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speeddeacon

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  • Location
    NC
  • Vehicle Year
    2015 981S
  • Vehicle Make
    2013 335i
  • Real Name
    Gary
  1. Fantastic write up and beautiful bike. Excellent work Nick!
  2. I hear ya, we are convertible lovers so it was between the 981 and the 991 cab. I figured I would go with the 991 but fell in love with the pure sports car driving feel of the 981. I was really surprised that I preferred it to the 991 but was glad because of the price difference. For a coupe, it would be a much tougher call versus a Cayman and could potentially give the 991 the nod. We did a quick trip to the Appalachians of western NC and Eastern TN, including Deal's Gap and Blue Ridge Parkway. We get over there a couple times a year, more if possible.
  3. Thanks Tim. Sorry I didn't let you know, the plans changed at the end with the XPel install and trip to the mountains at the last minute.
  4. I ordered a Porsche Boxster S and had initially planned to bring the car home to do the new car detail myself or have a professional detail (by one of the forum members) done immediately after delivery, due to the horror stories I have read about regarding paint damage due to poor dealer new car prep. The dealer is 300 miles from my home. However, I decided to have the XPel ultimate applied before I picked it up. I had the good fortune to meet their contracted installer and felt confident that he was excellent. He also vouched for their new car prep process and quality. My wife and I also wanted to take the car on a quick trip to the mountains after we picked it up. So, I ended up letting them prep the car and then install the XPel. I have to say, they did a fine job with the prep with no evidence of damage to the paint at all. The clear bra was extremely well done also. So, off we went to do a proper break in of the car. On the way home, however, we encountered a deluge of rain followed later on by a bombardment of flying insects. That set me up to go a head and do my detail, which I’ll briefly describe here. Sorry for the relatively poor pictures, taken with my iPad in my driveway and garage. I was going to use my real camera but was soaked with sweat and just didn’t bother with it. Now that I see the pictures, i wish I had made the effort to get better quality images. Here are some pictures of the car before the detail. The front was pocked with bugs, the paint body coated with grime and the wheels layered with brake dust from the aggressive mountain driving. I had planned to do a wheels off detail but didn't have a jack low enough to fit under the car. I soaked the front with waterless car wash and let it set while I tended to the wheels. After a quick rinse, I soaked the wheels down with Green Wheel Cleaner then used a soft bristle brush and wheel brush to loosen up the brake dust and crud. There was some stubborn goo that stuck to the wheels at the same place on all four wheels that took a bit of effort and APC to get off later. After the wheels were done, I returned to the front to get the bugs off. I used a bug mitt soaked with Waterless Car Wash and pretty much wiped them off the front end and side mirrors. Next up was the initial rinse followed by foaming using the Car Shampoo. Next was the two bucked wash using Car Shampoo with a few ounces of APC to remove whatever FLP the dealer used, if any and the Wool Mitt. The top was fine and didn’t need any special cleaning. After rinsing with water and Detail Spray, the paint was nice and clean and swirl free. It was still beading up quite a bit on the bare paint, however, so I did a quick wipe down with APC. Even though the surface felt nice and smooth, I clayed the entire surface, and glass with Clay Bar using Detail Spray as the lubricant. There was next to nothing on the bar so this went quickly. I had to empty the garage to give me room to work on the car. I applied VRT to all the black trim pieces to make removal of any polish or FLP easier. I then masked off the areas that I though might be very susceptible. The masking tape didn’t stick very well after the VRT application. With the surfaces prepped, it was clear that there was really not any correcting that needed to be done. I debated about going straight to FLP but decided to go ahead and do a polish anyway, since it was the initial detail. I used the Cyclo Polisher and Finishing Polish to bring out the best in the paint, taking car not to polish the areas protected by the XPel. Given the reported softness of Porsche paint, I used the white foam pads rather than micro fiber to do the job. With the light in my garage, as well as light paint, it was hard to see any flash so I may not have worked the polish as much as I could have, but I didn’t car too much since I wasn’t correcting anything to begin with. I used a Single Soft towel to remove the residue from the Polish. The clear coat is looking good. The next step was to apply the Liquid Paint Sealant, again using foam pads on the Cyclo for a majority of the surface, with some applied by hand. I sealed the entire surface, including the XPel. While the sealant was curing, I turned attention back to the wheels, getting the stubborn goo off of them with APC and a rag. I also swapped out the center covers with painted crests. Once all was too my liking, I covered the rotors with rags and applied Quick Sealant to the wheels and VRT to the tires. I used a double soft towel to buff out the Liquid Sealant. For the most part, it was just like dusting a piece of furniture, that’s how easily it wipes off. I backed it out into the sunshine to see any spots I may have missed. Next up was the glass. I cleaned all the surfaces with Glass Cleaner, inside and out. The interior was still nice and clean. I vacuumed the carpets and used Leather Cleaner to wipe down a few areas, then went straight to the Leather Conditioner for the moisturizing and UV protection. It took me most of the day but am pleased with the result. I thought about doing a Glaze and Buttery Wax the next day, but haven’t decided if I really want to or not. It looks fantastic and the sealant lasts practically forever already. Again, I'm disappointed in the quality of photos from the iPad, so please forgive. Thanks!
  5. Great illustration. Which square is Americana? Great illustration. Which square is Americana?
  6. Thanks all. I may not bother with it on the van. It would be a lot of work for a car that sits outside. I recently washed my red Mustang and the sealant from last fall still beads and sheets perfectly, like I did it yesterday and it that was 7 months ago. She lives in the garage of course but does get driven throughout the winter. Gotta love it!
  7. Hey Adam, which do you prefer when polishing, the foam or microfiber with the Cyclo on your Odyssey?
  8. Yeah and that big V8 sounds good in a garage too!!
  9. Thanks Adam. Love all my Adams products! Right, but I've heard you can make white yellower with Carnuba . Don't know if it's true because, as I said, I've only used sealant on it in the past. Thanks Chris. Not a show vehicle, LOL! Since I'm experimenting, I think I'll try the Americana to see how it works and go from there. What are the thoughts of sealant->glaze->wax... worth the effort?
  10. I have a 2012 Honda Odyssey that stays outside. I'll be doing a strip wash, clay, polish and sealant (still have a bottle of Machine Super Sealant). I'm thinking about adding a layer of glaze then wax on top of the sealant this time just to add a little more gloss to the finish, increase the durability a tad and because I've always just stopped after the sealant. Being that it is a white vehicle I am looking for opinions on Americana wax versus Dodo Juice Diamond White. Any real advantages to a light/white finish wax versus Americana in regards to color, etc. or is it just marketing?
  11. Thanks for the welcome guys! I just placed my first order, including the complete Cyclo Kit and several of the other kits. Can't wait to try it all out. Thanks McDuff. You are going to love it here.
  12. A buddy of mine here just introduced me to Adam's Polish products. I'm getting ready to place my first order. Going to add the Cyclo to my PC 7424 machine polisher aresenal. I've already learned a ton about detailing by watching the videos and reading these forums. Look forward to learning even more in the future.
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