Chewy
Forum Member
Porsche 356 Speedster – Complete Appearance Restoration
I worked on this vintage Porsche 356 Speedster a little while ago and just now I’m having time to get caught up on doing the write up. I’ve done several cars for this client (mostly classic Porsches) and not only does he use the heck out of them, he also wants them maintained to the highest levels on a regular basis. Just recently he transported a few of his cars to California just to drive them on the mountainous road terrain. This is the 1st of several sessions I’ve spent working on this vehicle and here is how it went.
As it arrived:
During the wash prep process. I used 3D Yellow Degreaser for the wheels, tires & wheelhouses.
Decades of dirty and grime scrubbed and rinsed away. I didn’t want to use a pressure washer to avoid disturbing the existing undercoating even though the owner will be having it reapplied:
This old finish lacked depth, so I decided a light hand sanding with Micro-Mesh 3600 grit was in order. I used 3D’s Pink Car Wash soap as a lubricant. This level of grit easily and effectively leveled the topical defects to aid in breaking through to the workable finish which greatly helped the canvas for correction.
Here’s how it looked prior to correction (keep in mind that a 3600 sand scratch is quite easy to polish out):
Outside shots:
A little taping off (the plate frame assembly did get removed):
50/50’s to see how perfect the restored finish was able to get. I used HD UNO V4 with 5 inch MF pads for the correction and then finished down with 3D black finishing foam pads.
After the post correction rewash was done, I then preceded to clean, recondition and detail the interior and trunk compartments. I used HD TOTAL for all the cleaning duties. Here is what the interior looked like before:
Here is a mild concentration of TOTAL soaking on the seats. The more it dwelled, the more it allowed all the deeply embedded soiling that resided here for decades to gently free up and away from the surface. I used the HD DUO pad for the scrubbing/agitating duties. Here’s a taste of what was lifting:
Spray:
Agitate:
After breaking things up and a little more dwell time:
And here’s how differently the seats looked after cleaning along with the dirt that lifted onto the towel:
Here’s a sample of the soiling that lifted from the door panels:
Other sections received some love from various brushes:
Because the seats looked a touch dingy and the owner prefers a little gloss (as long as it’s tasteful) on this vehicle, I used HD PROTECT as the icing on the cake. This stuff smells incredible! You can alter the gloss after the product sets up. Just take a separate towel and buff it to the desired gloss level w/o any greasy feel.
Here is how the interior turned out:
Dash clean, shined & sealed:
On to the trunk. Here’s how it started:
The floor mat was removed and hand scrubbed and then rinsed:
The fuel tank was polished with HD UNO with a Green foam pad and then sealed with HD POXY:
Seals were treated with 1Z Gummi:
Trunk Afters:
Engine got a light rinse and wipe down:
Toward the end of the day, I applied a thin layer of HD POXY sealer and let is cross-link overnight:
Here’s the afters:
Because of the chance for rain, my client decided to get this vehicle towed back to his place. He would have left it, but was having a party and was anxious to show off his car to his friends
Thanks for looking and comments are greatly appreciated!
I worked on this vintage Porsche 356 Speedster a little while ago and just now I’m having time to get caught up on doing the write up. I’ve done several cars for this client (mostly classic Porsches) and not only does he use the heck out of them, he also wants them maintained to the highest levels on a regular basis. Just recently he transported a few of his cars to California just to drive them on the mountainous road terrain. This is the 1st of several sessions I’ve spent working on this vehicle and here is how it went.
As it arrived:
During the wash prep process. I used 3D Yellow Degreaser for the wheels, tires & wheelhouses.
Decades of dirty and grime scrubbed and rinsed away. I didn’t want to use a pressure washer to avoid disturbing the existing undercoating even though the owner will be having it reapplied:
This old finish lacked depth, so I decided a light hand sanding with Micro-Mesh 3600 grit was in order. I used 3D’s Pink Car Wash soap as a lubricant. This level of grit easily and effectively leveled the topical defects to aid in breaking through to the workable finish which greatly helped the canvas for correction.
Here’s how it looked prior to correction (keep in mind that a 3600 sand scratch is quite easy to polish out):
Outside shots:
A little taping off (the plate frame assembly did get removed):
50/50’s to see how perfect the restored finish was able to get. I used HD UNO V4 with 5 inch MF pads for the correction and then finished down with 3D black finishing foam pads.
After the post correction rewash was done, I then preceded to clean, recondition and detail the interior and trunk compartments. I used HD TOTAL for all the cleaning duties. Here is what the interior looked like before:
Here is a mild concentration of TOTAL soaking on the seats. The more it dwelled, the more it allowed all the deeply embedded soiling that resided here for decades to gently free up and away from the surface. I used the HD DUO pad for the scrubbing/agitating duties. Here’s a taste of what was lifting:
Spray:
Agitate:
After breaking things up and a little more dwell time:
And here’s how differently the seats looked after cleaning along with the dirt that lifted onto the towel:
Here’s a sample of the soiling that lifted from the door panels:
Other sections received some love from various brushes:
Because the seats looked a touch dingy and the owner prefers a little gloss (as long as it’s tasteful) on this vehicle, I used HD PROTECT as the icing on the cake. This stuff smells incredible! You can alter the gloss after the product sets up. Just take a separate towel and buff it to the desired gloss level w/o any greasy feel.
Here is how the interior turned out:
Dash clean, shined & sealed:
On to the trunk. Here’s how it started:
The floor mat was removed and hand scrubbed and then rinsed:
The fuel tank was polished with HD UNO with a Green foam pad and then sealed with HD POXY:
Seals were treated with 1Z Gummi:
Trunk Afters:
Engine got a light rinse and wipe down:
Toward the end of the day, I applied a thin layer of HD POXY sealer and let is cross-link overnight:
Here’s the afters:
Because of the chance for rain, my client decided to get this vehicle towed back to his place. He would have left it, but was having a party and was anxious to show off his car to his friends
Thanks for looking and comments are greatly appreciated!
imp:
