If you have a German car from the 2010s, you may have experienced a scratched infotainment or instrument cluster screen. Early anti-glare coatings were not very durable. Even though these were not touch-screens, they tended to get scratched very easily just through routine cleaning. We even covered this in detail in a post from 2017 …
Black trim from the 80s and 90s often presents one of the toughest challenges when doing a preservation detail. You can try to use an all purpose cleaner, or maybe selectively apply heat, but the AP cleaner often doesn’t work so you end up scrubbing too hard and scratching the surface. Heat may melt the …
I was recently working on another black Porsche 997, only this one had some neglected PPF on the leading edge of the frunk and front fenders. There was probably PPF on the bumper cover as well, but it was removed long ago. The PPF that remained was well past its prime. PPF has a lifespan. …
One of the many frustrating aspects of trying to polish black paint can be haze that just doesn’t want to go away. Take a look at this 997 Turbo we recently had in the shop. Even after a good washing and clay bar application, the paint still had surface contaminants and water spots. After a …
This is one of my favorite projects. What can I do to a 28 year old car with 90K miles that’s mostly original? It’s not a garage queen, not a track car, just an honest driver that’s been out in the world for too long. This car had a lot of surface contamination and a …
When you have a single panel that needs repainting, it can be expensive to take the job to a paint shop. To do it right, they will need to blend the paint across multiple panels which adds costs and is time consuming. If the car is a driver, it may not be worth it. So …
I did the paint correction and ceramic coating on this M3 last Fall and the owner asked me to refresh the interior to match. This is perhaps the cleanest E36M3 I’ve ever seen so I was glad to have the opportunity to get the interior to a condition that matched the paint. BMW leather generally …
I love stickers on race cars. But just adding stickers doesn’t make a car a race car. So do you add stickers or not? If headed to the track: absolutely. Stickers make you faster and can be used to hide all kinds of blemishes. But for your collector car? There’s always the risk that leaving …
Read more “Stickers on Race Cars: Expert Tips for Application and Removal”
If you have an older sports car, especially a driver, just because it’s well worn, doesn’t mean it has to be worn out. Take the example of this 1997 Ferrari F355 I worked on earlier this month. This is a 39K mile, gated six speed spider which looks wonderful. When you opened the door however, …
Sometimes there’s just nothing left to polish. This is especially true with cars from the 90’s. When the auto industry switched over to water-based clear coat paints, many of the earlier products started to fail before the new-car warranty even expired. The other area which caused problems was in door jams and trunks. The flexible …