Porsche 991.1 Plastidip Removal from Mirrors

I've had the mirrors on my GT Silver 2014 991 C4S sprayed in Plastidip Matte Black for the past year or so.  Decided to remove the 'dip as I am preparing for other projects.  To remove the dip I wanted to remove the mirrors entirely from the doors.  Thought I'd show you the process of removing the mirrors from the doors.  Might be useful for anyone wanting to send their mirrors out for painting, or wrapping, as well as for those who might want to swap their mirrors for another set....

Couple of things to note....  I have the standard 991 mirrors.  I do NOT have the power folding, Sport Design, or "GT3" mirrors.  However, I believe in any case the procedure to remove the mirror from the door is the same -- remove trim, a single bolt, and pull the wiring harness through the door.

Also, when I bought the car, the dealer had already installed xPEL PPF, and there are small pieces on the mirrors.  When I sprayed with Plastidip, I just sprayed right over the film.  So, I really wasn't sure if the 'dip was going to bond or "merge" and stain the clear film.  But actually what I found is that the 'dip spray peeled-off more easily from where the film was than where it was not!  As you can see in the video I shot, the 'dip peels off real easily from the mirrors.  Each mirror took me about 30 minutes to peel and clean-up.  Where I had difficulty peeling, I simply brushed on some Xylene and wiped the 'dip off!  Very easy!

I continue to be impressed by the durability and versatility of Plastidip!  It is amazing stuff.  My car is no garage queen, so seeing first-hand how it protects the car I am a true believer!

Here's the video posted up on my YouTube Channel - GTSilver....  Please subscribe for more!

DIY: Porsche 991 911 C4S Roof Wrapping

Some time back I decided to add some unique style to my 2014 911 GT Silver C4S.  Among other things, I changed the chrome accents / badging to matte black, changed the headlights out to OEM Black PDLS units, changed the entire exterior mirror assemblies to matte black, and so on.

Additionally, I decided to change the entire roof to matte black, using vinyl wrapping material.  I didn't get a good set of pictures throughout the installation process, but will post here what I do have...

I chose to use a 3M 1080P product, which for those of you who aren't familiar is an automotive vinyl wrapping material that is very durable, easily installed, and completely removable without negatively impacting the OEM painted surface.  I had read a ton of articles on vehicle wrapping, and my opinion is that 3M manufactures one of the better-quality, "higher-end" materials for wraps.

I ordered the vinyl material online from a reputable 3M vinyl supplier, along with some basic application tools such as surface prep, squeegee, and blades.  I don't remember the exact cost, but I think for the surface area I am dealing with I spent about $75.

Here's a "before" picture - not the best view, but clearly shows the three sections of the roof that I had to deal with in my case (obviously, is you have the 'no-sunroof' option, you will only have one large surface to cover....).

My '14 C4S roof includes the metal sunroof panel, so my roof is 3 separate areas.

To get started, make sure the  car is very clean, focusing on the surface area you are going to cover.   I did my usual wash routine, then used some cleaning solution to thoroughly remove any oils, grease, wax or other residues from the surface.  If your car roof is "dirty" you may also want to clay bar the surface -- in my own case I didn't feel this was necessary as the surface felt very smooth and "slippery" to the touch.  Wouldn't hurt to clay anyways, but I decided not to.

You should also make sure to get the area completely dry, paying attention to the areas where moisture might remain for an extended period, such as around the weatherstripping....  I used a air hose from my compressor to blow the water out of the cracks around the area.

 The next step -- and although some may feel this is not necessary -- is to remove any exterior trim, which in my case meant the weatherstripping / rubber gaskets that run along the roof edge as well as around the metal sunroof on my car.  I found that the stripping is actually 5 separate parts -- there is a single 'box' of weatherstripping surrounding the sunroof panel, as well as 4 smaller segments - 2 on each side, front and back, where the stationary sections of the roof meet-up.

I started with the rubber stripping around the sunroof.  I found that this is a single large / continuous rubber piece, a square...  I opened the sunroof, and began at a corner.  Gently pull the rubber up and it should start sliding off as you work around the perimeter of the sunroof.

Start pulling-up at the corner of the sunroof panel.

