Swirl mark issue, Houston

[rdancd816]

I just had my Boxster transported to Houston from Denver. When I cleaned it up I found significant swirl marks all over the hood and tops of the front fenders. I'm looking for a good detailer or body shop that can take them out. It appears someone may have tried to wipe off the front of the car with a dirty cloth. It's driving me nuts!

[DenverSteve]

Originally Posted by rdancd816

I just had my Boxster transported to Houston from Denver. When I cleaned it up I found significant swirl marks all over the hood and tops of the front fenders. I'm looking for a good detailer or body shop that can take them out. It appears someone may have tried to wipe off the front of the car with a dirty cloth. It's driving me nuts!

I use Meguiar's Scratch-X to remove any and all minor scratches. Gone in minutes and no need for any body shop. A good detailer will cost from $100-$300 (around here) and a bottle of Scratch-X is less than $10. Your money, your call.

[l3m]

Call or email Jason at mobileinq.com. Good thing no oil dripped on your top while on the transport carrier.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by DenverSteve

I use Meguiar's Scratch-X to remove any and all minor scratches. Gone in minutes and no need for any body shop. A good detailer will cost from $100-$300 (around here) and a bottle of Scratch-X is less than $10. Your money, your call.

That's $550 here in Chicago area. Mine goes in next Tuesday, pick up Thursday after work. First time for a professional exterior only detail in my 6 driving seasons. I've just not profected the Porter Cable, so I'll pay to have it done. My car has very-very minimal swirls from normal washing.

Then the Turbo goes in 2 weeks later.

The Boxster gets hibernated by mid Oct. The Turbo goes till Thanksgiving weekend.

[Perfectlap]

Totally a DIY. A detail shop, that knows what they're doing, understands that doing this job properly could take up to three hours. There's lots of prep like washing the car thoroughly, wiping down with a claybar, and spot removal for tar and other crap. Wash again. The detailer is not going to be as careful as you since he's got other cars to do and he's going to charge you big time. And of course they keep the tools that you could have bought yourself and used many times again. Now a true expert detail shop could use a rotary buffer (dangerous in the wrong hands) and get the job done in two snaps but they're not cheap either since it has to be done with skilled labor and not some guy they trained in five minutes working minimum wage.

Reminds me of the saying about giving a guy a free lunch vs teaching him to fish.
Detail shop rates are steep

You can get a Menzerna kit about $250 with a Porter Cable orbital buffer or the higher end Flex buffer kit for $500. Comes with everything, pads, polish, etc. And maybe an inexpensive Craftsman halogen lamp. I saw a guy with a LED light attached to his head like a miner -- pretty clever. There are a ton of YouTube videos that show you the proper orbital buffer method. the key is to use the swirl remover sparingly and take your time moving slowly covering an inch or two per second.

this video shows the proper "L" movement.
Menzerna SIP + Meguiars 7006 Test panel - YouTube

kits
http://autogeek.commerce-search.net/search?keywords=menzerna+kit

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

Totally a DIY. A detail shop, that knows what they're doing, understands that doing this job properly could take up to three hours.

There is no way possible, to get a quality professional exterior detail done on a Porsche in 3 hours. Impossible. Wash, clay, wash, polish, and wax/sealant. Some hack maybe could. The guys you see (Phil for example) on Rennlist that do high end details, interior & exterior, invest 30-40 hours. Those are north of $1K.

You get what you pay for.

I'll detail my interiors prior to winter hibernation. This take me more than 20 hours, working a few hours each day after work. The final step will be a fresh coat of RejeX, then covered.

[Perfectlap]

^ I agree. Although I don't think most people are as demanding on final results to devote 20 hours. For most cars driven year round the bar is much lower. Eitehr way you'll be paying out the ears for a professional. Though it takes longer with an orbital vs. a rotary, you can figure out how to do this entirely on your own with the help YouTube and the internet forums.
Unless of course you're too busy a man to devote a full day to your car which I suspect is the sort of customer a pro detailer caters to. Anyone else is doing it for convenience rather than lacking the requisite skills. The same type who pays $150 to change an air filter at the dealer.

[Flavor 987S]

^All you have to do, Perfectlap, is sell about 1.5 shares of your Apple stock.

I'm no more, or no less, busy than anyone else. But, I am finding it increasing harder to maintain two Porsches in mint condition, while driving them about 700 miles total on the weekends. I figure every few years I'll send the cars out for a major exterior detail to keep the paint 110%.

[boxster6354]

South Beach Auto on W. Grey.

look on Groupon.com for a discount, dropped mine off there then walked two blocks down to some great places to eat.

Did a greet detail on mine, very happy with results and costs.

