Portofino - New Car Paint Process | FerrariChat

Portofino - New Car Paint Process

Discussion in 'Detailing & Showroom' started by JBlack002, Oct 16, 2019.

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  1. JBlack002

    JBlack002 Karting
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    Jan 17, 2016
    75
    Mooresville, NC
    Full Name:
    Jim
    I took delivery of a MY2019 Portofino in late August of this year. The exterior is in the launch color Rosso Portofino. The purpose of this post is to share my experience with the paint correction, PPF and ceramic coating process I recently went through on the car.

    Condition of the car upon delivery

    Here are photos of the car as it was delivered. I’m very pleased with the color and how it really pops in the sunlight. Some back story is in order. I placed the order for the car in August 2018 and expected to take delivery in early 2019. However, Ferrari was having difficulty with certain car colors produced by its new “Low Bake Clear Coat System” and Rosso Portofino was one of those colors. I heard that several prospective owners who originally spec’d the color changed their choice rather than deal with the delay. I was tempted, but I’m glad I stayed patient.

    While the car looked great to me, there were several defects in the factory paint that become noticeable under the lights. The defects seemed consistent with my two previous Ferraris and presumably result from the sanding, compounding and polishing that occurs at the factory and maybe other places along the way to delivery. I had a detailer who once referred to the defects as “Italian Kisses”.

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  2. JBlack002

    JBlack002 Karting
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    Jan 17, 2016
    75
    Mooresville, NC
    Full Name:
    Jim
    Paint Correction
    I intended to have a full PPF wrap on the car, so I had the option of just wrapping it, which tends to minimize and even hide the imperfections. But I would know they’re there. So, the next step was to have the paint “corrected”. Mike Napoli (CMC Detailing near Charlotte, NC) did the work. The car was prepped (i.e., washed using a foam canon with Carpro Reset shampoo and 2-bucket method, decontaminated using Carpro Iron X, followed by a clay bar, washed again, dried, wiped down with Carpro Eraser and various edges were taped off). Mike did a few test spots and determined that the correction would require a 2-step process (compound and polish). Mike used a Meguiars microfiber cutting pad with Griots Garage Fast Cutting Crème to compound most of the car. He used Shine Supply Flat Top to compound some of the harder paint surfaces. He spent a full day on the compounding. The next day, he did the finishing polish using Carpro Gloss Pads and Jescar Micro Finishing Polish (a half-day of work). Once he was done, I admired the car and then covered it and put it on my lift to keep the car pristine (and so I wouldn’t be tempted to drive it while waiting for the PPF to be installed).

    An interesting discovery from the correction was the existence of a “pigmented” clear coat. You can see that Mike’s pad picked up the red pigment during compounding. I don’t know whether this is unique to Rosso Portofino or is a characteristic of Ferrari’s new paint process.

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  3. JBlack002

    JBlack002 Karting
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    Jan 17, 2016
    75
    Mooresville, NC
    Full Name:
    Jim
    PPF Full Wrap

    I’m a believer in full PPF wraps on my Ferraris. I live in North Carolina and love driving the roads in the Smoky Mountains. The Cherohala Skyway is among my favorite. Lots of high-speed sweeping corners, along with some tight switchbacks along the way. As fun as it is, your car will take a pelting from small rocks and pebbles. I’ve found some solace in knowing my car’s paint is protected. Knock on wood, I’ve yet to have a rock hit that penetrated the PPF. I have Suntek Ultra on my 2017 488 Spider with good success, so I opted to do that again. Bruce Humphries (Carolina Auto Image) did the PPF installation. I was also lucky to have Rob Ruska available to assist Bruce with the PPF. Rob is an Installation Technologist with Eastman (owner of the Suntek and Llumar brands), where his role includes, among other things, training for installers of Suntek and Lumar PPF. Rob has years of PPF experience leading up to his current role.

    I’ve heard and have come to understand that the most important decision with respect to PPF isn’t necessarily the brand (although I have my preference for Suntek). Suntek/Llumar, Xpel, 3M, STEK are all excellent and technology continues to advance in the industry. Several PPF products have self-healing properties and a few (Suntek/Llumar included) have recently added hydrophobic topcoats. The films have become thinner and more translucent and old complaints of yellowing, orange peel, difficult removal, etc. have become less of an issue. You likely can’t go wrong with any of the top brands today. What’s more important is the skill and experience of the installer. I skilled installer will know the best approach to difficult areas of a car. They will be skilled in installing the PPF to minimize noticeable seams (i.e., wrap edges). A quality job will be almost invisible and difficult for the untrained eye to see. Perfection is difficult to achieve with a full wrap and some follow-up may be required as the PPF dries and settles in. A quality installer will take pride in their work and follow-up to correct any issues that may arise.

