SWISSVAX Detailing Guide – Guards Red 1986 Porsche 951 with OEM Fuchs Wheels

The Porsche featured in this report is a 1986 Guards Red Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) fitted with 7 inch front and 9 inch rear Fuch wheels. It has covered 90,000km since leaving the factory and was partially garaged during its 22 years of life. The paintwork and the wheels are in OEM and the car has never experienced any special care during its life.

I. Preparing your Porsche for the Swissvax application – Washing your Porsche:

Before you can apply any Swissvax products for the exterior, you need to prepare your Porsche by washing it thoroughly but gently. Follow the below basic rules for an efficient and immaculate car wash providing shiny results with minimum effort:

• Always start with cleaning the wheels. The wheels usually are the dirtiest part of your washing programme and are covered with aggressive brake dust attacking the paintwork. Additionally you will most likely spritz dirt from the wheels on the paint of the body when rinsing the latter.
• Strictly separate tools, cloths and towels that you use for the wheels from the ones you use for washing the paint.
• Do not use a sponge for washing your Porsche. No matter how carefully you rinse your sponge, a few dirt particles will always remain trapped in its pores causing scratches to the precious paintwork of your Porsche. Use a cloth instead which can be washed easily after each use and is guaranteed free of residues for your next Porsche car wash.
• Never wash your Porsche in full sun and always use enough water. Always keep the entire surface continually wet.
• Always use copious amounts of water. The erroneous belief of using tap water only to wash your Porsche is wrong, without a shampoo the wash solution has no way to resolve, encapsulate and transport the dirt away. We recommend the Swissvax Car bath for washing your Porsche as it is a PH-friendly shampoo concentrate that effectively breaks the bond between the dirt and the paint surface while not destroying your Swissvax wax finish as other products might.
• Once you have cleaned the wheels (See II.) start washing the paintwork of the car from the roof, move down to the boot, bonnet and below the waist line. This allows you to efficiently rinse down the dirt.
• Remove insects with ease by putting a terry cloth soaked with luke-warm water on the required area. Let soak in for five minutes and wash off using a wet cloth and copious amounts of water, apply gentle pressure only.
• To dry your Porsche efficiently after washing it, use the Swissvax Hydralip for all large areas and rub the remaining areas dry with a fresh and clean Cloth.

II. Swissvax Porsche wheel and tyre detailing programme – 1986 Porsche Fuchs alloy wheels

This section of our Swissvax Porsche detailing guide will explain to you the process of detailing a set of Porsche Fuchs wheels and tyres. These parts often aren’t paid sufficient attention in a detailing programme notwithstanding the fact that brake dust can cause permanent damage to the surface of the rims. Thorough and regular care of your Porsche wheels will add the ultimate finishing touch to your favourite vehicle.

II.1: Cleaning your Wheels:

1. Rinse the wheels using copious amounts of water:

2. Mix the Swissvax Wheel concentrate with Water using the Swissvax Mixing bottle
(Mixture ratio 1:1 for first application, 1:2 for heavily soiled wheels, 1:3 for normally soiled wheels):

3. Spray this mixture on your wheels. Wait for 2 minutes or so, pay attention to never leave the mixture longer than 5 minutes on the wheels.

4. Remove dirt using the Swissvax Wheel Brush and the Micro Wash microfiber cloth (yellow) to clean the wheels. We prefer using the practical brush for all areas that are not easily accessible (e.g. where wheelnuts are located) while the Micro Wash allows quick and flawless cleaning of larger areas (e.g. rim base).

5. Thoroughly rinse off the wheels again with clean water.

The wheels are now neatly cleaned and ready for protection measures and finish.

II .2: Protecting and finishing the wheels and tyres (Autobahn Wheel wax and Pneu tyre finish)

1. Before you can wax your Fuchs wheels you need to prepare them with the Swissvax Paint Rubber and Swissvax Quick Finish. Spray the quick finish on the wheel surface and rub the paint rubber forth and back until all deposits are removed completely and you can feel an absolutely smooth finish on the entire wheels surface.

2. For best protection and neat gloss of the Fuchs wheels apply the PTFE enriched Swissvax Autobahn Wheel Wax sparingly with a Swissvax Wax Applicator using the sponge style surfaced side. Let stand for 15 minutes.

3. Polish the Fuchs wheels briskly to a high gloss using a Swissvax Micro Polish microfiber cloth (blue). Keep turning the cloth in order to constantly expose a clean surface.

4. Finish your wheel and tyre detailing programme by applying Swissvax Pneu using a small foam square. Spray Pneu on the sponge first and then apply it carefully to the sidewalls of your tyres. Spare out the Fuchs alloy wheels. Let soak in for 10mins during which the milky white film will turn a deep black. If required you may apply Pneu twice. Then use a cloth to remove any excessive residues, especially paying attention to residues on the wheel rims.

You now have successfully detailed your Porsches wheels. You will definitively cause a sensation the first time you will go through this programme and besides that – and not less important – have well invested your precious time in the durable protection of your Porsches wheels. We can guarantee you that you will enjoy your wheels for a long time and cleaning them will only require a fraction of the time thanks to the protective and heat resistant Carnauba wax coating enhanced with PTFE. Please have a look at the detailed wheel pictures at the bottom of this page.

