Sign in or Sign up

Your Profile Page
Contact Details
Privacy
Preferences
Alert Preferences
Password
Log Out
Show online status
Messages:0
Likes:0
Points:0

Conversations

Alerts

More from Driven Lifestyle Group

© 2025 DRIVEN LIFESTYLE. All rights reserved.

Detailing Q's answered

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by Monaco Detailer, Nov 27, 2007.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Page 1 of 3

Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#1 Monaco Detailer, Nov 27, 2007

Hello guys...

I thought i would start this thread to help with any Q's that you have in respect to detailing your pride & joy, i have 12 years of detailing Cars from Astons to Zondas & aircraft worth $50 million, so if you have any Q's please write on this thread i will be happy to help!

Regards

Detailng kid!
Far Out F1 Veteran

Feb 18, 2007

9,768

Stuttgart, Germany

Full Name:

Florian

#2 Far Out, Nov 27, 2007
Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017

Great idea, thanks for sharing your experience with us With the first question I'll now immediately drag the car niveau down into the deepest depths of exotics ownership, but maybe some Ferrari owners might face a similar problem, otherwise feel free to ignore me. I have some annoying white spots on the roof of my '76 *cough*Celica*cough*. Just like the stains water leaves, but no buffing or polishing will affect them - see the picture below (although it looks far worse on the picture than in reality). Do you know what these could be and especially how I can get rid of them?
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#3 Monaco Detailer, Nov 27, 2007

when you say 'buffing' do you mean my hand or by machine?? is it possible you could send a better picture to me from top looking down??
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#4 Monaco Detailer, Nov 27, 2007

Detailing kid said: ↑

when you say 'buffing' do you mean my hand or by machine?? is it possible you could send a better picture to me from top looking down??
Click to expand...

without that other picture its difficult to say but this is my theory

Water that has been left on the car after it has been washed - some chemicles that are used to wash cars are very caustic & if not 'leathered' dry and left in the sun it 'burns' the top coat effectivly breaking it down so the UV rays from the sun damage the paint underneath the clearcoat this cannot be repaired if badly damaged!

D K
Far Out F1 Veteran

Feb 18, 2007

9,768

Stuttgart, Germany

Full Name:

Florian

#5 Far Out, Nov 27, 2007

Detailing kid said: ↑

when you say 'buffing' do you mean my hand or by machine?? is it possible you could send a better picture to me from top looking down??
Click to expand...

Of course I can! Uploaded them at high resolution:

http://img128.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=74153_IMG_2232_122_1060lo.jpg
http://img185.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=74157_IMG_2233_122_411lo.jpg
http://img128.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=74164_IMG_2234_122_606lo.jpg

As said before, it looks really nasty on the photos, far less in reality.
Far Out F1 Veteran

Feb 18, 2007

9,768

Stuttgart, Germany

Full Name:

Florian

#6 Far Out, Nov 27, 2007

Detailing kid said: ↑

without that other picture its difficult to say but this is my theory

Water that has been left on the car after it has been washed - some chemicles that are used to wash cars are very caustic & if not 'leathered' dry and left in the sun it 'burns' the top coat effectivly breaking it down so the UV rays from the sun damage the paint underneath the clearcoat this cannot be repaired if badly damaged!

D K
Click to expand...

Thanks for that quick reply! Yes, this might be possible - I already assumed something to that effect, as the car is in great technical shape, but the paint has really been neglected by its previous owners (I have the car since 2005). I want to respray it anyway back to its original color, but being a student, this has to wait for quite a while Thanks again for sharing your wisdom and experience! I really appreciate it

Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#7 Monaco Detailer, Nov 27, 2007

Far Out said: ↑

Thanks for that quick reply! Yes, this might be possible - I already assumed something to that effect, as the car is in great technical shape, but the paint has really been neglected by its previous owners (I have the car since 2005). I want to respray it anyway back to its original color, but being a student, this has to wait for quite a while Thanks again for sharing your wisdom and experience! I really appreciate it
Click to expand...

going by the middle picture its definatly oxidisation caused by the sun & lack of waxing... is the whole car a 'pinky' colour?? if so this is easily repaired by using a machine (skilled person only!!!) your local detailng center should help with that but make sure that they know 100% how to use a machine - this it what they need to do ferecla G3 compond buff WITH water as this stops swirls being left then 3M perfect it machine polish after then several coats of good quality wax i recommened SWISSVAX, ok its expensive but the results are fantastic! please note that it will need regular waxing to maintain its shine!

