The best Ferrari detail ever? You be the judge...

Looks great!

I have a soft spot for 308/328s, but that clamshell bonnet on the Boxer is a godsend for engine bay detailing.

 

LOL Duane. Thanks for the compliments, now when is the 328 going on the show circuit?

Thanks Tarek!!!

Thanks!!!

I agree with Simon! That F40 never looked better and I would highly recommend this Todd fellow for ALL high end detailing needs... LOL.

Thanks Simon, the F40 was a pure joy (and detailers dream!) to work with.

Now if I could only perform this type of surgery on people, you should have seen the look on my mother in law's face when I went to take a high speed buffer to her...

Thanks Christian

Thanks

Be careful!! It gets addicting!

Sounds good Art, I might have to put something together, I mean how could I say no to an 42 year old Italian beauty (assuming she doesn't have a mustache)!

 

Wonderful !

Maybe not so cleaned, but....A swiss BB, last week in France.
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Part of what makes Todd do well with owners on this (and other) forums, is his attitude. He is just an easy going person who enjoys what he is doing, that's the mark of success. I got my 348 detailed by Todd several months ago. I have never had anyone detail my car previously as I enjoy doing it myself. The light swirl marks in the paint always bothered me, and I did not feel confident about fixing them myself. Todd came over and spent about 7 hours (with his brother) getting the paint nearly perfect. I did not want him to cut too much paint so we agreed on a polishing that removed about 90% of the swirl marks. Todd gave me some tips on washing technique which I use now. I knew that if he was instructed to do so he could get the paint perfect. I was (and am) really happy with the way my car looks, so it does not surprise me that the others that have used his services are also happy. Keep up the good work!

BT

 

I can't echo enough all the positive sentiments about Todd. I've spent a good deal of time with him over the past month as he's started to prep my BB for Cavallino, and he is genuine, talented, and, above all, a true enthusiast. He's the kind of guy who you can just talk cars with forever - and his passion is reflected in every aspect of his work. I had the pleasure of seeing Simon's F40 at WP, and the work on his car was amazing as well.

Rob - thanks for your compliment . I look forward to seeing you and your 328 sometime soon - good times at the concours, and more to come!

To answer the question about price - I feel Todd provides a level of quality, personal investment, and attention to detail that make the price per hour a value. If you're a price shopper, Todd's details will cost too much. However, if you are looking for value, you have found the right man for the job.

Also - thanks for the positive feedback on my BB! I love the car - it makes my heart rate go up every time I look at it.

Forza,
David

 

Thanks Bill! I enjoy what I do (my wife would say I am obsesive) to the point its almost a sickness...lol. I tell her she shops too much though. I had a great time with the 348, and for the small amount of actual correction, the improvement was very nice. I know you keep your Ferrari in top shape so your trust obviously means a lot!

 

Thanks David, I look forward to platinum at Cavallino!!! (I hope that wasn't a jinx!)

 

He didn't even get the swirl out of the license plate... ;-) Seriously though, thats some good work. 28 hours is a long ass time to not take off all the badges and remove headlights and stuff though. none the less, great work. The car looks amazing.

 

Same here, great job.

 

Yes, it's great, but 4000 miles in 23 years! Some of us actually drive our Ferraris.

 

Nobody wants disrespect, fair enough... but I, too, am curious of simply your hourly rate.
If not that, then can you at least aproximate what a "full detail" might be, ball park? Or if not at your rate, then someone with comprable skills?

Not looking for you to tip your hand of your business, but it would be a service (and potential free plug) if you at least gave an idea for folks looking to have their car detailed to this level.

It's gotta be somewhere between $500 and $500,000.... can you narrow this at least SOMEWHAT?

Thanks.

 

I'll give a quote. For 28 hours of work, you'd be looking at around $1400. $50 an hour is what I charge for work like that.

 

Oh **** not again Covert detail spam, this is really getting into bull ****.

 

Looks good...Could use better chemicals, but those are very good ones.

 

Simply amazing man! I wish I knew how to detail cars half as good as you.

 

Thanks Doug!!!

Most quality detailers charge between 50-80 an hour depending on numerous factors. Also some charge more but wrap the product cost into the hourly rate, so its a broad question. I would say that this type of detail could cost between 1000-2500 dollars depending on who does the work. A lot of factors go into the equation, for example, on this car I measured the paint on every panel with an ultrasonic monitor so I could map an exact film thickness of each layer of paint on the car, so that the paint was corrected in the safest possible manner.

