As I said, the embossing isn't even on the OEM panel per the pics you posted. I've never studied any shield embossing closely enough to care, if I'm honest, but looking at the pics you posted the factory embossing looks less even than the ratarossa one. I also think lighting in all of these pics are variable enough to make the comparison completely worthless. The ratarossa pic there shows that the shield probably isn't bolted in or fully seated, look at the bottom. He just dropped it in as a test fit. Not sure why you're so critical of this, but it's a hell of a lot better than stick on shields, that's for sure. We'll see once the car is painted, but even then, who cares? If the oem shield fitment is perfect, it's one of the few things that is on these cars...
Meanwhile… Hill Engineering has the balls to come out and say their stuff is better than the OE components they are replacing. That’s great. These are mechanical components and can be measured. Ratarossa have the balls to say his de-boss is better than OE ?? I dare him make that claim. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
There is a pic Targatime posted showing an embossment located in factory location (or close). It’s clear as hell in the pic, the upper embossment cavity is deeper than OE, so it’s not uncalled for to presume a shield would sit deeper in. I have an eye for this type of stuff others might not due to the type of manufacturing I do. This is second nature to me. It’s easy to be fooled at first glance. That’s where I come in and point issues I see. Issues others might not have noticed. I should be thanked lol. Once the issues are acknowledged and the reader is still not bothered by what they see.. then go for it. More power to ya. More often than not, someone saw something, got excited it could get done inexpensively, goes for it only to regret the results and end up selling the car so someone else can live with it. Very rarely are things done right cheaply. Ratarossa is not the eye you want to rely on if you’re after quality. He’s the budget build guy. Nothing wrong with that if thats the direction one is going with his car. In the case of de-bossing fenders, particularly on 355’s, I haven’t seen it done right. I’ve seen it done wrong 100% of the time. I keep mental track of this stuff. Others don’t. It’s fine if one is ok with the results from Ratarossa, but to claim it’s like OE or even better is a stretch. Let’s keep it real.
I’d rather much use stick-on shields, preserving the original fender, vs destroying the fender with some questionable de-bossing. More often than not, I see the owner who de-bossed the car selling the car. Could it be because he was bothered by the results and his own decision? Who knows? But he sure as hell aint trying to live with it.
Here’s a case study: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/355-scuderia-fender-shields.118009/page-4 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I can't tell anything from those pictures tbh, too many reflections, but it looks like there's a larger gap between the shield and fender on the side top than the side bottom, so not perfect, but it's a picture. I'd have to see them side by side irl to really tell.
I agree, Pete. And being American, NART rather than SF would be the race team to pay homage to. When I tracked my 550 I did just that... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login I could have added the crumpled fender and shattered tail lights, but I didn't bother to do that.
I just love how Ferrari calls stencils and spray guns hand painted art work.I can see painting them on a race car, but not a Luxury sports car. They look cheap. https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/magazine/articles/the-badge-as-an-artwork I'd be embarrassed to admit I paid $15k for them. They should replace the horse with a jackass. Image Unavailable, Please Login
“Maranello’s artisans” … but a Ferrari authorized body shop in L.A can do the work . “For those lucky Ferrari owners who choose this optional finish, the scudetto aerografato is like an autograph by its creator through which he expresses his abilities and craftsmanship. After all, no two fender shields will ever be the same, something that enhances the value of the work itself. It is one more way the Prancing Horse rewards its customers, a detail that surely would make Enzo proud.”
Jig for positioning is displayed here (to paint). I’d imagine Ferrari has something similar if de-bossing fenders post manufacture. Image Unavailable, Please Login
“The simplest solution would have been to use stickers, covered by a layer of clear coat to keep them in place and protect them from the elements,” remarks Stefano Del Puglia, Head of Painting at Maranello. “But Ferrari is not known for seeking the easy way out.” Indeed, the entire painting process takes up to eight hours per fender shield. In other words, those little scudetti add up to 16 hours of manual work per car. Talk about passion.“ 16 x $200 (per hour) = $3200 + $200 materials. $3400. Sounds much more reasonable. I dig it. Just not for $15k .
@johnk... In the Facebook link you posted, doesn’t appear the authorized bodyshop used a jig to position the shield. Looks like they eyeballed it. Ferrari would have to sell them a jig, assuming for every model, to get accurate positioning.
Word on the street is Yoshields are sold thru Supertweaks. Has been for awhile. They’re good and pass the eye test, but they’re still not OE. I have them on my 355. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I put them in the 75% close to OE range. Yoshields are a perfect example of … “do you want close or do you want exact?” Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Don't forget, you have to wait for each layer's paint to dry before you can place the stencil for then next layer. You are literally paying for someone to watch paint dry.
Interesting topic! Having reversed engineered a few parts myself, without a the actual dies or 3d data it can only be so close. The actual process is very common and not difficult but getting it to be 100% like the factory isn't easy without data. One could find a factory embossed fender, strip it to bare metal and then do a high res 3d scan to calculate their own die set and mounting jig but it's time consuming. You would have to also allow for the thickness of paint and clear to get the right highlight edge. I've embossed a lot of things, hood louvers flare punches, etc. but I wouldn't "wing" shields on a fender unless I was ok with it being "close"