III. Swissvax Porsche Paintwork detailing programme – 1986 Guards Red Original Paint

This section of the DEUTSCH NINE Swissvax Porsche Detailing Guide documents the process of detailing 22 year old Guards Red Original Paint. This popular Porsche colour is notorious for losing its beauty with the years, getting dull and more likely looking orange then red. In the past we have tried several abrasive polishing products which skimmed down the paint improving its look momentarily but soon fading again. Therefore we were looking for a different approach which we have found when first trying the legendary Swissvax Paint Care Solution.

Let’s get started...

1. Wash your car thoroughly but gently following the steps described under section I.

2. When you have a detailed look at the paintwork of the German patient, you will notice small and micro scratchers in its surface:

III. 1 Preparing the paintwork

1. Use the Swissvax Swissvax Paint Rubber to remove any residues and oxidants that you were unable to remove when washing your Porsche. Pay special attention to frontal areas like the front bumper, badge panel and rear mirrors.

Spray quick finish on the paint and rub the paint rubber forth and back until the desposits are removed Use your fingertips to feel the paint surface to detect any irregularities. Carry on until you see and feel only an ultra smooth painted surface. Please note that the paint rubber does not skim off any paint.

The paint rubber will start to become darker over time as it removes dirt, to restore a clean putty surface, knead it until the dirt is folded into the interior. It may be used until it is completely loaded with dirt particles. We recommend you not to use the same piece of Paint Rubber for wheels and paintwork (the kit contains two pieces.

2. Then treat the paintwork with Swissvax Swissvax Cleaner Fluid which will both nourish the paint with its heavy polishing oils and remove swirl marks, light scratches, tar, tree sap and old wax leaving nothing but a flawless surface. It does not continue abrasive particles and will not skim your Porsches paintwork making it the perfect pre-wax treatment.

Use a Swissvax Swissvax Cleaner Fluid Pad to apply the Cleaner Fluid on your Porsche. Put the Cleaner Fluid on the pad first and then apply it on the paintwork (never put cleaner fluid directly on the paintwork). Rub forth and back evenly (no circular movements) only applying gentle pressure. Proceed in small areas of about 1m squared. Work systematically. Then use a Swissvax Cloth to polish the paintwork. You will hear a squeaking sound caused by the friction of the now extremely homogenous surface when you have arrived at this stage of the process, hence a “healthy squeak”. Proceed in small areas and pay attention to detail.

Should you encounter major scratches in the paintwork you can remove these with Swissvax Swissvax Cleaner Fluid Medium using a separate Cleaner Fluid Pad. This product features micro granules allowing a progressively finer abrasive polish only skimming of paint by the required minimum. You can follow the above process for the Cleaner fluid.

III. 2 Sealing and finishing the paintwork

Now that you have successfully prepared your Porsches paintwork you can proceed with the application of the most renown Swissvax masterpiece for Porsche: The Swissvax Zuffenhausen Wax.

Follow the below basic rules in order to achieve best durable sealing and the most glossy finishing results on the world:

• Never apply wax on rubber or plastic parts of your Porsche. If you are not used to manually apply wax precisely deploy Swissvax Protection to all potentially exposed plastic or rubber parts prior to the wax application.
• Never apply wax under direct exposure of sun.
• Strictly use separate cloths for cleaner fluid and wax (we use white towels for the pre-wax treatment and black towels for the wax job). Should you happen to drop a towel on the floor never use it again before having washed it.

1. Use your fingers to extract a small quantity of Zuffenhausen wax from the tin. You best rub your fingertips in a circular motion to warm the wax up allowing you to extract it more easy. Put the wax in your palms and rub both palms a few times. The friction will warm the wax up further making it more liquid allowing you to distribute it with ease on your Porsches paintwork. Apply the wax sparingly to build up a uniform wax layer on the paint finish.

Proceed in small areas.

2. Let stand for 10-15 minutes. Then polish the surface using a Swissvax Terry Cotton cloth. Keep turning the cloth in order to expose a clean surface.

3. If required use a Micro Polish microfiber cloth (blue) to polish to a high gloss.

4. Once you have completed the waxing programme try not to touch the paintwork of your Porsche for three hours and if all possible position the vehicle the vehicle your Porsche in the sun. You will notice that the lustre continues to deepen during this period.

IV. Finishing

Once you have proceeded through the wheel and paintwork programme it is time to pay attention to all rubber parts you will find on the exterior of the 951. Use Swissvax Seal Feed and a foam square applicator (or a Swissvax Wax applicator) to “feed” humidity back to these heavily exposed and often neglected parts. First wipe the seals off with a damp cloth, then spray seal feed on the applicator and apply it on the seals leaving out the paintwork. Apply some pressure and proceed in one direction only.

V. Summary and results

If you have proceeded successfully through steps I-IV you will have protected all important areas of the exterior of your Porsche having invested more or less one day and a few hundred Euros, an investment which definitely is worth both.

From an enthusiast perspective we can insure you that the process of application is a joyful experience for every car enthusiast and that you will be over the moon once you roll your Porsche out into the sun after the first application (have a look at the pictures).

We recommend you to do a re-wax (Wash and Wax application only) on your Porsche every 3 months and a full treatment (Wash, Cleaner Fluid and Wax) every 6 months. Please also consider that Swissvax products are very economical, e.g. a tin of Zuffenhausen was lasts for about 8 applications putting its price considerably into perspective.

We hope that this Guide illustrates and explains in a comprehensive and convincing manner the outstanding quality and the consistent concept of Swissvax products making them the best Car Care products in the world for Porsche.

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