2023 Porsche 718 Spyder
Ultimate New Car Preparation
We had the pleasure recently to carry out a new car preparation on this stunning Porsche 718 Spyder. As a long standing client, the owner of this vehicle knew exactly the level of preparation they wanted for this vehicle.
For this particular vehicle we were joined by our good friend Matt from Revive Autocare. Like ourselves Matt is part of the IDA & is also a Garage Therapy (GT) Certified Detailer.
The Washing Process:
Monday morning saw Craig start to prepare the Spyder. Starting with the all important before photos.
Then we started the detail, firstly attending to the wheels, tyres & arches. Our dedicated wheels bucket had numerous brushes along with our GT Wheel Mitt. The soap of choice was GT Decon as we are preparing the vehicle for major work. We also had a bottle of GT Decon diluted at 10:1.
We will be removing the wheels from the vehicle later in the process.
Now we move onto the bodywork. Again as we are preparing the vehicle the snowfoam of choice here was GT Decon Shampoo in the lance. We are looking to ensure we remove as much dirt as possible from the paint before we contact wash. This was rinsed down after dwelling for around 5 minutes.
Craig then contact washed the vehicle with GT Decon in the bucket and the trusty GT washpad.
At this point we were joined by Matt, who pulled up, gloved up and grabbed the Lance to start rinsing.
This is when we inspected the vehicle for any signs of heavy surface contamination.
We started the chemical decontamination process with Fallout remover. This chemical reacts with the metal particles and removes them from the surface. When this chemical reaction happens the chemical turns purple, creating a "bleeding effect" as pictured. All wheels were treated with the same chemical.
After leaving for a few minutes to do it's thing we gave the vehicle a thorough rinse.
Once rinsed we then started the de-taring process. Matt took this upon himself to walk around the vehicle with a bottle of Tar & Glue remover and a microfibre attending to all the Tar on the vehicle.
A fair few small particles of tar were removed, we then gave the vehicle another thorough rinse.
We then covered the car in another layer of GT Decon via snowfoam lance to ensure we have removed all of the chemicals from the vehicle.
The Porsche was towel dried and then moved inside so we could get it blown dry and taped up for polishing.
Matt Started to blow dry it down, Craig stuck the kettle on and emptied the van of the kit needed for the next few days.
Before any polishing was undertaken we needed to understand the paint depths on the vehicle. Using our Nexdiag Paint depth gauge we undertook the process of measuring the paint depths across the vehicle. This report is placed into our client handover pack upon completion.
Even though this is a new vehicle we want to make sure all the paint is factory. Typically the average car has between 90-150 microns of paint. This had an average of 230! So they haven't been stringent when painting!
We then finished taping up and began assessing how we would tackle the paint work.
After some discussion we decided that as the vehicle was in very good condition and only had very light marring, we would attack the paint with a finishing polish and pad.
Matt walked around the car looking closely at all the panels and finding deeper marks within the paint. He popped a piece of tape next to it. Matt focused on removing these marks and Craig took the 5" pad and began to polish all the bigger areas, following Matt to ensure a consistent finish.
As we worked around the vehicle the crayon colour started to really pop. A few further deeper marks were revealed as we looked up and down the panels whilst polishing. Matt took these out with ease.
Polishing & Coating
The coating of choice for the Spyder was GT's Accredited detailer only coating Typhon. Typhon is a high solids, ultra-durable, ultra-hard, hydrophobic coating. Typhon has a durability of up to 5 years when maintained correctly!
Matt began the coating process starting on the largest panel on the rear of the car and then around the rear end. Craig was on buffing duty at timed intervals to ensure the coating cured correctly.
After all the paintwork was polished and the desired result was achieved we took a break and had a spot of lunch.
All the tape was removed from the car and we ran the blowers over the car to remove the small amount of polishing dust left from the polishing stage.
Machines got packed away and Matt began the process of panel wiping down the vehicle in preparation for the ceramic coating. This is a very important step to ensure that all polishing oils and any other surfactants on the paints surface are removed to ensure a clean surface for the coating to bond to.
Once all the vehicle was coated we had another cuppa as we had about an hour to wait before applying the second coat.
Matt started the coating process again and then Craig took over as Matt headed back up to Leeds. It was apparent the colour had started to gain depth & slickness!
After about an hour the second layer was completed & Craig started to look at coating the glass & fabric roof before heading home at the end of day 1.
Day 2
Day 2 started with Craig panel wiping the door shuts, under the bonnet & rear sections in preparation for coating. The coating of choice for these areas was GT's Cerberus Ceramic coating. Mainly due to the areas not being exposed to the elements but protected nevertheless.
Whilst under the front area (frunk) Craig decided to treat the plastics to a coat of Typhon to help with future cleaning.
Shortly after Matt arrived to help tackle the last few jobs on the Spyder. Matt began to remove the wheels for cleaning & coating.
Craig then cleaned back the wheel arches, suspension components & brake calipers, before wiping them down with panel wipe and finally coating them.
Whilst Craig was focusing on the wheels & arches, Matt focused his attention to the trim around the vehicle, applying a layer of Typhon.
Wheels were cleaned, panel wiped and then a thick layer of durable Matte specific wheel coating was applied to all parts of the wheel. (Barrel, Spokes, etc..)
Once the coating had cured and been removed the alloy was refitted to the vehicle. Tyres were dressed in a layer of GT Tyre Serum to condition and protect the tyre.
Matt then torqued up the wheels to the Porsche specification.
Interior
Next up on the list of jobs was the interior and this is where Matt really shines! I mean Craig likes to go to town but Matt is on another level!
All the interior was hoovered and wiped down with GT Interior. We then followed that up with protecting the fabrics with Gtechniq i1 smart fabric. Craig then protected the leather elements with GT Leather Protect.
Mats were striped and then it was just the glass to clean & do final checks of the vehicle before pictures and handover!
The Final Result
We would like to thank Matt from Revive Autocare for his assistance with this ultimate new car preparation. It was a great few days of networking, learning, laughs and much more!
To us this is what the IDA is all about and ultimately leads to friendships like this with Craig & Matt. With other big details planned between us this could be the new A team in detailing!
If you are in the West Yorkshire Area and are looking for the same high quality services that we provide then check out www.reviveautocare.co.uk
Thank you to our client for his continued support & for the use of his unit at our leisure to undertake the detailing services upon his vehicle. We look forward to maintaining this fabulous vehicle moving forward as part of our Maintenance Scheme.
Are you interested in these services on your vehicle? Get in touch with us today to see what we can do for you and your vehicle.