Ferrari 355 Spider

Ferrari 355 Spider

I was first introduced to the F355 back when I worked on the households’ family car, the Mercedes GL420:




Taking a cheeky moment to check the paintwork on the Ferrari, I noticed some pretty wicked buffer-trails and swirls in the paint. The work of a previous detailer apparently.





The car had been worked on by an Authorised Detailer of one of the big players in the Detailing game – I’m not one to name drop, but, to say I was shocked was an understatement.

My job was to rectify the issues and tidy ‘the edges’, as it were..


Product

• AutoSol
• AutoSmart G101
• AutoSmart Tardis
• Chemical Guys JetSEAL109
• Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel
• Clearkote Red Moose Glaze
• Dodo Juice SuperNatural
• Jeffs Werkstat Prime
• LTT Auto Ultra Foam
• LTT Auto Ultra Protect
• Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner
• Menzerna Final Finish 106FA
• Menzerna Power Finish 203s
• Optimal No Rinse (ONR)
• Sonus Green Mild Clay
• Zaino Z8 Grande Finale


Before:






After:






Inspection:




























As seen above, the paintwork was well and truly butchered with its previous machine polish experience…

On the whole, the car is very clean. Until I appeared I on the scene, it lived happily tucked away in the garage where is remained spotless… Whilst working on the Mercedes however, unfortunately, the F355 had to stay outside to allow for a decent work space within. Here, the mixture of rain, wind and dust left the car in the condition you see it in above (….minus the buffer-trails!)

It was a scorcher today; pushing 28˚C by late morning. With that in mind, the sooner I could get undercover, the better.





Wheels, tyres and arches cleaned with Megs APC and a mix of brushes and mitts. AutoSmart Tardis later used on the alloys to remove a few fine tar deposits.


Bonnet sills wiped clean and headlights raised to allow cleaning here, too.










Other intricate areas cleaned in the same way:







“weoooo-weoo weoo weoo”. “What’s that noise..?!”

...a couple of Red Kites soaring above. (Good job I’m not using the Wookie’s Fist today otherwise they might have had me!! )


Due to the intense heat, and, minimal dirt build-up on the car, I gave it an ONR wash.




50/50 seen in the fine dirt film..




Before:



After:






Washed and dried and ready to go inside for claying..
















Using the same ONR mix I used to wash the car with, I began claying the car with Sonus Green.

Contamination pick-up was minute; very little fall out present.




Paint depth readings varied throughout the whole car. One or two high areas, but also a few well below the 100um mark.






With that in mind, I started with Menz 106FA on a 3M Polishing Pad and went at it on the bonnet..

Before:



After:




Before:



After:




As you can see, not cutting the mustard quite enough; buffer trails still visible.

Stepping up to Menz 203s on a green light cut hexlogic pad did the trick nicely.








Before:




After:




One or two deep scratches requiring further attention to chase them completely..


Before:



During:



After:

Bonnet 50/50 in sun:




Before:



After:

















After sealing the wheels and tidying a few of the edges, I called it a night as I had to gear up and make it to the pub before their last orders on the food front.

Tea/breakfast!




“wakey wakey, rise and shine”, it’s 8.30am and I’m back to it.

Before:



After:









Before/After:






Smaller spot-pads used for the trickier areas:






Lower bonnet lip and front bumper before/after:








Machine work was finalised and back out into the sun to check my work:










After tape removal and a quick dust down, Clearkote Red Moose Glaze was applied by DA and a 3M finishing pad..




Adding a real depth and richness to the paint, then follow by SuperNatural wax:

A few detailed areas were looked at like the rear diffusers, badges, grilles and locks etc..




The prancing horse was caked up in polish build-up.. The edges were cleaned with cotton buds and Jeffs Prime and a toothpick removed the excess product from in and around..




..putting a smile back on his face:




The “F355 Spider” badge had accumulated a fair amount of crud, too.



The white line that made up the lettering was almost yellowing in places due to the dirt trapped within.

Example: “half the D, the E and the R” yet to do..




Depositing the rubbish below..




And finally, after:









Fluff/debris removed off of the hood with 3m tape: (image over exposed (tape should be blue!!))




More fiddly badge work..










Et voila! That’s about it.

The tyres were dressed with New Look Trim Gel. Exhausts with Autosol. Interior hoovered, wiped and leather treated with LTT Auto Ultra kit. An hour or so was then spent on the 997 Turbo Interior as I didn’t get round to finishing that last time (Leather with LTT kit and mats wet/dry extracted) and a final wipedown on the Ferrari finalised the day.

After photos.. (Its too hard to pick and choose the ‘best of’, so, I will use them all )

Packed up and ready for the steady cruise home..



(http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss102/WhiteDetails/Ferrari 355 Spider/DSC06698wd-1.jpg)

Total work time (including the Porsche interior work) was ~17 hours. A most enjoyable two days.

Thanks for reading.

Jim

Many thanks all.

Jamie, it was Monday and Tuesday this week - Monday was the hottest but yesterday was quite mild in compairson. I'm fathering quite a nice colour so, must have caught it a bit! You actually colapsed? That can't be good! Along with Jaffa Cakes and Bacon Sarnies, water is my best friend whilst out working!

Any pics of the Carrera to follow??

Couple more Ferrari's to follow

Haha! Good spot!

"...mic check one two" (H)