D K
scoper Karting

Sep 23, 2007

97

Bethesda, Maryland

Full Name:

Alan

#8 scoper, Nov 27, 2007

I just bought a 2004 Spider from a guy in Florida that kept the top down all the time. The car looks fine except some wrinkles/lighter wear lines I assume from sitting folded for prolonged periods of time. Any hints or thoughts for improving the visual appearance since the top isn't otherwise showing any signs of wear to justify replacing the top?
Jackmb1 F1 Rookie

Dec 27, 2005

3,329

#9 Jackmb1, Nov 27, 2007

What product do you recommend to clean the tail pipes so the chrome shines?
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#10 Monaco Detailer, Nov 28, 2007

scoper said: ↑

I just bought a 2004 Spider from a guy in Florida that kept the top down all the time. The car looks fine except some wrinkles/lighter wear lines I assume from sitting folded for prolonged periods of time. Any hints or thoughts for improving the visual appearance since the top isn't otherwise showing any signs of wear to justify replacing the top?
Click to expand...

give it a brush first with a stiff bristled hand brush then a good vacuum (of all things) be sure there are no sharp bits on the nozzle of the vacuum then clean with some good convertable roof cleaner then wasn own let dry & then repeat the brush & vac that should inprove it! you will find that the material will shrink a litte if left down a lot so leave the roof up for a while it will stretch back.

D K
kongman F1 Rookie

Aug 30, 2006

4,545

brisvegas south

Full Name:

mr p

#11 kongman, Nov 29, 2007

have you ever worked in new zealand D K .......
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#12 Monaco Detailer, Nov 29, 2007

kongman said: ↑

have you ever worked in new zealand D K .......
Click to expand...

ERRRRR no! :-D

why do you ask??

D K
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#13 Monaco Detailer, Nov 29, 2007

Detailing kid said: ↑

ERRRRR no! :-D

why do you ask??

D K
Click to expand...

i forgot to add that i have a business in the UK (run by my brother) & a business in Monaco South of France
zoRob Formula 3

Oct 31, 2006

2,004

Cambs, UK

#14 zoRob, Nov 29, 2007

Do the kinds of problems in the pics affect red paint more than other colours? I often see red cars that have faded in some way, more so than others.
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#15 Monaco Detailer, Nov 29, 2007

Enzo Rob said: ↑

Do the kinds of problems in the pics affect red paint more than other colours? I often see red cars that have faded in some way, more so than others.
Click to expand...

The colours that suffer most are the non metallics as they are virtually neat paint hence whey they fade... have you ever seen a metallic car that hes faded?? the answer is no because the have clear coat laquer on! some non metallics have the clear coat but most do not hence why they fade... this is caused by a process called oxdisation where the UV rays bleach the paint & in addition to that it also helps if the products you use to clean/detail your car are not acidic/alkaline on the PH scale - this is why i use nothing but SWISSVAX when i detail a car as it is all natural!

hope this helps you??

D K
Todd Helme Formula Junior

Apr 2, 2007

947

Oviedo Florida

Full Name:

Todd Helme

#16 Todd Helme, Nov 29, 2007

Detailing kid said: ↑

The colours that suffer most are the non metallics as they are virtually neat paint hence whey they fade... have you ever seen a metallic car that hes faded?? the answer is no because the have clear coat laquer on! some non metallics have the clear coat but most do not hence why they fade... this is caused by a process called oxdisation where the UV rays bleach the paint & in addition to that it also helps if the products you use to clean/detail your car are not acidic/alkaline on the PH scale - this is why i use nothing but SWISSVAX when i detail a car as it is all natural!

hope this helps you??

D K
Click to expand...

There is so much misinformation in this post that I really would hate for people to get the wrong ideas...

Most clear coats are not lacquer (none that I know of), but enamel or urethane enamel. Perhaps most in Europe things are different, but I would say 95 percent or more of new cars are basecoat/clear coat enamel, not lacquer, regardless of if they are metallic or solid paints. Lacquer hasn't been used on new cars in quite some time (to my knowledge) because of VOC regulations and solvents used to "cut" the lacquer did not meet clean air standards.

