131911 & PORSCHE WORLD

TECH:DETAILINGPRACTICALPORSCHE

The three Ps, whichis, of course,preparation,preparation,preparation! Thescratch is isolated bymasking round it.Ingrained dirt isremoved and theChipex paint mix isapplied and built uplayer-by-layer, beforefinally being cut backand blended in

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As owners of track-bredmachines, it's only polite tohoon around the odd circuitof a weekend. Alas, this canbe murder on the paintwork,

with stones being thrown up by the caryou've been about to pass for the last fivelaps chipping the shiny bits. Even on theroad, regardless of how carefully we drive,there will always be a rep-mobile trying toprove its 1.9 litre diesel is more potent thanour flat six with an audacious overtake.Scratches, road rash, stone chips andscuffs – they are all nigh-on unavoidable,but thankfully they can be fixed quite easily.In the old days your only option was a bodyshop, which involved big bills and irritatinglogistics. With the turn of the century 'Smallto Medium Area Repair Techniques'(SMART) repairs became available, whichoffered the convenience of a mobileservice. A conventional smart repairrequired masking off a large area, sandingthe paint down, then re-spraying paint andlacquer on top – essentially a mobile bodyshop. Though effective, it was still ratherexpensive and not something to beattempted as an amateur. Chipexrevolutionised the market by providing aproduct that could be applied quickly andeasily, either by a home user or aprofessional, at a fraction of the cost of abodyshop or smart repair.Kevin Ford of Goldcrest Valeting in

Croydon shows us how to fix somescratches on this 996 Turbo using theChipex system. The first step is to clean thescratches and carefully mask around thearea. Kevin is using a special trim tool togently hold back the rubber to make themasking process more accurate. Then usethe Chipex blending solution to remove theingrained dirt in the scratch itself, which willallow the new paint to bond properly.Chipex produces custom colour-matched

paint for all Porsche models from the paintcode, which can be found on the driver'sside door sill (except Cayennes, which havetheir code in the boot). Remember to shake

the paint bottle well before opening,particularly for metallic paint. Use the microbrush to gently dab a blob of paint into eachscratch and then smooth it along the lengthof the mark. For the best results it is alwayswise to use multiple thin layers rather thanlaying it on thickly. Ideally, leave the newpaint standing slightly proud of the surface.Unlike normal automotive paint, the Chipexsolution dries within ten minutes andcontains lacquer so it is much easier to use.One can also further accelerate the dryingprocess using a heat gun on a low setting.The paint also has filling properties and wehave seen chips up to 1.5mm deep beingrepaired successfully. Once the paint hasdried, a special cloth combined with aminute amount of blending solution can beused to smooth the surface.Though Chipex originally designed the

solution to be applied by the home user,they have recently teamed up with theProfessional Valeters & Detailers TradeAssociation to create a UK network ofapproved repairers. As an approvedrepairer, Kevin has some extra tricks up hissleeve to turn a 90% perfect repair into a98% perfect repair. The first step is to usean eddy-current paint depth gauge tomeasure the paint thickness in micronsaround the scratch. Once it has beenestablished that there is sufficient clear coatto machine polish, Kevin uses a dual-actionpolishing machine to refine the surface.Finally, a coat of protective wax is appliedover the treated area to give that extra bit ofprotection and gloss.Although not completely invisible on

close inspection, the repair has had adramatic effect on the overall appearance ofthe Turbo. The repaired section only tookan hour to fix, and there was more thanenough paint left over to treat all the stonechips on the nose and some road rasharound the arches. As a long-term client ofKevin's, the proud owner of this car getsany new chips fixed every time he has thecar valeted – a perfectly valid excuse to goon monthly track days! PW

DETAILING SCIENCE: PART FOURTEEN

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TIME REQUIRED: 1HR PER TREATED AREA

Stone chips, scratches, road rash, call it what you will, but our precious paintwork takes ahammering on the road and the track. Here we look at how to use the Chipex system toeffect a paintwork repair that is near impossible to spot

Kit ListThe Chipex repair pack contains paint, blending solution, blending cloth, microbrushes, blending block, liquid wax and instructionsOptional: Latex gloves, heat gun, paint depth gauge, polishing machine, compounds and pads, masking tape, trim tools

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