CAYMAN COMES ALIVE

jr001 · Dec 12, 2007

Background
Having done some protection details over the last two months, I was missing some good proper machine polishing stuff. Two Audi paint correction jobs called off due to weather and lack of a garage.

Along came a local car enthusiast and offered his 2005 Arctic Grey Porsche Cayman and his double garage for me to play with. He loved his car but complained that no matter how well he washed the car it always looked flat. Applying Super Resin Polish did not seem to do the trick.

The biggest gripe was that his wifes Boxster was always glossier than his car. So, as you can imagine I was under a lot of pressure to tip the balance in his favour and to stir up a wee bit of household ribbing!

When I carried out the paint inspection the previous week, I could not pick out many swirls at all under the Brinkmann. A combination of dirt and SRP was probably masking them, but we both felt that the SRP may well be contributing to the flatness in the fine metallic nature of the paint. Paint thickness levels were 115 165 microns throughout. Owner had it from new, so factory levels were confirmed.

The owner provided all the Before pictures in this thread, for which Im grateful. Here is how the car looked to begin with.

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/Picture003.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/Picture003.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/Picture003.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/Picture003.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/Picture003.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/Picture003.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/Picture003.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/Picture003.jpg"]

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Wash and Clay
SSF through Autobrite HD Lance, 6/7 mins dwell, pressure rinsed off.
2 bucket hand wash with lambs mitt and mixture of Megs Shampoo Plus and Safe Degreaser. Pressure rinsed and pat dried.
Lowers de-tarred with Autobrite tar and glue remover

Wheels washed as above. Then the tar and glue remover was applied to various sizes of tar spots and left to dwell. Then washed again with Menzerna 7.5 wheel and tyre cleaner. Job done.

Car clayed with the usual Sonus Green and Last Touch. Car rinsed and pat-dried again.

Machine Polishing
I was trying out for the first time the combination of the 3M backing plate for rotary and their black and blue 6 inch polishing pads. I had used the backing plate before and felt good about its increased flexibility over the Megs one. I was also looking forward to finding out how the slightly smaller pad size and thickness would affect the smoothness of the machining process. Turned out to be superb.

I had two full days to work on the car and my first plan was to use Menzerna 106FA Final Finish polish (cut 4/10, gloss 9/10) to attempt to remove any swirls. Spreading on the rotary at 600 rpm for a couple of passes (weight of machine only), up to 1200 rpm for 2 passes (weight of machine only), up to 1500/1600 for 3 or 4 passes (light pressure) and down to 900 to refine (weight of machine only). This was found to be extremely effective in removing the swirls and oxidation and any other chemical contamination left behind from the wash and clay stage. Taking time with it and really allowing the particles to work properly certainly paid dividends on the Porsche paint with the defects that it had. The car and its appearance were already transformed after the 106.

Once the whole car had been 106d, I repeated the machining with Menzerna 85RD Final Finish polish (cut 1/10, gloss 10/10). This allowed me to tease out more gloss in the paint and hopefully get it looking very liquid. With 85RD I spread for two passes on 600 rpm, up to 1200 for two, 1500 for two or three, 900 on two to refine.

The polish residues were still quite viscous at times due to the temperature and most of it came off well. I gave the whole car a Last Touch wipe down to catch some more of the residue that may have been still there.

Bonnet Before

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2831.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2831.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2831.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2831.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2831.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2831.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2831.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2831.jpg"]

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Boot Before
[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2859.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2859.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2859.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2859.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2859.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2859.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2859.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2859.jpg"]

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[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2850.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2850.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2850.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2850.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2850.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2850.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2850.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2850.jpg"]

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Cleansing and Protection
I was trying Dodo Lime Prime cleanser for the first time. I applied it with the PC. I spread it with the machine off and worked it in, breaking the micro-abrasives down at speed 3. Wiped clean with Poorboys DMTs. Absolutely brilliant product on this occasion and no micro marring at all. It really didnt take that long to apply by PC and I only worked it into the paint for one pass so that I could see total coverage.

