Countach, the ultimate supercar

That car has under 1500km on it.

 

So there should be no need for a detailing !

Am putting like 5000 miles per year on my Testarossa, and she needs a detailing once a year, but that understandable, right ?

 

Yes please, that would be absolutely great. The identity of your car and another red UK QV "2ANP" have been a mystery to me for years.

 

You can have a new car with no miles on it that needs detailing as bad as a car with 50,000 miles. What really matters is the paint condition, any halogen light will highlight the condition of paint on a car.

If you look at some of the pictures in the detailing thread you will see photos of the halogen light on the paint, the light will expose the scratches in the paint and it will show as swirl marks mostly, this is the light refracting off of the surface of the scratch. If you open a can of paint and shine a light there will be no swirls as there are no scratches to refract the light.

When Todd is done "correcting" paint there are no swirls (unless there are some really deep scratches). The surface looks like an open can of paint, it really is a sight to behold. The paint is corrected by taking the mountain peaks down to the bottom of the worst scratches (think river valleys). This gives you the desired result but then Todd will do what is called "jewelling" and put a gloss on the paint that is incredible. The final product does not require a wax that needs to be reapplied constantly and essentially fills in the river valleys. The paint has been corrected. A paint sealer (wax) is then applied and is nothing like what you are used to seeing, it has the viscosity of water or even lower like a rubbing alcohol, no more than a few drops will do an entire car. You can then sit back and enjoy your newly detailed "diamond" and listen to the oohs and aahs of your friends.

Todd's services are not for everyone but I'll assure you if you take a halogen light to your car, you will be surprised. There is a black 356 Speedster and a black Healey in the threads, these cars showcase what can be done. The Speedster had just come from one of the best local shops for some minor work and the shop performed their version of a detail, the end result was not something you would be proud of, Todd did his magic and the results speak for themselves. Both of these cars went from grey to black.

Caveat emptor.........if you are in this far you may need a twelve step program for your hobby or car disease, but you will never go back.

Simply put, park a car that Todd has detailed next to almost anything on the lawns at some of the best concours around the country and it will shock you. The gloss is like no other, stunning.



Now back to your regularily scehduled program, the fabulous Countach!!!

 

There are few that understand paint at the level that Todd does and that is probably why he is on the payroll of industry manufacturers to help them develop their products. For some people paint is paint and they wipe their California dusters over their cars, thinking they are removing light dust and lint. Well they are but I've since learned they are also doing damage.

When you have an original paint car that has less than 4 mils of paint there is only a handful of guys in the country that understand how to properly bring this paint back without removing more than needs to be during a proper detail. Add in the difficulties that a Countach presents with all of the hard lines and other areas that are very easy to burn through on. Todd understands all of these challenges, he is the Phil Hill of detailing, the cream of the crop.

The Countach got the brakes and fuel system serviced at the same time the car was detailed. The cooling system is next.

 

The scratches come back fairly soon. What looks like paint in a can will get the swirls in short order. Unless the car gets put in a dust free environment, does not get washed and no car cover is used it will swirl up again...

BTW Todd has done two $1000 details for me and he does great work.

Geno

 

From a 400S top back to periscopa? That must be a hard work with the interior

 

Well understood and verified by some very crazy detail fanatics.

 

Geno,
I heard 2k. Can you explain how he prices out the job? Obviously 1k is better on the wallet. Did it include the interior?
I also heard, which may actually bring the price to 2k, is he does the suspension, engine compartment, and trunk.

 

Thanks for sharing your incredible cars here and in the new Lamborghini Videos thread that has started. We can live out our automotive dreams thru the generosity of collectors such as you, Ken L and Glick to name a few. There is so much variety here, just awesome.

