no light, when I brought it home. So there may be something going on with that bank. Headed out of town tomorrow am so I'll deal with everything when I get back. Oil change will be done then along with the fuel filter and MAF sensor cleaning. If all goes well, may have the time/energy to giver her a good polish too!

[Radman]

Cleaned the MAF sensor and while I had it up for an oil change I checked the coil pack plug and it came away extremely easily. In fact, the coil pack plugs for cylinders 1-3 all did, though cylinder was the easiest. I didn't disconnect them when I changed plugs, so I didn't check them at that time.

Finally had the chance to finish the oil change yesterday, the drain plug was stripped so had to wait on another, and took her out for a spin. It does idle much smoother now, but I also noticed some pulsing when at higher throttle/rpm's. So I'll be looking into that while having my fingers crossed that the misfire is fixed.

[Radman]

Tookit for another drive after disconnecting the battery. Ran perfect the entire time. Hoping the easy fix works.

[Radman]

So far so good on the car. Runs much better, feels stronger/quicker.

Also ordered a Durametric today; Enthusiast Edition. Was able to snag a refurbushed unit direct from Durametric with full warranty for a nice discount. Happy Birthday to me! First thing I'll do is try to enable the on board computer

[pharaohjb]

If it pops up again, one trick to diagnosing the misfire would be to swap the coil pack with the coil pack from another cylinder. If the error code follows the coil pack, you know it's the pack, and not something else.

[Radman]

Originally Posted by pharaohjb

If it pops up again, one trick to diagnosing the misfire would be to swap the coil pack with the coil pack from another cylinder. If the error code follows the coil pack, you know it's the pack, and not something else.

Yep, that was the plan. The CEL only happened once, but the engine had been rough at idle since purchase.

In other news, my attempt at replacing the instrument cluster LED backlight bulbs with LED's has been a failure lol! I ordered a 5 pack of the regular ones and they should be here end of this week or beginning of next. Thankfully removing the dash cluster isn't hard at all.

Also ordered side mirror trim piece replacements as both of mine came broken. I also ordered a 12v outlet replacement so it will fit US spec devices. I use it to hold and charge my phone until I replace the HU.

[Radman]

New trim pieces fit perfect. I no longer have to press them back in every so often. The 12v outlet was also an easy fix and now holds my phone holder perfectly. I won't feel the need to update to a CarPlay unit for a while. I also have all the lights back on for my cluster.

Got the Durametric in July and just got around to using it yesterday. Activated the OBC, yay me. Ran a diagnostic and have the P0134 O2 sensor signal error. No CEL. I'll need to swap it to see if it's the sensor or the wiring. Praying it's the sensor lol! Otherwise, all seems to be okay.

[Radman]

Had a light paint correction done that really brings out the shine but sadly there are still some spots that just can't be fixed without professional paint assistance. A very deep scratch on the hood and spot on the rear deck as well. I'll have to live with it for now.

Ordered some Christmas goodies for the car. The radio I've been eyeing, Sony XAV-AX1000, has been discontinued so I picked one up sooner than planned. It has an actual volume knob which is important to me given the lack of steering wheel controls. And, of course, it has CarPlay to make everything else easy.

I also picked up some budget, but with decent reviews, Rockford Fosgate speakers to replace the dash and door speakers. I don't think the dash speakers have ever been touched, but I know the door speakers have. No idea what quality they are so we'll see what happens. Chasing high quality sound in this car is likely useless so I'm aiming for good enough lol! I will try to fit a subwoofer either under the seat or behind one of them at some point.

Otherwise, still enjoying the car thoroughly. It is such a joy to drive.

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by Radman

A very deep scratch on the hood and spot on the rear deck as well. I'll have to live with it for now.

DISCLAIMER: try this at your own risk. Your results may vary.

I've never had any luck with the Dr Colorchip dab and swipe method. But here's what I've found works well for me, esp with deep scratches.

I'll carefully paint in the scratch with DC paint. It will leave a ridge above the rest of the paint. Use as small of a brush as possible and just fill the scratch, no need to slop over onto good paint. Let it dry thoroughly. Next, take some 1500 sand paper and water and wet sand the scratch, being careful to sand as little of the good paint as possible (ie, a 1/4" on either side of the scratch). Go slow, go easy - you don't want deep sand scratches. Use plenty of water. You may need to repeat painting some areas if the paint hasn't fully filled the scratch.

Once you have the surface smooth and the scratch is filled and gone, use rubbing compound on the sanded area, going out an addl 1/4" on each side of the scratch (so now 1/2" ea side of the scratch for a total of 1" across). Focus the effort on the scratch area with some blend out from the sanded area.

