430 Wet sanded, flatting, detailing and ceramic coating!

I don't know if I could look! brave man!

 

What percentage of the clear coat is knocked back during something like this?

 

First one would have to determine if Ferrari applied a clear coat to their non-metallic finishes on the 430. I don't know. But if the wet sanding process shows up as white in the wet sanding water then yes that's the clear coat being removed. Contrary, if the resulting sanding "mud" shows up as red then the car has been painted with single stage paint -- and no clear coat.

The average factory clear coat once applied is about the thickness of a page from a magazine... factor in the loss of clear coat to washing, waxing, and the elements over a 16 or 17 years...

Even 2500 or 3000 grit wet sand paper is still taking the clear coat off. And too much for my tastes especially since the pigments used in red paint are not very stable and highly susceptible to oxidation. We've all seen the 15 year old red Miata that is now a dull pink-ish red. But if the car is a garage queen, then probably not an issue. Exposed to the sun (UV) and the elements, I, myself, would pass on the process.

PS: I have over thirty years in the restoration automotive business-- FWIW

 

Ferrari absolutely applied clear to all paints on F430. The last single stage paint midengined V8 car was the 355 (it switched from single stage to base layer + clear in 1997). This process is probably taking 20-30% of the clear off is all. Still plenty left.

 

Fun fact: on the TV show, Ultimate Factories: Ferrari, they follow the creation of the 599. However, when they're in the paint shop area, the car shown going through the process is the F430. I only bring this up because they show the clear coat process.

Link for anybody that hasn't seen it:

 

This is one of my winter jobs for this season. It'll look great when done.

 

Definitely a art on the wet sanding. Actually its very fun to see the results. Been doing this as long as I can remember since being a painter and and a detailer. This was the last car I just painted and they topped it with Geyon mohs ceramic coating which is a very simple one to use.
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Wet sanding is a little too extreme but the result would be breathtaking. 2-stages paint correction is good enough for me.


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That hood was not done in that picture

 

Good luck!

 

how come they don't cover the lights? I would think since they are high grade plastic, the sanding fines would not be good for the surface of them? ie, could get in the pores?

 

Makes sense then, got it

 

Really looking forward to seeing the final result!

 

Any reason to get camera gear is a good reason! Don't forget lights!

 

You're sellin' it!

Wow that really does look perfect.

Funny i was just thinking the same, wouldn't want to pull it out of the garage!