Tech Event: At Speed

from PCA Chesapeake Region Patter - March 2022 Vol 63, Issue 03

by pcachs

Community Service Updates

Chesapeake Region

Tech Event: At Speed

Randy Richter & Jim Earlbeck

The first Tech event of 2022 was held on Saturday 26 February at At Speed Motors in Elkridge. We did not see any elks on the ridge; however, a Moose and a Squirrel did make their first appearance of the season.

As the 80 plus attendees entered At Speed, they were given a At Speed services discount coupons and a very classy At Speed key fob. Entering the service area, the participants found the usual Tech provided fresh coffee and donuts, but this this time there was something special. At Speed upped the ante and provided us with mimosas, cinnamon and fruit Danish, a shrimp platter, a cheese platter, and a lot of other delicious goodies.

After a brief introduction of numerous PCA Chesapeake board members and Phil Grandfield the new PCA Zone 2 Chair the program opened. John Jensen was the fortunate winner of the $250 PCA certificate for use at At Speed.

Next up was Bob Miller the progenitor of At Speed. Bob explained how At Speed had moved beyond repairs and sales of used Porsches to now include what he named preservation.

Preservation services at At Speed includes paint correction, ceramic coating, and paint protection film. Bob’s continuing message about each of the subjects was the extensive and hard-won knowledge that At Speed brings to each of these processes.

Paint correction Bob explained is a very delicate process that requires great care and diligence to not damage delicate old paint. He

Chesapeake Region

Tech Event: At Speed (cont’d)

Randy Richter & Jim Earlbeck

spoke about how single stage paint, two stage paint, clear coating and water-based paint all require different techniques of correction. Bob also allowed that one of the most important things to know was when to stop correction as any more attempts will ruin the paint by going through to the primer layer.

Next up Bob spoke about ceramic coating. Bob allowed how three years ago he was not in favor of ceramic coating. He said he changed his mind after trying various coatings on his own cars and observing the great progress the manufacturers have made in improving their product. He spoke about how dirt and water just shed off ceramic coated paint. He also recommended that every six months that the vehicle return for about an hour of treatment that insures the continued bonding of the ceramic to the paint.

Bob then began to speak on the topic of Paint Perfection Film (PPF). Again, Bob spoke on the great magnitude of improvement over the last several years. Bob stressed that details during installation matters. He mentioned that marginal installations leave gaps that can lead to stone chips in those gaps. Bob mentioned that colored PPF is coming and that At Speed can also do car wraps with the same attention to detail that they provide with PPF.

Bob then moved on to the two techniques that they use to clean parts that are in addition to the standard techniques that we at home are all familiar with. The first is vapor honing which uses as wet slurry with very, very fine powder like abrasive to clean parts. Some examples of these parts were displayed with one half cleaned and the original in its pre-cleaned condition. You can

Chesapeake Region

Tech Event: At Speed (cont’d)

see these three parts on the table in the accompanying pictures. Finally, the piece de ’resistance of the afternoon where we were shown a 914 that had had the undercoating removed to reveal the original underneath of the car as it was intended to be. Also on display was a 964 currently undergoing the same process. The areas clean and not yet cleaned were a wonderful presentation of the effectiveness of this tool.