Be careful, and try not to stretch the rubber too much.  It does deform, but you can totally reuse this piece as I'll mention later.  I am not sure what the price is to replace, and it shouldn't be too bad, but if you are careful and take your time you shouldn't have to worry about it.

Pull-up carefully around the perimeter of the sunroof.

Once I had the rubber gasket removed, I found a nice safe place and put it aside.  I then turned to the 4 smaller rubber strips at the front and rear of the "side rails" along the roof.  Note that this is also the area where you would install the footings for a roof rack.  At first I was thinking that these rubber pieces would come off similar to the rubber running around the sunroof.  But that was not the case....

These rubber sections are anchored much more "permanently" than the sunroof gasket, and in fact I can confirm that these are intended to be replaced entirely upon removal.  I confirmed by looking-up the Porsche PIWIS official workshop manual article.  That would be "WM 605419 Removing and installing seal for roof assembly" for those that care....

You gently pull-up on one end of the rubber seal, and then you'll have to cut-off and remove any plastic bits that remain.  So, I didn't do this!  LOL.  I was worried about cutting something important, so I merely pulled the piece up and positioned out of the way while I worked in that area.

Red arrows indicate front of roof above windshield where I pulled-up the rubber weather stripping.

Each of the strips pull-up at one end, but are secured in place by a plastic fastener that unless you do want to clip off and replace you should take care to not tear or deform.

This is a close-up of the rear roof area, just above rear window...

With that taken care of, I again made sure all moisture was removed from the areas where the rubber gaskets are.

My next step was to lay-out some knife-less tape where I wanted to trim and tuck the black vinyl.  The piece of vinyl was already the best size -- that being a 5' x 4' single sheet.  I decided to use the knife-less tape so that I could avoid any risk of putting scratches in the paint around the roof when trimming the vinyl to three sections.

This method is also great if you don't want to remove the rubber gaskets...

Make sure to leave enough tape sticking-out so you can easily grasp and pull once the vinyl is down.

Make sure to overlap the tape so that you can "cut" the longer
side rails first, then the perpendicular shorter sides second.

Once all the tape is laid-out, you can get ready to place the vinyl.  Unfortunately I did not keep the pictures I snapped while working on this part of the project.  Sorry!  I'll do my best to describe the effort....

If you ever watch the thousands of YouTube videos out there for vinyl wrapping, you'll notice that in most cases roof wraps are put in place by at least two guys, maybe more.  But I am here to tell you that you can do it with a single person, or one set of hands!

I took the vinyl piece, and leaving the backing-paper in place laid it out over the roof.  I then started at the front and pulled the backing half-way towards the rear of the roof.  I pressed-down in a couple of spots near the middle.  As I did this, I began moving my squeegee evenly around the vinyl in a center to front pattern to firmly set the vinyl in place.  I continually worked the squeegee to remove any bubbles or wrinkles from the vinyl, progressively pressing more firmly as I worked the entire area.

Once I felt that I had done enough on the front-half, I reached under and pulled the remaining backing off.  I then started near the center of the roof and while pulling the vinyl taught towards the rear windows began working the squeegee to press the vinyl onto the roof.

I have to say that this was a really simple procedure once I got going.  Just take your time, hold the squeegee at the right angle to the surface and pay attention to detail!  I spent maybe 45 minutes tops getting the vinyl down.  In comparison, I spent nearly two hours prepping for this moment!

Once I finished, I let the surface rest for a bit.  Had a beer, or two.  I then went to the knife-less tape "ends" and started firmly pulling to create my cut lines.  This was a bit tricky at first, but you just have to firmly yank the sting to get the first cut line started.  If you laid-out the tape correctly, you should have a very nice straight line following the gaps around the sunroof and rails.  You can go back around and just yank the tape remnants out from under the vinyl.  This is easy....

Next step is to begin tucking the edges of the vinyl wrap down into the sides of the sunroof / roof panels.  If you've removed the weather stripping / rubber gaskets, this is very easy.  Just take your teflon squeegee and fingers and firmly push the edges down.  If you've cut properly, there should be plenty of material to attach so you won't have any edges exposed to the elements.  You could also use an edge sealing fluid to more firmly bond the edges to the roof, but I felt that tucking the edges under the weatherstripping should be sufficient.

