A regular customer of mine managed to get himself an invite to buy a new Porsche 992.1 GT3 RS! He originally thought that he would get it wrapped in Paint Protection Film (PPF). However, because he was so impressed with the finish of the 2 other cars of his that I had applied Garage Therapy Typhon 5 year ceramic coating to, he decided to go with this.
We discussed the different options available and we came up with the following plan to apply the following Garage Therapy products to the GT3 RS.
Typhon 5 year Ceramic Coating to the painted and carbon fibre panels.
Chimera ontop of the Typhon coating.
Hades to the wheels.
Tarturus to all of the plastic trim.
This would be a 3-day job due to the amount of work involved, the 12 hour cure time needed between the 2 coats of Typhon, and the for the final layer of Chimera. Even though the Porsche had only done 130 miles, it would require a full wash and decontamination of the external surfaces. This would be followed by a machine polish to ensure the surfaces were clean and blemish free and to ensure each coating would bond perfectly with the car's surface.
Day One
To limit the physical contact with the painted surfaces, I sprayed the Porsche with a coating of Garage Therapy Snow Foam. This product has been designed to encapsulate the dirt, which then falls off the car naturally, or is removed when the remainder of the product is pressure washed off.
Next, I applied Garage Therapy Decon Shampoo through my snow foam cannon, Decon Shampoo is a high alkaline concentration ideal for stripping off dirt, waxes and other decontamination. This was allowed to sit on the car and then rinsed off. I then started a process of decontamination. Prior to physically touching the GT3 RS, I first sprayed on Garage Therapy Iron Oxide. This product is normally used on wheels to dissolve the metal particles that are produced during braking. New cars - due to how they are transported and stored - generally have a high concentration of metal particles all over them! I knew this was unlikely to be the case on a car of this value as they are special orders so do not sit around on docks waiting to be purchased and are covered in a protective suit during the delivery of them. However, it's always better to be safe than sorry, so Iron Oxide was sprayed all over the car and left to do its business before it was thoroughly rinsed off. The car was also treated with Garage Therapy Tar & Glue remover to dissolve any pieces of tyre rubber or oil from the road surface.
Once I was confident the cars surface was as clean as it possibly could be without physical contact, I started the 2 bucket safe wash process using Garage Therapy Decon Shampoo. Starting with the roof and working down to the sills I used a Micro Fibre pad to clean the panels and a soft bristle brush to get into the panel gaps and window surrounds. Once finished, the car was pressure washed off.
The final phase of the Wash and Decontamination phase was to use a Garage Therapy Clay Bar to remove any remaining bonded contamination. Whilst the above photo is not from cleaning the GT3 RS, it clearly shows what is left behind, even after the lengthy process described above. Using a Clay Bar is a must prior to machine polishing, however, it is not recommended as a stand-alone cleaning process as it can cause marring, which will leave a dull finish to your paint, which will only be removed by polishing.
The final phase, prior to applying the Ceramic Coatings, is to machine polish the surface they will be applied to. Prior to machine polishing, I masking-taped off all plastic, rubber and panel gaps to avoid getting polish on or in them which could stain the surfaces or be hard to remove from. As the Porsche had only done 130 miles, and had not been washed prior to me doing it, the paint surface was fairly blemish-free. So, a light polish using a Rupes Yellow Polish and Pad would remove the light marks and leave the best results and do so without removing excess paint.
Day Two
The first task was to apply Typhon to the painted and carbon panels. Typhon is only available to certified detailers due to the way it is applied and its hardness when bonded. Any mistakes will require the area to be machine polished to put it right. 1 coat of Typhon on the GT3 RS took me three and a half hours. It then needs 12 hours to cure before a second coat can be be applied. Once I had completed this, it was time to apply Hades to the wheels I worked my way around the 4 wheels before applying a 2nd coat to each. Then, it was time to apply Tartarus to all of the plastic surfaces. On any other car I would refer to this as trim, but that would be doing it a disservice as all of the plastic pieces on the Porsche GT3 RS, which are integral to the car's aerodynamics, channeling air to create down force or moving it in a particular direction to increase engine performance. To apply all three coatings to the car was a 7-hour task. I think you will agree from the photo below that the finish is greatly enhanced from the application of the Garage Therapy coatings.
Day 3
This was half-a-day adding a second coat of Typhon to all of the painted and carbon panels. Again, this has to be left to cure before a single coat of Chimera Top Coat will be added.
Day 4
All that was left to do now was to apply the top coat of Garage Therapy Chimera. Chimera adds even more gloss to the finish but - more importantly - it provides that water shedding hydrophobic quality everyone raves about when they talk about ceramic coatings. I applied the Chimera to the Typhon-, Hades- and Tartarus-coated surfaces which, on the GT3 RS, with all of its curves and aero bits, took around 3 hours. Unlike Typhon, which needs 12 hours to cure, Chimera is ready to go after 6. However, it's best to keep it dry for 12 hours and to allow around 7 days before washing the car.
I must admit to being a Porsche fan, so getting the opportunity to coat this car was a treat! The owner has invited me to a track day next year so watch this space.
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