1987 Porsche 944

[Mingo]

I have just purchased a '87 Porsche 944. It has sat for over a year outside. The paint is in a flat dull state with the aluminum wheels in a dark grey with some black I believe from the brake pads. Interior needs to be cleaned. I would like to find out if anyone can tell me the type of paint used during this year and what products works best with the paint. Basically starting from scratch. Thanks for the time.

[greg0303]

Re: 1987 Porsche 944

You definitely have to start with a good long wash and a clay bar treatment. You may also use Gold Class Bug & Tar Remover for those hard to clean exterior areas.

If it's a single stage products like M83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish and M80 Speed Glaze should provide enough muscle. For base coat/ clear coat system Ultimate Compound followed by Ultimate Polish would be a good starting point.

If you use a foam applicator pad and a paint cleaner, like Ultimate Compound or ScratchX 2.0, by rubbing it into paint will reveal if it's a single stage or not: single stage paint will leave paint color on an applicator.

[Murr1525]

Re: 1987 Porsche 944

Any chance of some pics? That will help a lot.

[overedline]

Re: 1987 Porsche 944

Wet a polishing cloth and rub it in a small, inconspicuous area of your paint and see if any color is picked up by the cloth. If you see some color then you can rejoice because there's no clearcoat. If it does have clearcoat and its dulled out, then your paint restoration job just got a whole lot tougher. Its easier to restore gloss to old, dull paint. Dull clearcoat that old could end up being quite a challenge.

By the way, congrats on the 944 purchase! Its one of my all-time favorite cars. I especially like the red ones.

[overedline]

Re: 1987 Porsche 944

As far as what products to use (after a good washing), I would first try the least aggressive polishing/cutting product (I think that would be Ultimate Compound) in a small area to see if its strong enough to do the job, then try more aggressive polishing/cutting products if necessary.

Also, I'd recommend getting a good orbital buffer like the Porter Cable 7424 (PC) or Ultimate Detailing Machine (UDM) for a job this size, and be sure to read up on how to properly use them beforehand.