Here's a pic of the front section after I've tucked the vinyl and replaced the rubber strips...

Follow the same to complete all edges around the roof, and replace any weatherstripping once you are satisfied you have a good bond at the edges.

Boom! You are done!  If all went smoothly, you should have a great-looking wrapped roof panel!

This is an "older" after-shot back in warmer weather and before
I changed to the black mirrors....

Next up?  I am going to wrap the frunk hood in either same matte black or may try something very different and go with a matte blue metallic!  

Thanks for reading!!!

DIY - Porsche 991 911 C4S Wheel Spacer Install (Part 2)

(Originally posted on 6speedonline.com 06/17/2014)

This is a continuation of the Part 1 installation of new Adaptec Speedware wheel spacers on my 2014 991 C4S.

With the two rear spacers installed, wheels and wheel-wells all clean and shiny, I moved to the front-end.

As mentioned in Part 1, I chose a setup that includes 15mm Rear spacers, and 7mm Front spacers. In this Part 2 post, I am installing the 7mm spacers to the front.

I removed the front passenger-side wheel. I had to hit the wheel a number of times with my rubber mallet to free the wheel. Made my case for using a tiny bit of anti-seize! 

Here's the wheel removed:

As in all cases, I got my wire brush out and removed as much of the rust and other build-up as possible, then cleaned with some brake-cleaner. I then applied a tiny amount of anti-seize to the hub, then pushed the spacer into place.

I used my rubber mallet to tap the spacer into place. All fit very snugly and well. I was happy!

Next I applied a tiny bit of anti-seize to the spacer plate facing, and mounted the clean wheel over the hanging pin. 

I tightened everything up by hand, then lowered the car. Moving over to the drivers side front, I performed the same procedures, mounted the plate and wheel, and lowered.

I immediately saw a noticeable difference in how the wheels/tires fill-out the wheel wells! More on that in a moment.

With the car on the ground entirely, I went from wheel to wheel around the car applying torque to each bolt -- 118 lb/ft. 

And we are done! Overall, with the wife away and the kids in bed, this was a simple, 5-beer project! 1 beer each wheel, 1 beer to celebrate finishing without damaging anything! lol

Unfortunately I did not do a great job taking before pictures to compare to, but here is what I have...

This is stock, "before" the drivers rear wheel spacer was installed:

And here is an "after" view of the same wheel well:

And here are some "After" shots of each wheel well around the car:

Passenger side rear:

Passenger side front:

Drivers side front:

And finally, following are some random shots of my car taken the day after completing the installation:

Overall I am very happy with how the wheels after the install.  But, not so happy with the large gap between the tire and wheel arch -- so next up is a set of lowering springs!

Thanks for reading! Hope others will find this useful. I will cross-post to the DIY section shortly.

DIY - Porsche 991 911 C4S Wheel Spacer Install (Part 1)

(Originally posted on 6Speedonline.com 06/17/2014)

Hi All- Following is a detailed DIY for installation of Adaptec wheel spacers on my '14 991 C4S. I've broken this into 2 parts, due to the number of pictures I'd like to include. 

Tools I Used:

• 2.5 ton Floor jack
• Wheel stops (2)
• 19mm Deep Socket
• 1/2 Ratchet
• 1/2 Torque Wrench
• Porsche Wheel Lock removal socket
• Rubber Mallet
• Wheel hanger pins (2)
• Wire Brush
• Brake Cleaner
• Lift-off Oil, Grease, Adhesive remover
• Permatex Nickel Anti-Seize

I know, this is a very simple project, and some would probably argue one that hardly warrants a detailed DIY. Leave it to me to make the simple things in life much more complex! 

Anyways, I ordered a set of wheel spacers from Adaptec Speedware (board sponsor) via Amazon at a great price. I have the stock PASM and wheels on my car -- I do not have PDCC or SPASM or factory spacers. So, stock ride-height with PASM (which for those curious to know is 10mm lower than non-S, non-Sport PASM 991s). I feel that the stock setup leaves a large gap around the wheel wells, especially in the wide-body rear quarters, and this project is really about the cosmetic improvement. I do plan on adding H&R springs in the near future, which will further enhance the look. That will be a separate DIY.