I have not worked on any new car that still used single stage paint (what you refer to as lacquer) in quite some time, so I am shocked that you would say that most cars have this paint system.

Regarding SWISSVAX, are you saying the short lasting UV protection of a product that melts at 140 degrees F (carnauba wax) is going to provide more protection then a polymer that can with stand temperatures in the 200-300 degree F range? I use carnauba products and think SWISSVAX is a great product (much like Zymol), but it has its limitations, and with out frequent reapplication, it will not stand up to more difficult climates.

Oxidation is caused when oxygen molecules interact with the paint. The oxygen molecules accelerate the level or burn up the free radicals in the paint. The only cure is to remove the affected layer of paint. Most waxes and polymers will create a "buffer" between the oxygen and paint, whether it is "all natural" or not. Carnauba waxes definitely have a role in quality detailing, but most studies find that even the most durable carnauba blends loose protection about 140 degrees F, which a black car in the sun easily achieves. In the case of carnaubas, frequent reapplication is the key to keep the barrier intact.

I'm not "calling you out", so please do not take offense to this post, but misinforming people can be dangerous, IMO.
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#17 Monaco Detailer, Nov 29, 2007

tropicaldetail said: ↑

There is so much mis information in this post that I really would hate for people to get the wrong ideas...

Most clear coats are not lacquer (none that I know of), but enamel or urethane enamel. Perhaps most in Europe things are different, but I would say 95 percent or more of new cars are basecoat/clearcoat enamel, not lacquer, regardless of if they are metallic or solid paints. Lacquer hasn't been used on new cars in quite some time (to my knowledge) because of VOC regulations and solvents used to "cut" the lacquer did not meet clean air standards.

I have not worked on any new car that still used single stage paint (what you refer to as lacquer) in quite some time, so I am shocked that you would say that most cars have this paint system.

Regarding SWISSVAX, are you saying the short lasting UV protection of a product that melts at 140 degrees F (carnuaba wax) is going to provide more protection then a polymer that can with stand tempatures in the 200-300 degree F range? I use carnuaba products and think SWISSVAX is a great product (much like Zymol), but it has its limitations, and with out frequent reapplication, it will not stand up to more difficult climates.

I'm not "calling you out", so please do not take offense to this post, but misinforming people can be dangerous, IMO.
Click to expand...

In respect to your post.....

In the uk i know of it as 'laquer' so it can be called what it likes as long as people know what i mean, its hard to say its true name as its known in different places around the world as a different thing hence why i called it 'laquer'

I have detailed cars & an aircraft worth $50 million & yet to have a compliant, ive also used most 'products' availalbe to buy, as we speak sat in my workshop is a Rolls Royce Drophead Coupe - the first off production may i add sent direct to me by the factory! (pictures to prove) that comes to me once a week!

i live in Monaco the south of france so know that regular waxing is essential as one application in a year is not enough due to the summer heat that we get here & i did not say anything about polymer products - the problem is with other products thay are filled with solvents etc with correct me if i am wrong are no good for paintwork??

D K
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#18 Monaco Detailer, Nov 29, 2007

Detailing kid said: ↑

In respect to your post.....

In the uk i know of it as 'laquer' so it can be called what it likes as long as people know what i mean, its hard to say its true name as its known in different places around the world as a different thing hence why i called it 'laquer'

I have detailed cars & an aircraft worth $50 million & yet to have a compliant, ive also used most 'products' availalbe to buy, as we speak sat in my workshop is a Rolls Royce Drophead Coupe - the first off production may i add sent direct to me by the factory! (pictures to prove) that comes to me once a week!

i live in Monaco the south of france so know that regular waxing is essential as one application in a year is not enough due to the summer heat that we get here & i did not say anything about polymer products - the problem is with other products thay are filled with solvents etc with correct me if i am wrong are no good for paintwork??

D K
Click to expand...

also tell me when you machine polish say a red car (non metalic) that has faded do you not get a trace of paint on your machine head??

I am also interested in what products you use so i can buy some then get them tested at a lab to see just how many chemicles are actually in them??
Todd Helme Formula Junior

Apr 2, 2007

947

Oviedo Florida

Full Name:

Todd Helme

#19 Todd Helme, Nov 29, 2007

Detailing kid said: ↑

In respect to your post.....

