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Thread: It's never too late - A story of a GT3 revival and full body clear wrap

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    West Chester, PA
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    407
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    06 S4, 11 M3 ZCP. 16 A3

    It's never too late - A story of a GT3 revival and full body clear wrap

    There is an assumption that unless your car is brand new, it’s “too late” to put clear paint protection film, and there is some merit to it but it also is not concrete. There are several options on what you can do with your prized possessions current and future conditions that requires thorough evaluation and planning with a capable operation. In the case I present below, we decided that while this 997.2 GT3 wasn’t perfect, it also wasn’t out of reach to become perfect and kept that way. In our favorite color, black, with 45k miles on the clock, the owner fully intended to continue enjoying this visceral vehicle but didn’t want it to chance compromising the condition any further. That’s where we came in.


    There were some other plans as well, such as some enhancements to the soundtrack from the 3.8L as well as changing up the look of the vehicle with powder coating the wheels to a satin black for a more aggressive appearance.


    First order of business was removing the originally installed partial clear bra. I have several gripes with a partial bra set up, especially on any body style 911. They do not provide sufficient coverage for the slanted, low front end and detract from the beautiful curves of the fenders. Another important aspect is the installer, which in this case, was subpar as you will see below..





    Razor marks in the finish on the fenders, rather than trimmed safely away from the panel and wrapped over. These fortunately were removed with careful wet sanding, avoiding repaint.





    Solid line etching where the partial bra ended on the hood panel, attempts to remain after removal.





    With the original bra removed and full vehicle prep completed, we can see what we were up against with the condition. 997 paint tends to have a medium to soft finish, allowing heavy marring and damage like shown to occur…









    The condition may look alarming or hopeless, but with the confirmation of paint depths and all original surfaces, I was confident we could get it looking proper before we moved forward with clear wrapping the entire surface. This next photo is a rough 50/50 photo shown after compounding before polishing – hence the haze still seen.






    The paint correction process was completed, which returned this GT car back to looking refreshed and new again as you can see below.





    Next was reviving the interior with steam and leather treatment. Steam is the proper way to get alcantara surfaces cleaned up, also removing the nappy feel to untreated alcantara.









    Now it was time to break her all down and get ready for the clear wrap, using my in house certified technicians, it was properly disassembled, wrapped and re assembled without issue. We also removed the wheels to get changed from the chipping OEM painted finish to a durable powder coated satin black. The hood was removed to do a thorough paint touch up on a few areas past the original partial that were damaged, it was also wrapped off the car to give a consistent full access wrap over.





    While it was in this state we also went ahead and removed the factory exhaust and header set up to install a full Innotech Performance system, giving this GT3 a near F1 sound on the street. Here is a before and after shot.






    The clear film was done mostly custom, some templates were used as they can be modified where necessary. However, there is nothing wrong with a custom install with the reassurance from your installer that they know the proper trimming techniques and have experience doing so..extensive experience. Fear mongering that custom is damaging because of removing parts or cutting paint is simply untrue and is possible. Fact is, even with template installs, trimming is still often needed, so you will still want your installer to properly equipped to do it properly. With that said, the pictures will show the entire process of the film install process and its end results with invisible appearance.











    The following photos show the end results of the custom install. The door handle surround usually would have an edge outline around it which just risks dirt and lifting over time. This is now avoided with the film tucked neatly behind the handle assembly not allowing contaminants underneath or an unsightly line.





    Here is the joining on the passenger door and rear quarter panel, no lines or edges to be seen. Wrapped over and tucked under.





    No outline around the Porsche crest or GT3 badging






    All tucked behind and under the taillights as well as the engine compartment jam





    Now for the overall finished results, showing the same depth and gloss as bare paint but protected against penetrating damage – to a very tall extent, clear film is still a sacrificial barrier, though it is unlikely to get paint damage from road debris.









    Don’t worry, the GT3RS in the background got the same exact treatment…write up coming.





    In summation, this 2010 GT3 with 45k miles is now looking better than new and is protected to enjoy the next 45k and not lose its luster this time.
    It’s never too late to treat and protect your car. Sure it’s always recommended and most effective to perform this level of protection at the start, but there’s always the possibility to reset the clock. Of course, in the hands of a proven, capable outfit.


    As always, thanks for looking! Any and all feed back is appreciated!
    -Oakes

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    mitten
    Posts
    3,760
    My Cars
    525it,02 525it,73 2002
    As always so impressed with your work.


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Seattle --> Atlanta
    Posts
    3,358
    My Cars
    //M5s, 4.8iS , Z32TT
    This is so satisfying. Great works as always.

    2000 Dinan S1 //M5 (my DD) --------------- 06 DINAN E53 4.8iS (wife's) -------------- 90 Straman Z32TT (my pride & joy)

    Gone, but not forgotten: 01 E39 M5, 01 E53 3.0i, 01 525i Sport, 03 DINAN 540i MSport and 91 Z32 TwinTurbo

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    1,043
    My Cars
    Too many
    Nice.
    1994 e36 325i convertible, 5 spd samoablau metallic-just acquired
    1994 e34 525i schwarz II auto
    1985 Nissan 300zx 5spd
    1991 e34 535i calypsorot metallic 5spd-SOLD

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    West Chester, PA
    Posts
    407
    My Cars
    06 S4, 11 M3 ZCP. 16 A3
    Thank you all!! Was quite the project

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Topeka, Kansas
    Posts
    60
    My Cars
    Pending F30
    That looks amazing!. Holy Smokes!
    The before pictures and after pictures.
    purely amazing.
    well done guys!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    Worldwide
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    1,051
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    2004 X3 88 M3 83 323i
    Impressive work man, you are a master!

    1983 S50 swapped 323
    1988 M3
    1997 z3 1.9
    2004 X3 2.5

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