Workin' (on) the Hood

There's something very satisfying about a job well done, isn't there? 

A little time, a little effort, some care and attention to detail, and a result that makes you glad you put the work into it.

That's where I'm at now with the time I've put into the front end of the GTS this winter. Those European kms put a little wear into the hood, with some tiny chips, and the sloppy washing done over there introduced a myriad of light swirls and scratches that showed up under direct light. Dirty wash mitts and time constraints (therefore rushing) were definitely the culprits. I'm thinking quick washes really aren't worth it!

It seems to me that the clearcoat ia a little 'softer' than that of the S2000. Or maybe it's just the Carmine Red colour that brings them out more than the S2000's New Formula Red, but either way, the 'love marks' definitely are more noticeable and seemingly easier to introduce.

Now let's be clear, we are talking extremely fine marks that I am seeing in the garage, under the lights, and up close, with tight, winter-boredom-induced scrutiny. I'd venture to say that summertime outdoor viewing, by anyone other than me, would result in NO comments about scratches on the paint!

Still, it does give me something to do over the winter that is Porsche-related and costs me nothing but time - unlike poring over Amazon to see if there are any other little upgrades I could buy (there are a couple)! Spring can't come fast enough to turn my attention to actual driving, rather than just thinking about driving!

So, back to the hood. The plan is to PPF (paint protection film) it come springtime. We (Andrew and I) intend to tackle it ourselves before we get the cars out when the warmer weather returns. The combination of low car and the angle of the hood seems to attract attention from abrasives, so we need that level of protection. However, before we tackle it (to see if we can save ourselves the rather exorbitant cost the installer companies out there want to charge), we need to get the paint in as good a shape as we can. Andrew's been perfecting a technique for touching up chips (using Dr. Color Chip - which seems to match the colour perfectly), so at some point I shall have to get the Boxster over to his garage so we can attend to my car as well as his.

My first step here though, has been to get the paint polished properly to remove those little swirls, so that's what I've been working on, to great effect. I'm quite pleased how careful work with the polisher and the Sonax Perfect Finish finishing polish has resulted in the hood looking pretty darn good. I really could use another overhead light in my garage to help lighting up the surface, but for the time being, using a powerful headlamp plus the existing light did the trick. If you compare the second photo to the third one, you can see that the tiny circular swirls that appear around the lightbulb reflection are pretty much gone in the third shot (post-polishing - and only one step!).

There's a law of diminishing returns at play with 'paint correction' as you abrade away a tiny layer of the clearcoat with each polishing pass, and my goal here is not to get it to Pebble Beach concours-level, but just reasonably blemish-free before wrapping the whole thing in the protective clear plastic. Happy to say I've been able to get the hood to that level, so I just need a clear, dry day to be able to get the car over to Andrew's (much bigger) garage.

Really, before moving it to do the touchups, the only thing left to do is to finish up the right side of the car and then (once in the larger space) do a one-step polish of the rocker panels where there are some minute signs of road rash where the body flares out behind the air intakes, just in front of the rear wheels. I've scoped out a shop to do the PPF work along that panel, as it's a complex shape and pretty fiddly, but not a huge cost to have it done. Seems like an important part though, as it is exposed to stuff flung up from the front wheels. Again, I want to get it in good shape before protecting it with PPF.

As you can see, with just a little care and effort (not a ton by any means), and the right polish and pad for your buffer, you can get the paint looking pretty darn 'liquid'. I mean just look at that reflection! I'm chuffed with the process (simple) and the results (beautiful) and I can't say I will spend any more time trying to get things even better than this. Unless of course I get it out into the sunlight in the spring and see all the ghastly mistakes I've made!

The thing to remember (and remind myself of often) too, is that PPF hides a myriad of tiny flaws because the light hits the PPF, not the flaws underneath, so as long as things are smooth (which polishing achieves) then the reflections are going to be goooood. Touching up the few chips on the hood with red will be the next step.

So, still a few things left to do before spring rolls around - that way the car will be nicely protected and the focus can be on getting out there on the roads where it should be!

Onward to April - feel the anticipation building! Woot woot!

~ Luke