I like the new red key

The new 360 CS has the same red key as the Enzo and I agree a very cool key.

 

The Carerra GT key is also really cool, and it comes standard with that Porsche carbon fiber key holder thing, which is totally great, and Ferrari should make one

 

The key holder is the one in the middle (obviously)

 

Here's a pic of the new red-key (sorry its not from the other side w/ the horse) inside the CS (see my other thread). It looks like the key itself is the same as the regular 360 key so it may be possible to swap. Not sure I recall what the 355 key looks like.

Mind you, you might receive the "eet is noo posseeeble" when you try this...

PS I took these pictures with my new Canon Digital SLR and am pretty happy that this small part of the image came out so clear!
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Hey Madturk, did you get another 355 or did you save the old one? I seem to recall you saying that were going to post pictures of your old 355 that caught fire at the gas station.

 

Ha, the car guy way. Upgrade!

 

hey madturk, glad to hear from you again. i was wondering what happened to the car. hope you get many $$$$ from the gas station since the pump auto--shut off did not work.

 

After reading this thread, I was inspired to paint my 360's key red myself. Easy and looks great. All you got to do is carefully pry off the silver Cavellino from key. I used a small precision screw driver to do this. Picking gently at the thick part like the neck, not the tail. Popped right off.

Now tape the key teeth with masking tape. Sand silver OEM painted area with 800 grid wed & dry sand paper.

Sprayed 4 light coats of red (I just used spray cans from local hardware store). Color matched better than 90%. Then sprayed 2 coats of clear (again spray can). For durability I baked the paint with regular oven set at 100 C for 30 minutes. Wife didn't like that very much.

Then glued the silver Cavellino back with clear contact cement.

Took me an hour and cost $10. Could have sprayed with my airbrush with proper PPG Rosso Corsa red, but for such a small item didn't need to fire up the air compressor.

And it looks sharp. Turned out much better than I expected. I attach a picture here to show the result. Sorry my picture color is not showing up well, because I took the picture at night under poor room light condition.
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cwwhk,

The new color looks great, but, how will it last under normal use?

 

After reading this thread, I was inspired to paint my 360's key red myself. Easy and looks great. All you got to do is carefully pry off the silver Cavellino from key. I used a small precision screw driver to do this. Picking gently at the thick part like the neck, not the tail. Popped right off.

Now tape the key teeth with masking tape. Sand silver OEM painted area with 800 grid wed & dry sand paper.

Sprayed 4 light coats of red (I just used spray cans from local hardware store). Color matched better than 90%. Then sprayed 2 coats of clear (again spray can). For durability I baked the paint with regular oven set at 100 C for 30 minutes. Wife didn't like that very much.

Then glued the silver Cavellino back with clear contact cement.

Took me an hour and cost $10. Could have sprayed with my airbrush with proper PPG Rosso Corsa red, but for such a small item didn't need to fire up the air compressor.

And it looks sharp. Turned out much better than I expected. I attach a picture here to show the result. Sorry my picture color is not showing up well, because I took the picture at night under poor room light condition.

 

spyderman:

I guess I am not very good at using the post reply button yet. Sorry posted the same one twice.

It's holding up very well. That's why I baked it, so the paint will polymerized better and harden to a stronger finish. Basically same as paint shops will do. Besides, when I painted my key the OEM silver was pretty worn already.

Regards,

cwwhk

 

For my birthday, my wife had a solid gold key made for my 355 spider. I really like it. It is exactly like the black plastic key, except in gold.

 

That's an excellent idea and it does look great. Better than the original in fact. The oem silver finish wears out quickly regardless of how careful you are. I have little doubt it will be more durable than the original,which is basically crap.

 

Regarding the paint finish coming off the OEM silver...I wonder if that is covered under warranty?

 

did you bake the key after you put on the 2 coats of gloss or after you put on the coats of red paint?

just want to know because i probably will do the same. Your key looks great!

 

FWIW-

The 355/550/456 small "locker" style key can and will fit in the 360. I can attest to that, but not to sure on the Enzo key, although I do not suspect any difference. And likewise, the big 360 key can fit into the 355/456/550 slot as well.

 

Hubert888:

Between color coats as well as the clear coats, I just let the paint flash dry about 15 minutes. Used lacquer spray paint, NOT enamel for quicker drying time. After the final clear coat I let the paint dry 30 minutes so most of the solvent has evaporated, then I baked the keys to get the finish to become harder and more durable. Otherwise I think the clear coat may not stick to the red base coat as well.

An additional note on th baking, my or rather my wife's oven has a minimum heat setting of 100 C or about 210 F, it's too hot really. To get around that problem I just preheat it to the min oven setting, then turn the oven off and waited for it to cool down to say 150 F by guessing and just let the key sit in the oven for 30 minutes. Make sure the oven is off when the key is baking. You don't want the heating element to come on while baking which will burn the paint.

If you don't have experience spray painting, just remember to keep the spray nozzle at reasonable distance to key say 12 inches and applly light mist coats. Too close or too heavy a spray will cause runs and drips. Don't point directly at the kay to start the spray. Point away from key. Get the spray going then bring it across to coat the key. This will avoid sputters. Also make sure work in dust free environment so paint finish is perferct.

It's a good idea to rig up a stand with allegator clip to hold the key in position during painting, drying, and baking. Otherwise you have no way of laying the key down while paint is still wet.

Sorry if I am making this sound more complicated than what it really is. Just want to give you as much heads up as possible to obtain the perfect result. Besides, the worse that can happen is that you have to strip or sand down the paint and start over again. My key's OEM silver was not worn down to bare metal, so I did not use a primer coat for adhesion, but if yours is worn down to bare aluminum it's a good idea to first spray a primer coat.

Good luck on your attempt. You will love how the key looks after it's done. And it costs next to nothing.