Incredible detail job

Before/after pics would have helped

 

It is true that Todd spends a very long time working on the paint. I was impressed as were every south florida client I have seen info from. Glad your car is looking like new (or maybe even better)!

BT

 

Thanks for the compliments John!!!

"Before/after pics would have helped"

Photo One: Before/After, left side is after, before is the side that I didn't polish (I used to painters tape to mask the bad seciton

Photo Two: Trunk before

Photo Three: Trunk after polishing

Photo Four: Roof before

Photo Five: Roof after polishing

Photo Six and up: Afters with Zaino
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One more 50/50 split before/after polishing
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Nice work!

 

Nice work, as always.

Todd, call me next time down. Need more Zaino.

Jacques, what part of FL are you in? Would love to see a 400 on a run with us.....

 

Wow. Beautiful work.

 

Jacques, beautiful 400 !, Todd, great work as always!!
Mark

 

Stunning car! Thanks for sharing.

 

Fantastic. You should be proud!!

 

How close are you to Tejas? Gorgeous car!

 

IVE BEEN DETAILING CAR AND I MEAN EXOTICS FOR MORE THAN 22 YEARS AND I AGREE ZANIO PRODUCTS ARE THE BEST.. WORKS REALLY GOOD WITH 3 M PRODUCTS......LOVE THE FERRARIS , I HAVE A 1990 348 TS AND WHEN I DETAILED IT FOR THE FIRST TIME IT LOOKED LIKE NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE..YES THE EXPERIENCE MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE BUT SO DO THE PRODUCTS.. ROCK ON WITH THE ZAINO........

 

Great job!

 

This came out great! Nice Job! I have been looking hard at the Zaino products. There are so many to choose from, I'm kind of lost. I doubt my paint is original. I have a 1983 QV, Black on black. I am not sure which product to use. Would it be safe to assume that my paint is not clear coated, even if the car has been painted? I don't know for sure if it has been painted, but it looks like it is in very good shape for an 83 model. Especially since it's black. Now, there are many swirl marks and other issues, but all in all, the paint is in very good shape.

Do you think it is possible to list the steps and products used? Did he use the clay bar first?

Thanks so much and nice car!

 

This is beautiful. Congrats!

I've been trying a few products over the last few weeks and my biggest concern is that every polish I've tried (in small areas for comparison) leave red paint on my micro fiber cloth. Scares the crud out of me. Is this typical? 87 328, orig paint, no wax used, only adams detail spray for the last 5 yrs.

 

Thanks for the nice words Bill ! How are you?!

Thanks No Doubt, but its easy to make Ferrari's look good as they do so even when trashed

Hey Duane, no problem, I'll be heading South towards the end of September (I'm trying to let the weather break as last time the heat killed me!!!)

Hi Mark, thanks for the kind words! I'm gonna feel bad when I have to destroy you guys on the go cart track (*runs and rides*)

Aspen, I kind of agree. If I would have applied Zaino to the paint as it was, I don't the car would have came out as well. It took about 6 hours straight of machine polishing with a high speed rotary polisher to remove the swirlmarks, scratches, and water etchings from the paint and leave the surface swirl and hologram free.

Thanks Jack!

GTblue, you shouldn't assume anything if the vehicle has been repainted! 95 percent of the appearance of the finished product comes from the work done before the Zaino was applied, but I will give you a brief run down. The car was clayed, then a 4 step polishing process was used with a rotary buffer to remove enough paint to remove the scratches and burnish it to a high gloss. I will but up a couple more pictures at the end of the thread with John's 400's roof so you can see how the process evolved.

Island guy, yes, that is completely normal and shouldn't cause concern. Ferrari's up until the later 355's featured a single stage paint job. If you are rubbing an abbrasive product over the surface, you are removing a little bit of paint, which would cause paint transfer. This happens on modern cars as well, but since they are topped with a clear coat, you cannot see the paint being removed, so it causes less concern

Okay GTblue here is pictures from the drivers side roof only.


Picture one, the roofs condition after being washed and clayed. You can see the numerous scratches, swirls, and marring that causes the light to refract horribley and ruins the appearance of the otherwise pristine Ferrari. (You can see on the top roof that I had already polished the paint as it looks clearer and there is definitive "line")

Picture two, here is the half of the roof after polishing with a rotary polisher, an aggressive wool pad and a specific rubbing compound type polish. The deep marring and scratches are gone, but there are holograms, which are the wavy imperfections in the paint that are known as holograms. This is how most "detailers" leave your paint if you have it polished, far from perfect, but better.

