Paint Recovery and Detailing Skills – Hands-On!

Written by Peg Ryan based on Jim Hill’s outline – Pictures by Harold Klein – PDF version of this Article

This is an outline of the detailing process that Jim Hill, an Oregon PCA member, shared with us at the Tech Session – Paint Recovery and Detailing Skills. Hosted at Steve and Winnie Miller’s home in Oregon City “ Millerdale”, about 50 people attended the tech session and then enjoyed Steve’s homemade Chili dogs and great beverages. Steve and Jim prepared this hands-on Tech Session to make it useful and enjoyable! For more pictures, go to the Oregon PCA picture site at: https://orpca-pix.smugmug.com/PaintRecovery-Detail-Oct-2016

Jim Hill, Detailer extraordinaire

Porsches lined up outside Steve’s garage

Jim’s objective was to provide hands on experience with cleaners, compounds, and waxes to make your Porsche shine and to show how easy it is to detail your own car. Below are the step by step that Jim provided us, with pictures from the event embedded to help with the steps.
Please note that this is a summary of what we did. Here is a great web site with a lot more information on detailing your car:
https://www.griotsgarage.com/category/how+to/how+to+wash.do

1. Wash/Dry:
 Use 2 buckets – soap in one, rinse in other
 Use a back and forth motion, lengthwise, not in swirls
 Clean the wheels next, you can use a long brush with a towel to clean all the way back into rims
 When all of this is done – move the car back and forth using brakes to take rust off of the disks
Note: Check for smaller areas with dirt (especially the door handles and chrome items) – clean these with a damp small toothbrush or Q-tip
Note: Use a wax remover if there is still dried on wax anywhere left over from previous waxings

Steve’s beautiful 356 was cleaned before we arrived (Step 1) and he had taped it up as well (Step 3)

2. Clay bar and Speed Shine:
 Put a small plastic bag over your fingers and feel the car – using this you will feel the dirt still remaining on the car
 Use the Griots Speed Shine and the Paint Cleaning Clay to remove the dirt until it all feels smooth to your hand
 Use caution near Clear bras/ emblems as the clay is difficult to remove if it gets on a seam or edge

Plastic bags help feel the remaining dirt

Speed shine wets it down

Clay removes the remaining dirt

Ready to try!

Hands-on with the Clay

3. Tape all areas that you do not want to get wax on
 Use 3M Painters Masking Tape (blue) – apply as loosely as possible
 Paper the windows

Example of the blue painter tape covering the chrome we did not want to get compound or wax on.

4. Compounds:
 Use the 3 inch Random Orbital with a clean 3 inch Orange Foam Correcting pad
 Put a small amount of the Griots’s Complete Compound onto the pad (use this for removal of moderate paint defects)
 Put the orbital with the compound onto the surface of the car BEFORE turning it on. DON’T PICK ORBITAL UP WITHOUT TURNING IT OFF. It will splatter compound all over if lifted from car while still on.
 Apply in small sections up/down – back & forth, about 4/5 times each way.
 Use lots of microfiber towels (fold in fourths to maximize use) after applying to remove the compound – don’t let it dry to much as it gets harder to remove as it dries

Jim showing us how to use the Orbital and putting compound on the car

Applying the Compound Jim offering help

Yes, this is fun!

5. Wax – Carnauba:
 Premium Carnauba Paste wax – applied with 3 inch Red Foam Waxing pads on Random Orbital
 A Little goes a long way
 Use the same pattern as the compound application
 You can do larger areas than the compound application but wipe it off before it dries

Paste wax options

Applying the Wax

Here you can see Steve’s garage and all the people who attended!

Wax is on! Microfleece wiping off the wax

6. Finished!

Finished back and front – looks like new!

List of Products:
3M Painters Masking Tape (blue)
Paint Cleaning Clay
Speed Shine
3” Random Orbital
Complete Compound (For removal of moderate paint defects)
Premium Carnauba Paste wax – applied with 3 inch Red Foam Waxing pads on Random Orbital
Microfiber towels
Window Cleaner
Glass Sealant
Vinyl & Rubber Dressing
Heavy-Duty Metal polish – use on chrome
Bumper & Trim Reconditioner (wear gloves 🙂 )
No Touch® – Wet ‘N’ Protect™ Tire Finish

Note on pad cleaning: – use a pad cleaner – spray on the pads, clean as well as possible with hot water. Wash towels & pads together – use hot water and soap only.
Don’t put pads in the dryer.
Note on Clay bar: If you drop clay bar on the ground – throw it away, otherwise clay can be reused – fold and blend in. Neil’s suggestion with dropped clay bar is to pick out ‘big chunks’ and save separately in a plastic bag to use on wheels.

Check out all the great Griots products at the Sidedraught City location: 9125 SE 64th Ave. Portland, OR 97206 (closed on Monday). Call or email Neil if you have any questions : 503-548-6334; [email protected]