Porsche 911 Gets Its First Wash After Five Years in the Desert, Restoration Ensues

With that in mind, a Porsche dealer in Scottsdale, Arizona, commissioned a detailing company to get a 993-generation 911 Carrera Cabriolet back to showroom condition. There is just one catch, though, as the vehicle had been “left” in the desert for five years. It is unclear what happened, but the engine runs, and the car is drivable.

The folks over at I AM Detailing have taken us through the entire process, which starts by cleaning all the sand from the car, dry ice cleaning the chassis, and giving the vehicle its first wash in more than five years.

Spending that much time in an area with that much sand blowing through the air means that every crevice of the vehicle will have sand in it, and it will have to be cleaned before we can even speak of a showroom-fresh condition.

Instead of attempting to repair old turn signals, as well as minor rubber elements next to them, the best way to get things done is to buy new parts.

As you will observe in the two videos, Porsche still offers such components, including minor plastic trim elements for the interior, as well as motors for the seat adjustment, among other things.

Simply cleaning the vehicle is not enough, as minor touch-ups are required here and there, as well as replacing some elements that have been aged by exposure to the sun, sand, or simply by use.

Interestingly, the license plate holder gets cleaned with dry ice and repainted instead of simply being replaced to enhance the time capsule idea.

Evidently, some things cannot stay as the factory left them, and tires are among those things, as are hoses, belts, and many other components that will age in time. After the work is completed, the end result is stunning, to say the least. Watch the videos below to see how it was done.