Am I being too OCD or what

[des0t0]

I started a detail on my new to me 911. The plan was to ceramic coat, however, I can’t seem to get it perfect and was wondering if it was me or I’m doing something wrong. I’ve microfiber pad and correcting polish. Orange pad and polish. White pad and finishing polish. 

[des0t0]

The first pic is with my work light up close and second pic is the same without light bar. My wife says no one will hold a light saber against the paint, but I can’t leave it alone

[pirahnah3]

Seeking complete perfection is something that will never happen without a LOT of work. If you plan to make her a driver and enjoyable then I would get it close and enjoy the car. I can see the couple scratches in the first pic but can barely see what looks to be some water spots in the second. The water spots may be etched into the clear and wont come out without sanding at that point. The scratches you can try to keep up with but I would always be careful about getting too aggressive. 

[des0t0]

Then would you say that this is good enough for ceramic coating?

[des0t0]

Another pic

[pirahnah3]

4 minutes ago, des0t0 said:

Then would you say that this is good enough for ceramic coating?

 

Good enough is really up to you. Will the ceramic coating work, absolutely and the shine gloss and hydrophopic properties will be awesome. Good enough thou is impossible to answer for any of us, because its your car. 

[des0t0]

28 minutes ago, pirahnah3 said:

 

Good enough is really up to you. Will the ceramic coating work, absolutely and the shine gloss and hydrophopic properties will be awesome. Good enough thou is impossible to answer for any of us, because its your car. 

 

 

lol

I’m so critical of myself that I don’t want to think I was a slack *** and didn’t get it perfect 

 

[pirahnah3]

I can say a buddy of mine just did his 4 door Ram and spent probably 16-20 hours on the paint before the coating. It wasnt perfect but he was ok with it. Was incredible to see in the sun when he was done. 

[imatt27]

Looks damn good to me! lol 

I think she is ready for ceramic coating! ?

[falcaineer]

First, you're asking the wrong group if you're being too OCD ??!

 

Second, you bought a black car...so  you asked for it! ?

 

But Jim makes a great point. "Good enough" is up to you, but there definitely comes a point of diminishing returns. I don't know how Porsche paint is, but if it's anything like other European cars, it's pretty hard. How many passes did you make with the CP and MF pad? Those may be your best bet to try and work on the scratches a little more. Then circle back with the FP and white pad. If you have access to HCC, that's another good option to try for a bit.

 

In the end, I'd say to try and get it to 90%, call it good, and enjoy that beauty! Can't wait to see the finished product ?!

[tlbullet]

I see its a Turbo..my dream car.?   Lets see the whole car!! 

  I agree w Falcaneer..90% perfection or u will drive urself nuts. Plus the more time u spend correcting, the less time ur driving it!!

[2012srt8]

why not try a compound on a microfiber pad on that spot in the first pic?

[des0t0]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Makes me feel better. Obviously I want it to be perfect but also don’t want to mess anything up by getting too aggressive. I do have some HCC. I could make a pass with that. 

 

Tlbullet - yes it’s a turbo. After I get it finished, I will report back with more pics

 

2012srt8 - I have tried CC with a microfiber pad. It’s 90% better than what i started however to finish that last little bit, I didn’t know how far I should go or what to do. 

[shane@detailedreflections]

Like the others said, how far you go is up to you. 

 

Remember though that it’s possible to do damage chasing perfection. By that I mean you can take away too much clear coat trying to get everything out. You’ve done a good job getting most of it out. The last little bit you may need different pads/polishes/compounds...and a paint thickness gauge to be sure of what you’re doing. 

 

 

[red94chev]

One thing I will say is to pull it out in the sunlight and reassess the paint.  Some of the stuff you can see with led lights, you can't see so easily in natural light.  Therefore, you're chasing something that isn't worth taking off more paint.

Edited August 10, 2018 by red94chev

[des0t0]

OK so I was being totally OCD. The car is probably about 95% perfect. Those LED lights definitely show more than natural light does. Anyways, here are some pics of the final products. Sorry for the pressure washer and master blaster in the pics. I was just super excited on how great it turned out and wanted pics right away. 

[des0t0]

Oops forgot to mention the tailpipes are off bc I sent them to get powder coated gloss black. Ordered new gloss black “PORSCHE” letters, clear tail lights, clear third brake light, and black rear bumper reflectors 

[falcaineer]

Simply, beautiful, Rob!!

[tlbullet]

Great results!   My dream car!!  

  I just spent the last half hour on Cargurus resesrching prices on 911’s (a turbo isnt even close to my price range!!). 

 Enjoy the car.  Cant imagine how

it sounds or drives..but I can tell u it looks sick. 

 ????????

[mc2hill]

Wow @des0t0!!!

You have to be careful with the LED lights - they help you SEE all the defects, but they help you see ALL the defects too!  Hard to get 100% with them.

[Rich]

I'm putting this out there for all you OCD ers.  There is NO SUCH THING as perfection.  Even the "pros" can't get any vehicle 100% despite what they claim, especially when it comes to ceramic coating. Your car looks amazing and as close to perfect as anyone can get.  Like Shane said, let it alone. You're liable to do damage to what you already have nearly perfect.  Beautiful car. 

[shane@detailedreflections]

1 hour ago, Rich said:

I'm putting this out there for all you OCD ers.  There is NO SUCH THING as perfection.  Even the "pros" can't get any vehicle 100% despite what they claim, especially when it comes to ceramic coating. Your car looks amazing and as close to perfect as anyone can get.  Like Shane said, let it alone. You're liable to do damage to what you already have nearly perfect.  Beautiful car. 

 

This!  Absolutely this. 

 

We strive for “eye clean.” And by that we mean that in normal lighting conditions, there’s no glaring defects. I promise under the right lights and the right eyes, defects can be found in anyone’s work. That’s true of ours, or even some of the greats in the industry that we all strive to be like. 

 

On the subject of lighting, we use LED lights to show us defects. As we finish our process we use light umbrellas in the light stands to soften the light to be more of a natural light and get a feel for how the paint will look. There’s a drastic difference between the two. Once we get the paint looking good under harsh LED’s (not perfect), we can often be confident it’ll be visually perfect or close to it in the sunlight. 

 

It doesn’t hurt to roll a vehicle in the sun and have a look after polishing if you’re really curious about how it will look. It adds a few minutes, but then you know. 

 

Perfection is next to impossible to achieve, even with brand new paint right out of the paint booth. We will chase it as much as you’re budget allows, but it’s not cheap and it will never be completely perfect. 

[js1990]

Beautiful car man??I’ve always been a fan of those. Cleans up really nice. Best of luck with it.

[pirahnah3]

8 hours ago, Rich said:

I'm putting this out there for all you OCD ers.  There is NO SUCH THING as perfection.  Even the "pros" can't get any vehicle 100% despite what they claim, especially when it comes to ceramic coating. Your car looks amazing and as close to perfect as anyone can get.  Like Shane said, let it alone. You're liable to do damage to what you already have nearly perfect.  Beautiful car. 

 

Amen to that. Time to get out and drive her!!!!! eat up a couple sets of tires beating up those roads, and making everyone else jealous at how good she looks. 

[des0t0]

Thanks guys! I drove her today to get a tag. Hopefully my exhaust tips will be done soon. Love this forum and all the support (both moral and informative) it provides!!