Step up to a swirl compound (a mild rubbing compound) and expand another 1/2" on each side of the area. After this step, the area should have a decent shine and the scratch should be gone.

Finish with a polish and then wax, expanding the blend area out even further. These steps work best with a polisher but can be done by hand, they just take a bit more elbow grease.

Take your time, be easy, work in as small an area on ea side of the scratch as you can. It's always easier to go back and repeat than to go too far - no going back then.

This method also works on rock chips, just in smaller doses.

I've had great results with this method on scratches and chips.

[Radman]

Originally Posted by husker boxster

DISCLAIMER: try this at your own risk. Your results may vary.

I've never had any luck with the Dr Colorchip dab and swipe method. But here's what I've found works well for me, esp with deep scratches.

I'll carefully paint in the scratch with DC paint. It will leave a ridge above the rest of the paint. Use as small of a brush as possible and just fill the scratch, no need to slop over onto good paint. Let it dry thoroughly. Next, take some 1500 sand paper and water and wet sand the scratch, being careful to sand as little of the good paint as possible (ie, a 1/4" on either side of the scratch). Go slow, go easy - you don't want deep sand scratches. Use plenty of water. You may need to repeat painting some areas if the paint hasn't fully filled the scratch.

Once you have the surface smooth and the scratch is filled and gone, use rubbing compound on the sanded area, going out an addl 1/4" on each side of the scratch (so now 1/2" ea side of the scratch for a total of 1" across). Focus the effort on the scratch area with some blend out from the sanded area.

Step up to a swirl compound (a mild rubbing compound) and expand another 1/2" on each side of the area. After this step, the area should have a decent shine and the scratch should be gone.

Finish with a polish and then wax, expanding the blend area out even further. These steps work best with a polisher but can be done by hand, they just take a bit more elbow grease.

Take your time, be easy, work in as small an area on ea side of the scratch as you can. It's always easier to go back and repeat than to go too far - no going back then.

This method also works on rock chips, just in smaller doses.

I've had great results with this method on scratches and chips.

Thanks for the advice! I have tried very light sanding but not with water. I may need to try different touch up paint. It does to appear to be a little bit of a lighter shade. Works great for small spots, not so much on larger rock chips and scratches such as this. This particular scratch was down to the metal.

The spot on the back is compromised clearcoat somehow and looks like the deck was slammed shut on something that dented it from below. I've made minor improvement there as well.

[Seal1968]

+1 on husker's tip.

I've used the "Paint to Fix" scratch/chip kit, and the colour match is dead on.

My A4 had a bunch of good sized chips on the hood that needed attention.

Step 1 -clean the area well, use a degreaser (brake cleaner works good).

Step 2 - use 1500 sandpaper to lightly go over the chip / scratch to make sure the edges are not too jagged

Step 3 - dab the match paint into the scratch/chip...fill it up so it is slightly above the good paint. Several passes/coats/dabs may be needed to fill it. Leave it alone for a couple of days to fully cure and flash off. (you don't add hardener to this stuff)

Step 4 - using a sanding block with 1000 wet sand, 1500 wet sand, 2000 wet sand, gradually fan out. Light, FLAT pressure, lots of soapy water, rinse often. This will level the paint in the chip / scratch to the rest of the panel. Be CAREFUL...the factory clear is thin, plus its 20 years old. You don't want to burn through it.

Step 5 - Get some 3M or Farecla compound...buff, buff, buff. Note: when using Farecla especially, keep the cloth/pad moist as it really cuts sanding scratches.

Step 6 - polish the area...then polish the whole panel.

Step 6 - wax her up and crack a beer and admire your work

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a doctor, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...results may vary as husker says. Just my method.

[husker boxster]

There are 2 keys to success with these processes:

1. Fill the scratch or chip in so there's new paint just above the surrounding area. Not a huge blob, not a valley between the good paint areas.

2. Sand as little of the surrounding area as possible. You don't want to burn thru the clear coat.

For #1: I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a pkg of paint brushes that came in various sizes. Some were very small and work great on thin scratches. DC used to come with just 1 brush and it was generally too big and stiff for small stuff. They now send 3 brushes (for SIXTY bucks they should!) but they still may not be the proper size. Having the proper size will make the job easier and better in the long run. (That's what she said.)

For #2: The idea is to sand the minimum you can to get the new paint to the level of the existing paint. If you did a good job with #1, you shouldn't need to do a lot of sanding to get it smooth. The more you sand, the more surrounding clear coat you take off. If you find a spot that needs more paint (you don't always get 100% coverage in a scratch the 1st time thru), paint in the low spot and sand just that area when it's dry. Once you get the chip / scratch filled in and smoothed over to the good paint, stop sanding.