In the uk i know of it as 'laquer' so it can be called what it likes as long as people know what i mean, its hard to say its true name as its known in different places around the world as a different thing hence why i called it 'laquer'

I have detailed cars & an aircraft worth $50 million & yet to have a compliant, ive also used most 'products' availalbe to buy, as we speak sat in my workshop is a Rolls Royce Drophead Coupe - the first off production may i add sent direct to me by the factory! (pictures to prove) that comes to me once a week!

i live in Monaco the south of france so know that regular waxing is essential as one application in a year is not enough due to the summer heat that we get here & i did not say anything about polymer products - the problem is with other products thay are filled with solvents etc with correct me if i am wrong are no good for paintwork??

D K
Click to expand...

In fairness, I have heard several UK detailers refer to enamel as laqc. uer, so it might be just common mis-use of the word (such as Band-Aid for all bandages). If this is the regard, then we are not in disagreement, but rather I am clarifying your post for Americans' and our different terminologies. In regards to the vehicles you detailed, I'm not sure what the cost of the airplane you did was has anything to with your skill. I have seen idiots with shop brushes washing Ferrari's.... IMO, the type of vehicles you do is far less important then the quality of work you do, and I have seen minivan's detailed to the T and Ferrari's swirls and busted up from detailers.

That said, I'm not disagreeing with you, only stating that your terminology (in reference to American terminology) is incorrect.
Todd Helme Formula Junior

Apr 2, 2007

947

Oviedo Florida

Full Name:

Todd Helme

#20 Todd Helme, Nov 29, 2007

Detailing kid said: ↑

also tell me when you machine polish say a red car (non metalic) that has faded do you not get a trace of paint on your machine head??

I am also interested in what products you use so i can buy some then get them tested at a lab to see just how many chemicles are actually in them??
Click to expand...

It depends on the paint (single stage vs. bc/cc) as to whether I get paint transfer on the pads. Since the majority of cars painted in or for sale in the USA use a two stage paint system (almost all converted to bc/cc in the mid ninties, though some stragglers such as a few Lexus's and Range Rover's still used single stage enamel until the late 90's, and several cars such as Corvette's used bc/cc as early as the 1982), I rarely get color transfer to the pads.

To say that solid colors are single stage and metallics are bc/cc is really not true at all. A more accurate statement (at least in the USA) is most if not all new cars produced use bc/cc and most older cars are single stage paint.

As far as the products I use, I can list them since you asked..

Waxes/Sealants

Collinite #845
DeepFinish DeepSWAX
Meguiars #16, #21, and #26
P21S Concours Wax
P21S 100 Percent Carnauba Wax
Pin. Souveran
Swissvax Concorso
Zaino Z2pro
Zaino Z5pro
Zymol Italglaze
Zymol Concours
Zymol Vintage

I can also list the most polishes if that doesn't anwser your questions.
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#21 Monaco Detailer, Nov 29, 2007

tropicaldetail said: ↑

In fairness, I have heard several UK detailers refer to enamel as laqc. uer, so it might be just common mis-use of the word (such as Band-Aid for all bandages). If this is the regard, then we are not in disagreement, but rather I am clarifying your post for Americans' and our different terminologies. In regards to the vehicles you detailed, I'm not sure what the cost of the airplane you did was has anything to with your skill. I have seen idiots with shop brushes washing Ferrari's.... IMO, the type of vehicles you do is far less important then the quality of work you do, and I have seen minivan's detailed to the T and Ferrari's swirls and busted up from detailers.

That said, I'm not disagreeing with you, only stating that your terminology (in reference to American terminology) is incorrect.
Click to expand...

have you ever detailed a plane?? they are even harder than a car, this is due so small holes in the side of the aircraft called 'static ports' if you get anything in them i plays hell with the instruments after takeoff so more care & detail & a good eye is needed to do an aircraft, also the products you use to do it with must not contain certain chemicals etc, can you imagine the cost of repair!

why did you not put that my terminolgy was wrong wrther then saying all that what you wrote?? anyway we have cleared the laquer situation up!

If the Rolls Royce factory sends you a car straight from production i must be good? after all, 12 years of detailing experience as you know is priceless when it comes to doing a car as it is very easy to damage paint, leather etc if you would like to see some pictures i will gladly send some on to you??