    Bruce and Rob did the PPF install over 1-1/2 days. Afterwards, I parked the car in the sun as much as possible for a few days to allow the fluids under the film leftover from the installation process to evaporate.

    CQuartz Finest Ceramic Coating

    Mike Napoli came back a few days after the PPF install to do the final step of coating the car. My experience with ceramic coatings is 1) they add gloss and clarity, 2) are durable with proper maintenance, 3) dirt tends to fall away and not stick and 4) they are hydrophobic, which makes washing much easier. The downsides are coatings can be susceptible to water spot etching (once the coating is etched, it’s hard to remove) and removal typically requires sanding or compounding. Some may ask why coat a car on top of PPF. There’s an argument for that, and even more nowadays with PPF films that have hydrophobic topcoats. My understanding is that the hydrophobicity of the film topcoats is inferior to a quality coating and the topcoats are not as durable and may have a more limited lifespan. Even more important to me is that a coating adds a level of gloss and clarity that the film alone will not provide. Now, some may feel that a good wax and sealant may provide superior gloss and clarity over a coating. I don’t necessarily disagree, but the other characteristics of a ceramic coating make it my preference. There are many good ceramic coatings on the market. I’ve had great results with Carpro CQuartz Finest and decided to use it again on this car. We removed the wheels in order to steam clean the brake calipers and then coated the wheels and calipers. Once complete, I parked the car as often as possible in the sunlight to speed up the curing process. I did the first maintenance wash 1 week after the coating was applied.

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  4. JBlack002

    JBlack002 Karting
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    Jan 17, 2016
    75
    Mooresville, NC
    Full Name:
    Jim
    Result

    Photos don’t always capture what the eye can see. The car looks fantastic and I look forward to several years of keeping it looking this good. I’ll do weekly washings in my garage wash bay. I’ll use Carpro Reload on occasion (every couple of months) as a drying aid to enhance the coating. I’ll also use P&S Beadmaker as a drying aid when not using Reload to keep the gloss and slickness high.

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  5. IMAGINETHAT

    IMAGINETHAT Rookie

    Mar 18, 2015
    27
    Palm Desert, CA
    Full Name:
    Len
    Beautiful and great write up on the process. I'm also a firm believer in PPF for any car I plan on keeping for a long time.

    Still admiring your garage/wash bay/showcase area !
     
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  6. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 13, 2014
    25,865
    DFW, Texas
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    Tom C
    Wow. Interesting and informative writeup. Gorgeous Porto.
    T
     
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  7. Marco Polo

    Marco Polo Rookie

    Jan 14, 2017
    28
    Cheshire, UK
    What a great write-up - thanks for sharing this. A terrific insight into the process, benefits and outcome - your Portofino looks fabulous!

    Marco
     
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  8. Scudmsl

    Scudmsl Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Aug 12, 2014
    837
    USA
    Thanks for taking the time to write up the details of your journey. The results look amazing. Love your spec too.
     
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  9. jm2

    jm2 F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Aug 19, 2002
    17,900
    michigan
    Full Name:
    john
    Jim, thanks so much for the comprehensive writeup. The outcome is exemplary. I love these detailed (no pun intended) step by step examples.
    Great work!
     
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  10. Vladislav Pochuev

    Mar 31, 2019
    28
    Full Name:
    Vladislav Pochuev
    Hi. Very interesting. I have got the same problem with the paint of my Portofino. I had to complain to the dealer and gave the car to the dealer to fix the problem. I don’t think I have to pay to get the Italian kisses out. Maybe I am wrong...


    Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     
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  11. 338Lapua

    338Lapua Formula Junior

    Sep 5, 2015
    802
    Michigan
    Full Name:
    Tony
    The pigmented clear is also on Rosso Corsa Metallizzato. It provides a slighter deeper color than the standard Rosso Corsa. BTW - car looks great.
     
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