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2865.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2865.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2865.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2865.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2865.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2865.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2865.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2865.jpg"]

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Final protection was Glasur. Love it!

The finale was a Field Glaze buff. Havent used it for a long time and Im keeping it for special occasions only. This car deserved it.

Wheels cleansed and sealed with my usual Jeffs Prime Strong Acrylic all-in-one. Another great product. Then given a coat of Collinite 476s high-durability wax as extra protection. You may notice some little black spots in the After pics, but they are small levels of pitting and not dodgy cleaning! It was very important to have these well protected for the owner.

External Plastic Trim and RubbersDressed with 303 Aerospace Protectant, applied with red side of German applicator.

WindowsDeep-cleansed and sealed with the Jeffs, as above.

Here are some pics after the car was completed. With the main garage lights off, I moved the halogens slightly to change the level of reflected light from the car. Hope you dont mind the duplication of a couple of panel pics.

Afters Inside

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2886gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2886gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2886gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2886gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2886gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2886gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2886gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2886gauss.jpg"]

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These similar pics with different light angles:

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2871gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2871gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2871gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2871gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2871gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2871gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2871gauss.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2871gauss.jpg"]

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[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2937.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2937.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2937.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2937.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2937.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2937.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2937.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2937.jpg"]

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And finally:

[URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2943.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2943.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2943.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2943.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2943.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2943.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2943.jpg"][URL="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q116/jr001_2007/Cayman/100_2943.jpg"]

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A fantastic 2 days and a fantastic car to machine. The Glasur suits this car very well I feel, after the level of fine machining that was done to create the perfect base for it. Those rear quarter curves were a pleasure to machine with the 3M plate and pads too.

Big thanks to David and Jan for their hospitality.

Cheers,

JOHN.

347 · Dec 12, 2007

nice work and a great transformation
the cayman is one of my favorite porsche designs :hubbahubba:

what was the outcome when the wife of the owner saw the results , did you get another booking , lol

jr001 · Dec 12, 2007

Thanks for your kind comments. It's a great looking car and it was fantastic to work on it. Yes, the owner's wife didn't really notice at first but when she did she made a point of coming into the garage regularly to check on things and was quite surprised!

She would like her Boxster given the same treatment in Feb and I've to maintain both cars over the forthcoming year too. So, yes it has been nice.

Cheers.:icon_thumright:

clcollins · Dec 13, 2007

Fantastic result, the owner must have been very happy.

I can't wait for the Christmas break, going to give my tired old A3 some much needed attention with the PC I bought 3 months ago but have yet to use.

Defratos · Dec 13, 2007

I think I've wet me self :hubbahubba:

jr001 · Jan 4, 2008

Defratos, thanks for the compliment LOL!!!!

Buck · Jan 4, 2008

That has to be one of the sweetest detailings I've seen - your pics really do it justice and you can see the amount of work you put into it.

Did I say great pics too?

<sulks off with envy>

Cheers

CM

RGBArgee · Jan 4, 2008

Great work but IMHO shouldn't you be concentrating on Audis for your Audi-Sport advertising!!

TT

TDI-line · Jan 6, 2008

Looks fantastic, nice work.

WX51TXR · Jan 9, 2008

In a word: AWESOME. Best you've done yet, in terms of the work, the write up and the photography. Want a job? :o.k:

jr001 · Jan 11, 2008

RGBArgee said:
Great work but IMHO shouldn't you be concentrating on Audis for your Audi-Sport advertising!!

TT

The fella didn't have an Audi for me to do. It's a Porsche-only household so I have to make do with them I'm afraid. They are better than nothing I suppose. They will keep the skills level up if nothing else LOL!!! If only I can get his neighbour's Elise.

CheekeyMonkee - thank you, glad you liked.

A big thanks also to the WX51 guy for his feedback too:icon_thumright:

Cheers,

JOHN

Hotscar · Jan 11, 2008

Very, very impressive!!

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