I believe this Panamera Turbo is the first one in Southern California and it was a real joy to work on. First, this is one AMAZING Porsche. I liked it on paper and on the computer screen and now I'm in love with this sedan. IMHO, it's hands down THE sedan of choice for me at the moment. The fit and finish is second to none. The attention to detail and design is second to none. Porsche definitely did its homework and hit it out of the park with this one.

As you'll see, this Panamera did come with the usual flaws from the dealer. I can only assume it was from washing the car. How a dealer can send out a $150000 car in this condition is beyond me. To this day I have yet to find a dealer do a proper prep on a new car. It infuriates me to no end; but that's another thread.

This detail was suppose to be a full interior/exterior detail but once I started, I decided to shift gears. The client is going to take this car to a few runs before taking it to SEMA in a few weeks. I originally wanted to do a paint correction as well as a full detail but the client was hesitant on machine polishing since he knew the car would get hammered in the next few weeks. I thought I could simply hand polish the exterior and minimize some of the imperfection. To my dismay, hand polishing didn't get me the desired effect. Knowing how special this car is and the attention it was to receive, and my rep being on the line, I decided to do a one-stage polish instead of a full interior detail. This way I'd stay within budget, stay within time allocation, and make a dramatic improvement in the overall appearance of this car.

I'd say the exterior is about 85% of the way there, but I'm very happy considering the circumstances. With that said, here's an education on our process at Glistening Perfection and what we feel to be a proper New Car Prep.

Initial Condition

 

Initial Wash (90 Minutes)

I first begin by cleaning the door jams using a citrus-based cleaner. This helps loosen the dirt and grime in the door jams and seals









Then the engine bay is cleaned using same citrus cleaner. The trick to remember is to run the engine for a while to warm up. Rinse using deionized so there's no water spotting. Use a soft horse-hair bristle to clean components











Wheels are cleaned using a safe pH balanced wheel cleaner that will not harm the clear coating on the wheels. Various brushes are needed such as horse-hair wheel brush and the EZ Detail brush to get inside the wheels and clean in the wheel well












The exterior is rinsed, washed using an organic and natural auto soap that is safe for the paint and the environment. My choice for a wash mitt is the GP Australian Sheepskin Mitt. I work in small panels, washing area no larger than where my arms can reach. Once the panel is washed with the mitt, I then rinse the panel washed and rinse the mitt. This way, the paint is flushed from the soap that is holding all the dirt and my mitt is always clean when dipped back into my soap bucket









The paint is dried using our GP MicroDry Towels. These are high-quality foam-core microfiber towels that do an excellent job of drying. Two towels is enough to dry the whole car. I then blow-dry the exterior to get all the water out of the nook-and-crannies using an Airmax Filtered Blower

 

Paint cleaned and decontaminated (20 Minutes)

Now that paint is washed and dried, it's time to decontaminate and deep clean the paint to prep for polishing. This wasn't all that bad as you can see not much contaminants were picked up by the clay. A very mild clay was used



Paint is polished to remove imperfections and prep for wax (180 Minutes)

As I mentioned, I ended up doing a one-stage polish using Menzerna Super Intensive Polish and GP CCS White polishing pad using a FLEX at setting 5.5. The results were stunning considering a one stage process. The panels were wiped with alcohol to assure proper correction









Polishing is complete. You can see how the polish is broken down and has a slight haze that can almost be seen through






Final polishing results prior to waxing











Exterior is waxed using a carnauba wax (20 Minutes)

Final attention is addressed to tires, wheel well, and wheels (30 Minutes)

Door jams are waxed, engine bay is wiped down and conditioned, any rubber trim is cleaned and conditioned (30 Minutes)

Glass is cleaned and Final Inspection is done (15 Minutes)

Interior is vacuumed, leather is cleaned using Organic Natural Leather Cleaner. All interior panels were then conditioned using a spray that applies a UV coating to protect against sun. We will condition the interior in a few weeks with the proper leather and vinyl conditioner. (50 Minutes)

 

Final Results





















Slight haze you may see is from the wax. I had to apply the wax on the hood in direct sunlight and since I used a carnauba wax, it has a lower melting point than the paint temp at time of application. No matter what you do, the wiping will leave a slight haze until the paint is cooled down and wiped

 

Thanks to the client, will remain anonymous, and the boys at BBI, Betim and Joey. You guys were great to hang out with and your facility and dedication is second to none. I appreciate you accommodating me and making me feel at home. Glad we had a chance to finally meet and I look forward to many more details at your facility.

 

wow nice job i just blows my mind that the paint would b in that kind of shape from the factory. that interior is just art work

 

I don't think it left Porsche that way...it was the dealer's handy work.

The materials and fit-and-finish of this car make you take a step back and say WOW!!!

 

say thankyou to the dealer on that one. they treat all cars on the lot poorly when it comes to the paint. if you realy want the paint to be in good condition when you pick it up. make sure of exactly how long it has been on the actual lot. and if it has been there awhile tell them to order you a new one or just wait. most dealers will get a new car for you.

 

Amazing! I love the after polishing shots

 

When I took delivery of my IS-F, I asked that they do not prepare the car for me. I instead brought it to my favorite detailer, paid $500 cash, and it was properly conditioned.

 

It all depends. Most p-cars, ferraris, lambos, etc. take months to order and even more months to have them delivered here in the states. The trick is if you find a car you like, it has imperfections, let the dealer know that you'll only take delivery of the car if they pay for a proper paint correction by a "qualified" detailer...they'll most likely try and get their detail guy to do it, but considering they're the ones that damaged the car, explain to them you'd feel much more comfortable giving the car to your detailer and sending the dealer the bill. If more people took delivery of their new cars this way, dealers wouldn't abuse the cars and treat them as "units" that need to get out the door.

 

Thanks...those are the shots that truly show what lies beneath the unfortunate mess. Thanks for looking.

 

Great job! That's how everyone should take delivery of their new car IMHO.

 

wow nice work that paint was in bad shape for a brand new really expensive car. If i showed up at the dealership with my new car looking like that i'de tell them to keep it unless they got it fixed right.

 

It's kind of disgusting to me that dealers treat cars like that, last car I bought from a dealer was a truck so not that big of a deal. If I bought a porche however thing better be perfect! Great work on the detail!