The package I chose for my C4S was 7mm Front and 15mm Rear spacers. Received the package in several days. Although the ad didn't state what was included in the purchase price, a set of extended wheel bolts was included in the package.  You must have extended bolt lengths when adding spacers....

Here's a picture of the package contents:

I didn't have the option with the order I placed to change the color to black, but in hindsight I should have at least requested black bolts.... More on that in a few. So I received the spacers and bolts in silver.

Here's the set, side view to show difference in thickness (F/R):

Overall the quality was good -- I noticed a few small burrs around the inside edge of the rears, but a quick shot with metal file smoothed it out easily.

So let's get started! I began with lifting the car ( I am doing one corner at a time -- you may want to set-up on jack stands and do all at once...) and removing the stock wheel bolts. I used my standard 19MM deep socket with 1/2 ratchet. I put blue tape around the socket to protect the wheel surface from scratching -- I did the same with the Porsche wheel lock socket that you'll need to retrieve from your toolbox.

Here's a quick comparison of the stock vs extended bolts. The length of your bolts will vary based on thickness of the spacer you've chosen.

Before removing the wheel, I got out my trusty hanging pins to make wheel removal and placement much easier and safer! 

Before I continue.... I mentioned earlier that the order I placed included silver spacers and bolts. I really should have ordered black powder-coat, as the OEM stock bolts are black, and I also intend to switch to black wheels in the near future. I looked at the silver on my car with the stock wheels, and didn't like. So, my quick fix was to PlastiDip the bolts in flat black. Yes, I painted myself! Here's a shot of the jig I used to hold the bolts in place while adding each coat (I did 5 coats total, with 20 min set time between each coat):

In the end, the PlastiDip coating will probably have to be replaced, but for now it works perfectly and is a lot cheaper than purchasing a new set of bolts!!!

So I get the wheel off... I'll post a set of pictures here that simply show for the curious what is "behind the wheel" on the rear of a 991 4S.

In this pic I highlighted a curved black plastic piece that is an air director to route cooler air to the brakes.

I also took the opportunity to do some wheel-well cleaning, as well as the brake calipers and other bits. I found that my car had picked-up a TON of small rock and pebbles from the crappy roads around my area, and there are a lot of spots where the rock bits just sit on top of flat surfaces and get caught in cracks, like this area just around the drivers-side muffler heatshielding, wheel well trim and rear apron panel:

With each wheel I removed, I thoroughly cleaned front face and rear tub. They weren't too bad, but there were many small tar bits stuck to the tub surface.... 
Before:

I used a grease, oil, adhesive and goo remover called Lift-Off to get rid of the tar bits and oil spots, before getting out the detailing products to shine everything-up! Lift-off works great, and very happy with the results! dav a bit on a cloth, place on the tar spot, and it literally dissolves - very little rubbing necessary.

After:

And final, cleaned wheel ready for mounting...

But let's get back to installing the spacers!!!

In the drivers side rear, I first cleaned the hub and mounting surface. I used combination of wire brush and brake cleaner to remove any rust or surface debri. Overall it was pretty clean, but I could definitely see that over time the areas where harsh NE winter salt and wet weather will continue to oxidize the surfaces it can reach.

I debated a short while over using anti-seize.... In the end I used my handy Permatex nickel anti-seize, putting just small dabs at various points on the surface. This will prevent the metal surfaces from sticking together in the future, and make it easier to remove the wheel, etc. I have experienced where a wheel would not budge from (previous car) the mounting without extreme pounding and things like liquid wrench, and I would like to avoid that from happening on my 991.

The first bit of anti-seize goes between new spacer and hub....

Placed the 15mm spacer on hub, pushed into place. Fit very snug, had to tap it lightly with my rubber mallet.

Once the spacer was set in place, I added a very small bit of anti-seize to the surface where the wheel will contact the spacer. I then put the hanger pins in place and we are ready to remount the wheel!

And here is a pic of the wheel installed in the rear. I've pointed-out how when viewing from above you can see the spacer. This will be of interest to those who have black or other color wheels. You may want to choose the black option for the spacers so the silver doesn't clash!

For additional details about installing the front 7mm spacers, and "After" pictures once I had all installed, visit Part 2 of the DIY: 991 C4S Wheel Spacer Install - Part 2