Three-stage machine polishing on a Porsche 993 Carrera 4S
This 1996 Porsche 993 Carrera 4S in Guards Red came to us for a full paint correction detail. The car had been resprayed a few years earlier, but the body shop had not finished the paint down properly: sanding marks, buffer trails and holograms were left in the lacquer, and on a solid red they show up as a dull, milky haze under any bright light.
Stripping the car down before polishing
After the usual wash and decontamination, the light clusters, badges and the rear wing deck lid cover were removed from the car. Taking parts off is what lets you polish a panel properly to its edges instead of taping around an obstruction and leaving a band of uncorrected paint behind it. The deck lid cover was tackled first, on its own, because it was always going to take the longest to get perfect.
Correcting the body shop’s finish
The rear deck lid and rear end were the worst areas on the car and needed the most work, so they were done next. The 50/50 shots in the gallery show the left side corrected after two stages, still to be refined, against untouched paint on the right. In total the car took three stages of machine polishing and refining before the red was clean and deep rather than hazy, and the light clusters were corrected as well before being refitted.
Protection and final details
The paint was wiped down with CarPro Eraser to strip any polishing oils, so that what went on top was bonding to bare, corrected lacquer, then protected with Swissvax wax, which is what gives a solid colour like Guards Red that deep, warm glow rather than a glassy one. The wheels were sealed with Swissvax Autobahn and the tyres dressed with Gtechniq T1. A car coming in for the same work today can be finished with a ceramic coating instead, which holds the finish for years rather than months, though wax is still the choice where the look matters more than the durability.