So while the same work could potentially had for less, I won't risk polishing the car with out mapping each layer of paint and releveling it perfectly. So this type of prep work costs more money, but is essential, in my opinion. There is a lot of safe guarding and art work involved on "restoring" single stage lacquer to the highest possible level, but in this case the Ferrari honestly looks better then new.

If would like a more detailed break down or specific answer, PM me and I would be happy to answer any questions.

I think my clients (on this forum) would vouche for me that I am a stand up guy and I can assure you that you are completely wrong. I'm sorry you feel this way, but it was very cool to see a car I detailed pop up on this forum. Should have I ignored it? There have been many people on this forum that I have helped (which is the spirit of this forum) behind the scenes (including people that live thousands of miles away) because I love what I do. You really have me pegged wrong.

Thanks Garrett, not sure if I agree with about the chemical thing at all, every product on used on this car is of the highest caliber. I'm not sure why would post that however...

Thanks Kevin. This is my life's passion (kind of a illness if you ask my wife) so I had better be good at it, or I'll be in an insitution!

 

I am not trying to nit pick but the BBis used single stage enamel, laquer was phased out around 77 or 78, laquer paint actually evaporates over time and no way OE laquer would look decent today even if the car was kept in a bubble all its life

 

Two questions:

1. How long will a detail like that last before it starts to show the swirls again, assuming weekend use and parking in a garage?

2. Would that car lose points because of the painted bumper, spoiler and engine cover - or was that a change in 84?

 

1) Most swirls, scratches, ect are caused by improper washing techniques and abrading the paint surface. If proper techniques are used in washing, the swirls will never "return." The paint was releveledd (by removing a trace amount of paint) so the offending surface was removed and the paint is now level. No oils or glaze was used to hide the defects, they where removed.

2) Not sure but I'll ask the owner of the car, David, who posted on here earlier. I believe that his car came from the factory this way, but I have seen similar '84s that had the black.

 

Losing paint on the rags like that, how good is that for the car in the long term ?

How many times can you do something like this on these cars ?

 

Thank you for posting this Bryan. Awesome job Todd!

If you know - Let me know where you can buy a GOOD paint depth measurement tool (where/brand/model). Thanks!

 

Todd--incredible work. I've never seen that detailed of a before-after process for a concours detail, and it's amazing how imperfect a lot of "clean" cars are.

It must take an incredible amount of patience to perform what looks like an arduous task, but the end result is spectacular.

Bravo!!

 

Its a fair question and obviously the fact that on a single stage paint, you can "see" the paint transfer makes it seem more alarming. On modern cars with a two stage (basecoat/clearcoat) finish, you cannot see the paint transfer because the top layer is clear, makes it seem safer. If you think about cutting your finger and running it under hot water, the amount of blood loss will seem much greater because the blood will dilute in the water, you can turn your whole sink pink with just a little blood. It is very similar to how the paint mixes with the lubricants in the polish and seems much greater, while in reality, its a very trace amount of paint.

The average paint thickness of the top coat was about 2.5 mils, or roughly a sheet of paper (I would have to check as this was soley based on memory). After correcting the paint with an aggressive compound, then polishing and burnishing the paint to a high gloss the average thickness was around 2.3-2.2 mils, so roughly 1/10 of the color coat was removed. This is a fair amount, but then again I was removing 20 years of paint defects from being washed incorrectly, having a cover dragged across, ect. Again this was a failry aggressive polishing, meant to relevel the paint and bring it a very high gloss (appearing new or better than new). However, in typical Ferrari fashion, the paint was thinner in a couple areas (which dictates how much paint I could remove) and thicker in a couple areas.

Most times, minor polishing will remove such a small amount of paint that it cannot be measured. Then again, I have seen body shops and inexperienced high speed buffer users chew up to .5 of a mil in one shot (body shops are famous for this, even ones that are considered good). So its hard to answer the question exactly, but this car could probably be refinished 3-4 times in this manner with out an ill effects what so ever. Of course, a little education on proper washing/waxing/wiping techniques goes a long way in mostly eliminating the factors that cause the defects that I had to remove, so hopefully any marring that does occur will be very minor in the future (if at all) so this type of polishing would never be necessary.

I know its kind of a long winded answer to a simple question, but thats the shortest I could come up with with out going into various details such as the type of pad, rpm, abrasive level, paint hardness, depth of the defects, and how each one affects the answer.

 

Thanks Todd, I think it's great. Worth the money - far cheaper than a repaint!

 

Hmmm.... Ok, dumb question: how DO you wash a car then? I have always simply moved the wash mit in a circular direction. Is this not correct?