In no way do i want to cause trouble with you as i think between us we have soimething like 25 years experience have we not?? so we could both be of help to people on here & share different ways of detailing, terminology & the do's & dont's if you like...
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#22 Monaco Detailer, Nov 29, 2007

tropicaldetail said: ↑

It depends on the paint (single stage vs. bc/cc) as to whether I get paint transfer on the pads. Since the majority of cars painted in or for sale in the USA use a two stage paint system (almost all converted to bc/cc in the mid ninties, though some stragglers such as a few Lexus's and Range Rover's still used single stage enamel until the late 90's, and several cars such as Corvette's used bc/cc as early as the 1982), I rarely get color transfer to the pads.

To say that solid colors are single stage and metallics are bc/cc is really not true at all. A more accurate statement (at least in the USA) is most if not all new cars produced use bc/cc and most older cars are single stage paint.

As far as the products I use, I can list them since you asked..

Waxes/Sealants

Collinite #845
DeepFinish DeepSWAX
Meguiars #16, #21, and #26
P21S Concours Wax
P21S 100 Percent Carnauba Wax
Pin. Souveran
Swissvax Concorso
Zaino Z2pro
Zaino Z5pro
Zymol Italglaze
Zymol Concours
Zymol Vintage

I can also list the most polishes if that doesn't anwser your questions.
Click to expand...

why do you use so many products?? surly after years of detailing you find a product range that you are happy with for everthing, i do not mix & match for the simple reason that 6 months down the line after you have done a car the owner says he is not happy with something you remember what you used on rather than thinking back 'what did i use on that first time round'?? plus i really prefere products that are natural & contail no chemicals to further damage a car.

i hope that everything is cleared up & we can help people with any Q's that they might have, like i said we both have a lot of ewperience in this field regardless of what terminology is used - nothing removes that experience, not even a full compund machine polish!
zoRob Formula 3

Oct 31, 2006

2,004

Cambs, UK

#23 zoRob, Nov 30, 2007

Detailing kid said: ↑

The colours that suffer most are the non metallics as they are virtually neat paint hence whey they fade... have you ever seen a metallic car that hes faded?? the answer is no because the have clear coat laquer on! some non metallics have the clear coat but most do not hence why they fade... this is caused by a process called oxdisation where the UV rays bleach the paint & in addition to that it also helps if the products you use to clean/detail your car are not acidic/alkaline on the PH scale - this is why i use nothing but SWISSVAX when i detail a car as it is all natural!

hope this helps you??

D K
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.
James-NZ F1 Veteran

Jun 26, 2007

5,822

Hamilton, NewZealand

Full Name:

James

#24 James-NZ, Nov 30, 2007

Detailing kid said: ↑

have you ever detailed a plane?? they are even harder than a car, this is due so small holes in the side of the aircraft called 'static ports' if you get anything in them i plays hell with the instruments after takeoff so more care & detail & a good eye is needed to do an aircraft, also the products you use to do it with must not contain certain chemicals etc, can you imagine the cost of repair!

why did you not put that my terminolgy was wrong wrther then saying all that what you wrote?? anyway we have cleared the laquer situation up!

If the Rolls Royce factory sends you a car straight from production i must be good? after all, 12 years of detailing experience as you know is priceless when it comes to doing a car as it is very easy to damage paint, leather etc if you would like to see some pictures i will gladly send some on to you??

In no way do i want to cause trouble with you as i think between us we have soimething like 25 years experience have we not?? so we could both be of help to people on here & share different ways of detailing, terminology & the do's & dont's if you like...
Click to expand...

With due respect, do you have any idea of the quality of work Todd does?

I for one would love to see some pic's of your work, before and after, full shot and detail shots. Post them here for all to see.
Monaco Detailer Karting

Nov 26, 2007

210

Monaco

Full Name:

Darren Townend

#25 Monaco Detailer, Dec 1, 2007
Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017

JDM-355F1-GTB said: ↑

With due respect, do you have any idea of the quality of work Todd does?

I for one would love to see some pic's of your work, before and after, full shot and detail shots. Post them here for all to see.
Click to expand...

Ok no problem i will post some picures for you... hope these are good enough??

all due respect to Todd & yourself, yes i have heard About his work when i lived in the uk

DK
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

(You must log in or sign up to post here.)

Page 1 of 3

Share This Page