Detailer's Domain: Porsche 911 CS Cab - Ugh Water Spots

Received a call from the customer telling me that he would like his 911 CS Cab done. I'm thinking that's great! ........Then he tells me he has water spots on it, I ask how long have they been on there? If I recall right he said 6 months.

What was done -
Exterior

- Wheels were prepped with Sonax Wheel Cleaner and cleaned up with various brushes
- Tires were spritzed down with Adam’s All Purpose Cleaner and washed down
- Wheel wells were cleaned up
- Pre Washed with W99
- Iron Cut
- Wash down and rinsed
- Door jambs were cleaned up
- Clayed
- Dried
- Tires dressed
- Masking
- Paint Measurement
- Meg's M105 with Surbuf Pad
- Meguiar's DA300
- Menzerna SF4000
- Inspection with Fenix, 3m Sun Gun, Infratech, and natural sunlight
- Last Step – Aquartz
- Wheel wells were cleaned and dressed
- Rubber and Plastics Treated
- Exterior windows and mirrors cleaned and sealed
- Exhaust tips cleaned
- Windows were clayed, cleaned, and sealed

Engine -
- Cleaned
- Dressed

Interior -
- Vac
- Wipe down and protect dash
- Leather cleaned and conditioned
- Glass cleaned

Before - Interior



After - Interior



Before
Water spots everywhere!













Before - Wheels





Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner in action


APC on the tires and wheel wells



Wheels and tires cleaned up


Raggtopp Cleaner on the top



Before - Engine


After - Engine


Wash



Rinse


Iron Cut



Rinsed


Clay



Claying Glass


50/50 shots
Fixed up the Clear Film not perfect but a big improvement




Fenders


Close up


After - Not all removed but much much better







Final touches
Before - Tips


After - Tips


Pre Wow and Black Wow on the trim



After shots











Products used

Links to products used -

1Z einszett W99
Adam's All Purpose Cleaner
Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner
Uber Clay Bar Kit
Meguiar's M105
Meguiar's Microfiber DA Compound D300
Menzerna Super Finish
Aquartz Nano Coating
1Z einszett Vinyl Rubber Care
Optimum Metal Polish

Glass
Uber Glass Cleaner Kit

Interior
Leather Master Plus Kit
1Z einszett Cockpit

Engine:
Engine Detail Kit

Tools used
Uber Wool Wash Mitt
Uber No Name MF Towels
Porter Cable 7424XP
Uber Buffing Pads
Defelsko Paint Meter

Brinkmann
Kranzle Pressure Washer
Cam Spray Foam Canon
2 Grit Guard Buckets with Caddies
Uber Firehose Nozzle
Metro Air Force Blaster

 

Massive turnaround Phil, definitely one of the dirtiest Porsches we've seen in a while. And what's with the sudden increase of hard water on paint on DB?

 

Looks great Phil, hard water is such an issue here in Fort Worth.

-Kody-

 

That was bad, great job!

 

Looking good Phil !!!!

 

Excellent job as always.

Regarding the clear film treatment -- what exactly did you do? I have a c2s cab that I maintain with menzerna polishes, FMJ, and souveran and nothing seems to improve the light scratches on the clear film. I realize that it could be a completely different product that I have but I'm curious nonetheless how you made such an improvement in this film.

thanks

 

What an excellent detail. Awesome work as always.

On a side note, FYI, yesterday I worked on a 2002 745Li that had 10 years worth of waterspots on it.

You have it easy Just saying.....

 

Are water spots harder to correct than swirls or RIDS? I have very limited experience with water spots as it doesn't affect me much. There was one instance where I had to wash on a sunny day and despite moving around quickly, I ended up with some water spots. I took care of them with PO85RD but I'm assuming it's much different for you guys.

 

Fantastic job Phil!

 

It really does seem like water-etched cars are showing up more and more. I know Bob has posted a few recently, and now this one. Anyway, awesome work Phil, it looks great now!

Fresh waterspots are no problem. Light polish, clay or a QD will knock them out. Etched waterspots can be DEEP, too deep to safely remove sometimes. I've got a pic somewhere of where I sanded some scratches and waterspots on a hood. The RIDS came out pretty well, but you could easily see how much deeper the etched waterspots were, and there was no way I was going to chase those.

 

I would agree with Mike.

The problem with water spots are even though you get most of it off it will etch the paint, the 911 above had some serious etching so even though we brought out the guards red again under certain light you can see the outline of the water spots.

 

Great turn around Phil . I always enjoy your write ups.

 

Inset water spot etch especially on clearfilm is the bane of my existance.................................BY FAR the hardest thing to deal with when it is bad, btw Phil "Looks great".

 

So what causes the etched water spots? Is it hard water? rain?

 

I want to say water spots are harder and have can damage the paint as oppose to swirls and rids which you can get rid of.

 

hard water, acid rain etc.

 

The misnomer ‘water spots’ are likely to contain the atmospheric pollutants nitrogen oxide from motor exhaust emissions and sulphur oxide emissions from chemical plants, paper making and refineries, all of which can cause paint discoloration, surface etching and leaving microscopic surface imperfections and micro pores in the paint film surface that are vulnerable to deterioration, which should be removed and naturalized as soon as possible.

These spots are recognizable by white or chalky rings that make the paint appear cloudy. Acid (acid rain, industrial fallout (IFO) hard water minerals (calcium and magnesium) alkali (from a sprinkler system) and of the above when mixed with moisture and heat (reactivity) will cause etching ((a concave circular mark and pitting)) each time moisture and heat are added the acid / alkali is reactivated and it permeates further into the paint surface, if left for too long they can become too deeply ingrained in the clear coat for ‘safe’ removal.

If not removed, these minerals can permanently etch paint and glass. Quick detailers typically contain a wax or polymer and water, using them on an acid / alkali will lock the acid, allowing it to react with moisture and heat, which makes the acid more aggressive

 

Nice job as usual Phil! Might be comin up to c ya this week.

 

Very nice work Phil!

 

Great turnaround Phil, looks like you guys have been really busy. Congrats