 

Ha ha, after detailing my dad's Mustang, (full day fretting over the paint's finish) I told him if he ever took it through an automatic car wash I'd never speak to him again!! He got the point, lol

 

Peter-

I am not sure what the $2K detail includes, but I like Joe find that number very high. I did not get the suspension detailed. The exterior got multi-stage work done to it, interior, engine and truck areas as well. I feel that a car with major paint build up that requires claying, wet sending and several stages of buffing and waxing will add to the cost of a high end detail. I still have a hard time justifying the $1000 maybe because I know how to do all that my self. Just lazy I guess. I've never heard of any detail work costing more that that, but what do I know?

Geno

 

I thought about posting to this thread or not, I don't want to take it too far off topic.

Pricing is always done per vehicle and based on an hourly rate.

Something like the Countach, which had accumulated so many fine scratches (from poor washing and or wipedowns with a California duster while it was dirty) is unique in the world of detailing, this wasn't a simple buff and shine, if you will.

This Countach, to most experts eyes, remains 100% original, down to the tires still wrapped around the wheels. The challenge wasn't to make the paint shiny and swirl free, a car of this vintage, originality, and uniqueness deserves more. Let me take a step back and explain...

Most original paint Countach's look like crap and even when properly polished don't have too much potential. Most of the time paint is severely lacquer checked and many of the edges have been 'burned' to the metal. I have worked on upwards of 15 pre-1980 original paint Countachs and have never ever seen one this good. Not even close. It literally is a time capsule car.

The other thing about these coach built cars is that they are perfectly imperfect from the factory. Body work is visible under the paint, bondo, sanding marks from blending the bondo (or body filler), factory sand marks. The goal with this car (and cars like this) is to remove every defect put in after the factory while preserving the factory patina. Sure its possible to polish the paint to with in a 1/4 mil of its life and create a fairly perfect finish, but you destroy the patina of the car and loose the originality. This is far more than detailing, this is restorative work.

Its past my bedtime and I am not sure if I am making sense. Ultimately the goal is to restore the paint to the exact condition it was when it left the factory, when it was freshly painted and scratch free, but to not go too far and start to level out the body work lines. This type of work is FAR more time consuming and requires far more experience/expertise then just buffing paint.

Also we are dealing with lacquer paint that is 35 years old and was notorious for its lack of quality to begin with, not to mention that there is almost zero paint on any of the 100s of sharp edges and one lapse of concentration in the 30 hours required to restore the paint would result in permanent damage and ultimately destroy what makes this Countach so unique.

There is also a significant difference between taking a car to 90% of its potential, 95%, and 100%, each level requiring at least twice as much time as the previous level. Taking this particular Countach to 100% of its potential with out leveling the paint and erasing its patina and originality is a huge undertaking and the type of work I find most challenging and rewarding, even if the end result and the precision required to achieve that result is only appreciated by a few.

 

Hey Gene! How are you my friend? Are you going to Cavallino this year?

 

Just want to let everyone know that $1000 or more is a deal especially for a Countach which cost a small fortune everytime one goes to the bodyshop. This not a $200-$300 detailing. This far beyond that. I have an employee who has done paint correction to several of his cars. He also did it to my black 96 Impala SS that I sold. An incredible job and very time consuming. He won't do it for anyone else, tough work.
It could have been done better so I know how far Todd does it.

I would consider having this done to my Urraco and Jarama.

 

Thanks lambo400s.

Greatest video EVER!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8okUeyx-Ds&feature=g-vrec&context=G22e6041RVAAAAAAAABA[/ame]

 

What a great video Peter! I love how the Countach just vanishes into the sunset once he gets around that Pantera!!!

Mike

 

Peter, you are hereby the official winner of the internet for Friday, Jan 6, 2012.

 

Excellent, thank you so much for finding this !

 

pantera looks faster on the straights


countach much faster on corners

 

I truly enjoy detailing kool cars ... sometimes I think I'd even pay for it
I find a relaxing pleasure spending several hours cherishing and touching cars while detaling them


this guy's job is like being a porn star for me


( I mean ... getting paid for doing something I really enjoy )

 

So many great supercars! Do you know when and where this was taken?

Chris