[WhipE350]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

There is no way possible, to get a quality professional exterior detail done on a Porsche in 3 hours. Impossible. Wash, clay, wash, polish, and wax/sealant. Some hack maybe could. The guys you see (Phil for example) on Rennlist that do high end details, interior & exterior, invest 30-40 hours. Those are north of $1K.

You get what you pay for.

I'll detail my interiors prior to winter hibernation. This take me more than 20 hours, working a few hours each day after work. The final step will be a fresh coat of RejeX, then covered.

Totally agree...at least not the job I do. Maybe there are guys with high speed orbitals that are skilled enough and can then cut the time way down and have multiple other guys helping with the washing and prep work. I use a high quality 6 speed random orbital so takes much longer.

The thought of hibernation would make me sad, gotta love those Chicago winters!

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

^All you have to do, Perfectlap, is sell about 1.5 shares of your Apple stock.

I'm no more, or no less, busy than anyone else. But, I am finding it increasing harder to maintain two Porsches in mint condition, while driving them about 700 miles total on the weekends. I figure every few years I'll send the cars out for a major exterior detail to keep the paint 110%.

ha ha. If that Apple stock is getting sold it's definitely not going into the grubby mitts of some detailer! Actually sitting on old positions that have gone up several times the DOW and S&P is frowned upon at the Perfectlap Fund LLC.

Number one congratulations on putting 700 miles on your cars. I put about 300 on there last week to calculate my current gas mileage (did a bunch of exhaust work/mainteance recently) -- 21 mpg. You're doing a heck of a lot of driving!

It's going to be pretty tough to keep a car in mint condition with that much use.
Which is the interesting conundrum of enthusiasts. They want the car to look showroom ALL the time. To do this they end up washing and waxing the car too often or worse, for lack of time they take it to a hand car wash where the workers touch the paint with dirty wash mitts full of road debris from the last 25 cars and drying towels that I wouldn't use on my bicycle. 24 -30 annual washes later and the car is full of swirls, cobwebs and all manner of clear coat damage. My advice for people who insist on a showroom look is to buy lots of towels (waffle weave not the typical microfiber with the prickly hooks -- overkill) and bring your own wash mitt and drying towel to the car wash and ask them to use your stuff. But its best to do these washes yourself with a No-Rinse type product. Also when drying the car, wet the car down with a detaling spray. Don't rub on dry paint ever. There should always be some type of lubrication. Friction and prickly or rough towels cause swirling every time. Limit waxing to as little as necessary and make more use of polymer detaling sprays (Finish Kare 425). When it comes time to do the orbital de-swirling it will take a fraction of the time because the swirls will not be as deep or will there will not be as much. Enthusiasts inadvertently create most of their own work.

Now on the other hand if you have a garage queen that gets minimal use then you don't need to do all this.

[Flavor 987S]

^PL, thanks!

Each car sees about 7,000 miles during the driving season. The 987S (approx. 44,000 miles- all mine) from mid April till mid October. The 993TT (approx. 54,000 miles- +20,000 mine) from early March till late November. Having hot water and a heated garage sure helps those early spring and autumn car washes.

It take me 2-2.5 hours just to wash my cars. Wheels alone are about 45 minutes. All the jambs get wiped out too. Working efficiently, not rushing, not wasting time. I use high quality towels, and do +95% of the drying with the leaf blower.

My cars only get used on nice weekend days. My typical drive is about 320 miles. My cars stay pretty clean, it's the bugs that fark me up. I try to wash each car monthly. Maybe twice if my daughters help me.

My cars are not garage queens, but are in mint condition. Not an easy balance.

[Perfectlap]

Wow 2+ hours on a wash sounds meticulous. Please post pics some time. Especially that 993 toorbo.

I'm the total opposite. I can't stand spending a long time doing something I'll have to do again. That's why I swear by the 7 minute No Rinse wash and the 425 spray (aka paint teflon).
Not having a black interior also helps massively. ditto for silver exterior. I will never buy a car with black outside or inside. been there , hated that.
I also stick with lonnng lasting, dirt-repelling synthetic waxes rather than than shorter-lived bios that seem to suck in everything. I don't bother with four and five step product families -- I keep it simple, two coats of bullet-proof wax (1000P high temp) every quarter and a post wash wipe down with detailing spray (Werkstat Jett). My theory is that if you do something frequently (but quickly) you stay ahead of the buildup. and I'm convinced that those auto microfiber towels are paint culprits. They're great when they're right of the bag but they grab onto everything and are stubborn in letting that go in the wash. Waffle weave towels are now made in smaller sizes, a little pricier, but they easier to keep clean and paint safe. It's not like your cleaning the high traffic kitchen floor, you're cleaning a well-maintained import.