You can use a buffer with the rubbing compound, but keep it contained to the sanded area as it will be removing clear coat too. But it's really overkill using a buffer if you've contained the sanding to a small area. If possible, I'll try to do the rubbing compound step by hand. You just want to get the scratches from sanding smoothed out. It probably won't shine much. The shine comes back when you use the swirl compound. That's when you want to look for any remaining marks or sand scratches. If you find some, try rubbing compound by hand or use a higher grit sand paper to smooth them out and start the process again. As stated before, go minimum with these steps and only repeat if necessary where necessary. The polish & wax steps are when you're happy with the result. You only do these steps once.

Seal brings up a good point - the area needs to be free of wax before you start. Paint won't stick to wax. I use bug & tar remover to clean an area. Whatever you use, be sure it's dry before you paint. Paint won't stick to wet surfaces either. Patience and nerves of a cat burgler are necessary. Take your time.

A friend wanted me to polish his Basalt Blk 07 Cayman S. It had an 8" scratch across the top and side of the rt fender. Someone had filled in the scratch with paint but it looked like a scar because it was overfilled. He hadn't mentioned anything to me about this scratch, but I figured I could "fix" it. When I was done, the fender looked perfect. He was very happy. I was too.

[Seal1968]

Yup...take your time.

Don't be tempted to check if it's dry yet for another coat/dab...walk away for a while or you may end up starting over.

Speaking from experience lol.

[Radman]

Originally Posted by Seal1968

Yup...take your time.

Don't be tempted to check if it's dry yet for another coat/dab...walk away for a while or you may end up starting over.

Speaking from experience lol.

So I need patience? Oh boy lol! I'll give it my best shot lol! Thanks for the feedback.

[Rob175]

As a graphic designer, my friends have always asked me to help touch-up a lot of their cars. All of the procedures previously mentioned will work fine. Although I've never sanded the area first I just make sure the surface is clean and free from wax.

As another mentioned, the type of brush is a very important part of the process. Most art stores or hobby stores sell a variety of brushes. I have some brushes that literally have just a few tiny bristles. In fact they're so fine that once "wet" with a tiny bit of paint (less than a drop) I can slide the wet bristles into and along the scratch. With several repeated steps of application, dry time, and re-application I can bring the thickness up to the same height as the rest of the car.

The "trick" is using the absolute finest set of brushes you can get....a large magnifying glass also helps. But slow and steady is the key. Once done and dry I wax, wax, wax.

[Radman]

Originally Posted by Rob175

As a graphic designer, my friends have always asked me to help touch-up a lot of their cars. All of the procedures previously mentioned will work fine. Although I've never sanded the area first I just make sure the surface is clean and free from wax.

As another mentioned, the type of brush is a very important part of the process. Most art stores or hobby stores sell a variety of brushes. I have some brushes that literally have just a few tiny bristles. In fact they're so fine that once "wet" with a tiny bit of paint (less than a drop) I can slide the wet bristles into and along the scratch. With several repeated steps of application, dry time, and re-application I can bring the thickness up to the same height as the rest of the car.

The "trick" is using the absolute finest set of brushes you can get....a large magnifying glass also helps. But slow and steady is the key. Once done and dry I wax, wax, wax.

Prob not the best quality, but I do have a hobby lobby right down the road from me so I'll check about getting better brushes there.

Truly appreciate the advice guys!

[husker boxster]

Bonus: you can use some of the bigger brushes in the pkg for detailing in the interior. They work great for knocking dust out of the cracks between panels.

[Radman]

Has anyone applied a clear coat over a large scratch or rock chip? I have clear coat available.

[Seal1968]

Sorry, just noticed your reply...

Are you thinking of adding clear after you fill the scratches/chips?

Not a terrible idea, however getting it to blend with the rest of the panel will be a pain as there will be overspray.

Normally you'd paint the repair, then sand/tape and respray the full panel with clear. A much bigger job, IMO.

For simple scratches/chips I wouldn't.

[Radman]

Originally Posted by Seal1968

Sorry, just noticed your reply...

Are you thinking of adding clear after you fill the scratches/chips?

Not a terrible idea, however getting it to blend with the rest of the panel will be a pain as there will be overspray.

Normally you'd paint the repair, then sand/tape and respray the full panel with clear. A much bigger job, IMO.

For simple scratches/chips I wouldn't.

Too late lol!

It’s a brush on clear so wasn’t tough to do but still didn’t look right. I still think the issue is the paint matches we’ll enough on very small chips but not on the larger ones. Just too light.

Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.