Picture three, now the finish polished with a finer wool pad and a finer compound, (like sanding with a finer grit) to increase the gloss and further reduce the imperfections. If you look very close at the area around the sun you can still see very minor marring left behind from the wool pad, but otherwise the surface looks amazing.

Picture four, all the marring surrounding the sun is removed and you are left with a perfectly level surface that reflects perfectly. To remove the marring effectively takes a lot of skill with a highspeed buffer and years of experience. It is this final step that seperates the men from the boys. Most detail shops and almost all body shops that I know if lack this skill, and use an oil based glaze that fills in or hides these imperfections for a couple of weeks. Then two weeks later as the oil based glaze wears away, the swirls/holograms return and you are left with a surface that resembles the second picture

Picture five, here is the freshley polished surface after being wiped down with rubbing alcohol to ensure that the paint is 100 percent clean and that the Zaino (which is a sealant and not a polish by defenition will bond to the surface and provide long lasting protection). Even after wiping the surface of the paint clean (there is no oil, wax, or sealant on the surface to increase gloss at this point) the paint still reflects amazingly well and looks great, because it is level and reflects 100 percent light. Only when the surface looks this good, do I use Zaino, which then acts like icing on the cake, by slightly boosting gloss and depth and providing long lasting protection. The truth is, once the surface has been polished correctly, even Nu Finish will look great. You can also used oil based glazes to fill in the marring and give the appearance of a perfect surface, but I make the surface perfect (which is important as even Ferrari's leave the factory with imperfections). Add Zaino on top of a perfect surface and results are stunning.

Picture six, the tools used to bring out the gloss and fix the paint. Its a combination of the correct products (in my case I prefer Menzerna of Germany abbrasive polishes and assorteted pads) to restore the finish correctly.

I know all this can seem overwhelming, but there is a lot of skill, knowledge, and a bit of artistry involved in doing a car correctly. You can probably tell I am pretty passionate about my work, so if you have any questions, shoot me a PM and I can help you thru some of it a little better. Its my passion and I love to help out!
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Very impressive detail results. Congrats.

Some detailers are just head & shoulders better. We have a guy named Chris (fchat name is DetailGuy) in the Mid-Atlantic Region that also does just amazing things bringing back the shine to older cars.
Check out this thread:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152954

One of the posts in that thread refers to these incredible pictures of a black 365:
http://autopia.org/forum/click-brag/90474-1968-ferrari-365-gt-black-31-pics.html

Here is one of those autopia pictures. Now that is a shiny black car! Look at the reflection in the side of it.
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Chris is an exceptional detailer and I would recommend him to anybody (not to mention his amazing photography skills. I could/would not recommend a higher quality detailer. I actually know him from another site, and he is a great guy to boot!

 

very good detail job but what a beautiful 400!!!

 

When I scrolled down and finally saw the photo of the whole car my jaw dropped - that is BEAUTIFUL! Never thought a 400 could look THIS good. Great job!!!

 

Thanks Tropicaldetail for responses and Jacques for starting this thread. After all my research and confusion on products you've sold me. I've been very reluctant to pursue Zaino for the reasons you mentioned (proper surface prep, etc) but I'm now convinced that given my single stage paint this protection will be well worth it. Do you have any recommendations on someone who can do this level of work in Northern CA? The prep and first coat is something that I'll leave to the pros (considering that paint removal is a must I only want to have to do it once). Once this is done I figure I can apply additional coats myself. Considering that I'm a big fan of detail spray (I have yet to wash my car, and from what I was told it hasn't been washed for 5 yrs) is there anything I should know about its compatibility with Zaino?

Thanks in advance,

Larry

 

Tropical Detail and Jacques, Thanks so much for the information! Obviously, I will look for a professional to do the preperation and intitial treatment of Zaino! I don't mind spending the hours that you did to make it look so sweeeeeet, but I'm afraid I would damage the paint by trying this for my first time, obviously!

Anyone have somebody that might even come close to Tropical's skill set in the Austin Texas area that you have used and trust? Thanks a Million. I just pulled my car out of the garage to take my son to baseball practice, and I took a good look at the paint. I thought my car looked good for it's age, but then this damn thread popped up!

I now can see what my paint can look like with the appropriate preparation and treatment!

CHeers,
GT

 

So where can I buy Zaino?

 

Is sunny (JaguarXJ6) in northern CA? He is an incredible detailer if so. If he is not in North Cali, he might know a good person who is.
BT