Ultimate Shine: Awesome Ferrari 430 Scuderia "Rosso Red"

Well here is Christmas again; this has to be one of the quickest years i have ever had. With the start of Ultimate Shine and the amount of cars i have machine polished is crazy. I have loved every minute of it and can’t wait for 2010.

My goal as a detailer when i started was to do my first Ferrari and aimed to achieve this in my first year of business. I have always put myself in my customer’s shoes thinking can i trust this guy to touch my prized position and know that he will treat it well and achieve the best possible finish. So when my first Ferrari booking happened i could not wait.

Car in question is a 2000mile Ferrari F430 Scuderia in Rosso Red with the stripes. This car when i first approached the car was awesome the carbon interior, the no stereo, the exhaust note, just everything was amazing. I truly love these cars and it is still my goal in life to own one.

Here is my before shots before i start my 3 day Correction Detail,











Now first up after a rinse i decided to do the wheels. These weren’t going to be too difficult due to the carbon ceramic brake option. Very little brake dust and stunning looking.

For this job the choice of wheel cleaner was my favourite Gloss It Wheel Gel diluted @ 4:1, this wheel cleaner is streets ahead of the competition due to the way it clings onto the wheel and provides maximum cleaning with the added bonus of a PH balanced formula.






Wheel faces done with a selection of small detailing brushes


As this job was special to me i decided to crack open a brand new small and large EZ detail brush. To begin with i thought the small brush would be useless, wrong! You need them both they are an absolute must for doing wheels correctly.


Wheels rinsed



Now the arches were too dirty just to use an APC so i used Megs Super Degreaser @ approx 6:1 with a full selection of brushes again.




Back wheels





Next was time for the initial pre foam wash using Meg’s APC @ 60oC, it’s at this time of year that you know that a hot washer is amazing







This is when the magic started to happen and the bubbles started doing some weird things,









Then a nice long rinse to make sure i had covered ever part of the car,







The next stage was a very large coating of Tardis to remove am much tar and contamination from the surface without touching the paint. You can see the tar in the foam.

Next was the door checks, this i feel is always one of the most important stages to a good detail,




Always decrease pressure and keep temp at 60oC this will eliminate any chance of damage while at the same time you can get grease and dirt removed. Always pull trigger before pointing in check to stop spray from landing everywhere. Pre soaked with a 4:1 APC citrus mix




A manufacturer’s protection sticker left on the underside of door for me from the Ferrari Garage.


Petrol cap,


Next engine bay where i always leave engine running and make sure parts are covered that need to be and not too high pressure with washer. This was done with Megs APC & Citrus mix



Another Mini EZ Detail brush i use for engine bays and grills,











Closed and left to dry in steam,




The car paint code,



Last but not least a final wash with Meg’s HW and 2BM using lambs wool mitts and shampoo plus. 2 mitts one for each side of car.








Car was the moved inside to dry using my helpful black barron, what a tool if anyone wants a demo then feel free to stop by my unit,







The Barron is amazing in engine bays and on the mirrors the parts that even the nicest drying towels don’t get to.


Next was time for claying. TBH there was just about no point in using clay as the Tardis had removed just about everything there was on the car but decided to use water and Gloss It mild for this.
Onto the machining,
Now as every detailer will admit there are good days and bad days to detailing. On the bad days you can never settle on a pad compound combo to use, the paint gets sticky, marring the finish etc etc. Today however was a wonderful day armed with Megs 105 and a yellow Gloss It Pad i was able to do the majority of heavy correction work in 1 pass and occasionally 2


Defects were quite bad for a car that had covered 2000 miles but today i didn’t care i was loving every minute of it.
Before,


After,


Small backing plate with yellow gloss it pads for tighter areas.



I would say that this was the worst section of the car with pigtails left in paint from factory,



Not the clearest after but still a corrected panel.



Another Before,



After,



Before,



After,


Before,



After,


Before,

After,


Another quite bad defect that took 3 stages on the machine,



Exhaust before,

After,

The amount of compound residue that was created i decided to have another rinse to make sure car was super clean,


Car again dried off and then onto refining, this was done with 2 combos depending on panel and mood,
Festool Black and Meg’s 205
Gloss It Blue and Menzernz 85RE

Tyres dressed with Gloss It Signature Tyre Gloss and applied using the new Gloss It Tyre dressing applicator,




Now my LSP had to be my favourite from this year,
Polished Bliss: Project Awesome
This product give the edge over everything else i have used.

Now i have started doing this will all my dressing and LSP bottles and applicators, using an air tight bag to keep them full of their own goodness. In the bag 2 bottles of PA and a Gloss it finishing pad for DA and a Gloss it finishing applicator for hard to reach areas.

Now the first time i prime my pad i do 2 pea sized amounts on pad. This will cover near enough a large back quarter or probably a bonnet. Once i have primed once the next time i apply PA to the pad it will be one of these pea sized amounts.

The car had 2 coats applied first being left overnight, Then to finish off a final wipe down using Gloss It Enhancer and a super Uber doober buffing cloth.
Wheels & Engine Carbon & Interior Carbon : Werkstatt Strong,
Interior & Engine: 303
Glass: Nanolex Urban
Rubber: Gloss It TRV

Now a final though about this job, if i was to say to myself. Was it what you expected from your first prancing horse detail?
I would say: no it was better than that as these cars are a dream and only the lucky have the pleasure to own. To work on a dream is a dream and it has confirmed to me my love for Detailing,
Thanks for taking the time to read and enjoy the after pictures,

After