I spent all day Saturday polishing my Boxster...
 

..and it was totally worth it. My car had been looking a little on the black side, with hardly any of the blue showing through. Now the blue is quite prevalent! It got quite a few little scratches out as well.

I used Meguiars 3-step process. Step 1 is a paint cleaner (basically a very light polishing compound to de-crud the paint), Step 2 is a slightly stronger polishing compound, and Step 3 is a carnuba wax. Opted out of step 3's liquid wax and chose to use Meguiars Cleaner Wax instead.

I polished with a random orbit 6" buffing wheel with a wool pad and several microfiber pads. I also taped off all the plastic and rubber to prevent polishing compound encroachment.

After Step 1:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...htapesmall.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...htapesmall.jpg

After waxing:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1.../hoodsmall.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...hoodsmall2.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...Shinysmall.jpg

Nice! :cheers:

good job!!! i'm planning on clay bar and wax treatment this weekend or the next weather pending. hope it will come out as nice as yours.

btw, nice plate number.

Nice
 

Your car looks great. I have a Lapis Blue which I bought two months ago with 43000 miles. The finish is ok but there are some scratches I would like to get out too. I've been a little hesitant about using an orbital polisher but it looks like you got fantastic resultes. The rubbing compound was ok for the paint too I see. I used a clay bar first thing and was very pleased with the results. It got the finish silky smooth. Guess I know what I'll be doing this Father's Day!

I read online at Meguiars.com that the random orbit polisher is really difficult to screw up. That's all I had to hear to tip the scales for me in favor of polishing.

If you're in a hurry and the scratches aren't too heavy, a little of the Meguiars Step 1 stuff on a wool or microfiber pad will work wonders, then follow it with some wax.

instead of waiting for a weekend, i gave mine clay bar and wax treatment last nite. mine is 99 and always looked a bit yellowish silver compared to brand new 911 in our garage. i compared clay bar treated 986 to 911 this morning and there definately was improvements in color and my 986 paint looked similar to 911. happy with clay bar treatment and i recommend it for older boxsters.

So thats what my boxster would look like with Clear headlights.... :)

I polished my headlights a few weeks ago. Check out the results: :)
http://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/2690386.phtml

Oh nice! Hey is there a way to get my orbital sander to convert into an orbital polisher? its got that velcro stick on surface for sandpaper with the fuzz on the back to stick to the orbital sander.

Looks great! I did mine last Saturday. I use the Finish Kare products.. Started out with the 118 Shampoo and PH neutralizer. This is a great carwash that neutralizes your wash water and cleans the surface really well. Secondly, I hand waxed with
1000 P Hi Temp Paste wax. This is a synthetic poloymer wax that actually goes on really easy and comes off with mild effort. I love this stuff. It has super protection from acid rain and lasts much longer than a carnuba. I do this about every 2 months from March to October. On top of this I did 2 coats of FK 425 Poly wipe spray detailer. This is hands down the best spray detailer I have used. Unbelievable slickness.

Took about 2.5 hours but was well worth it. My black paint looked so deep and perfect. One week later, still very nice.

Check out the Finish Kare stuff... it is worth a try. They offer a sample package for about $19.00 that has all the stuff I mentioned in sample sizes.

http://www.fk1usa.com/products-consumer.htm

I too have been involved in polishing etc. lately. I first used the clay bar that I got from Maquires and believe me it is easy and you will be astonished at the crud that comes off in the clay and it really leaves a glass smooth surface. I also have the Griot's kit with the random orbiter and so far have not had the courage to run it on other than the lowest setting (1) but will step up the speed if I feel the job needs it. Nice machine and runs well. I also have the clay bar that comes with the kit but have not used it yet as I have started with the other and it is doing a nice job. Will post some pics when I finish with it.

Nice job Schnell, looks great. :cheers:


AKL