New guy :)
 

Hi all!

Phil referred me to this site and after lurking for a bit I've decided to join in! A bit about me: I'm an American who's been living in Hungary for more than 8 years, I have hazel eyes, and well, we're not on a date here so I suppose that's enough about me :). One thing I will add is that I'm a detailer and I love my job immensely. I wake up in the morning and there's nothing more satisfying in my life than my son tickling me on the toes to wake me up and knowing that there's another car out there for me to detail. Anyway, I'll post one of my works here and there's more to come if anyone's interested!

Well I can honestly say that I've never been a big Ferrari fan, but spending a lot of time with this one certainly changed my mind. The older Ferraris just didn't really "catch my eye" and they really weren't really geared towards comfort. The 599 definitely breaks the mold though; comfort, style, elegance and 620 reasons not to take the family wagon to work... a true gentleman's Ferrari. On to the detail. The car had some pretty bad RIDS all over it and was generally "hazy" from the other scratches, but being that the car is less than one year old and that it's a daily driver (scratches are inevitable), the owner and I agreed that a "deep" correction wasn't necessary. By deep I mean that there were some deep scratches that remained after the polishing. Now in the future when it needs to be polished again, I'll still have plenty of clear to play with. Here's some before pics of what I was up against:

Day 1

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_1.JPG

Some muck left in the badges

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_2.JPG

Looks like someone used that colored wax crap...

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_3.JPG

Some cowboy polishing burns...

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_4.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_5.JPG

Wax residue

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_6.JPG

My usual pre-polish snow foam mix of Organizone No-Touch snow foam (10%) and HD Extra degreaser (5%)... both 100% biodegradable, I love this stuff :) The wheels and tires were cleaned with Organizone GS-1, which is also 100% bio. This stuff is also awesome because it's got a ph value of 12.5, but when diluted even with 1% water it goes down to 7 making it safe for ceramic brakes.

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_16.JPG

Had to break out the waterproof gloves for this one as it was bowls cold outside!

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_17.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_18.JPG

I soaked the clay in warm water to prevent scratching and had to switch pieces about every half panel, as it was rock hard within seconds. Not too much contamination.

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_19.JPG

Hmm, buffer trails...

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_7.JPG

Not so visible in this light but if you look closely you can see some of the RIDS.

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_8.JPG

Generally hazy finish.

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_9.JPG

Mucky...

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_10.JPG

Bug marring on the clear bra. The clear bra will be replaced soon, because it's become quite worn within a short period of time and really makes the front of the car look awful.

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_11.JPG

I hate the hard water in this country!!

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_13.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_14.JPG

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I started my test area with a Riwax finishing pad and some Insta Finish Micro Cut (cut 1 out of 5). I knew it wouldn't do a thing, but force of habit told me to start with the least abrasive combination... I think I even heard the ceramic finish call me "stupid" after a couple of passes :D. I then stepped up to Insta Finish Swirl Away (cut 2 out of 5) and that didn't do a thing either. Then I hit it with a Riwax polishing pad and Swirl Away, but that didn't get me where I wanted to be either so finally I tried Insta Finish Buff n' Shine with the polishing pad and it did the trick. This stuff adds some healthy oils to the paint and leaves a great foundation for wax. I worked the polish in with about 4 passes at 600, taking advantage of the cutting power before it diminished. Then I sped up to 900, 1200 then back down to 900 finishing it up. This left me with very minimal marring and some Riwax and Scholl finishing pads with Insta Finish Insta Cut #30 finished things up like a champ. Some random polishing pictures.

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_20.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_21.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_22.JPG

After about 5 passes with Buff n' Shine and a polishing pad

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_23.JPG

Next 2 pics, finished up with Insta Cut #30

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_24.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_25.JPG

Night, night! See you tomorrow...

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_26.JPG

Day 2

Cleaning around the badges with some baby Q-Tips and Auto Magic BC-2

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_27.JPG

Now this is cool... a gas tank bib! :D That was mighty thoughtful of them!

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_28.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_29.JPG

Some after polishing money shots in the sun with no LSP.

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_31.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_32.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_33.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_34.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_35.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_36.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_37.JPG

The first coat of wax was applied on night 2 just before I finished up, which gave it plenty of time to cure before day 3's adventure...

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_37a.JPG

Day 3

I don't know if any of you have ever tried spit shining a car before but believe me, the results are amazing! I learned how to spit shine back in the army and seeing just how glassy I could make my boots soon became an obsession for me. I actually made a lot of money back then spit shining peoples' boots because nobody else had the patience to do it. After doing a little research and testing I discovered that spit shining a car could be done the same way as boots. The trick to doing this is having an already cured wax foundation, which I did the night before, which gives the wax something to cling on to when you start spit shining it. With plenty of cold, distilled water you just have to keep polishing the wax, keeping it wet and cold so it doesn't cure, until it disappears. I tried it with a foam applicator first but it was too porous so I switched to a Swissvax style microfiber. Including the foundation wax, I put a total of 4 layers of Swisswax Concorso on this car and it was very time consuming... I think about 7 hours. I'll be searching for a new shoulder socket on the black market tonight :). I instructed the owner not to touch it until 48 hours curing time has passed.

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_38.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_39.JPG

Almost crystal clear...

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_40.JPG

Very deep finish

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_41.JPG

The owner is now on a bi-weekly maintenance wash with me for all of his cars :). Enjoy the finished product!

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_42.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_43.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_44.JPG

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http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_57.JPG

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_58.JPG

COMING SOON...

http://apolloauto.hu/images/Ferrari_599/599_59.JPG

cool post man, welcome...

good introductory post!

welcome to the Team!

Welcome aboard and great job with the 599. Really interesting colour combo which I bet looks very classy IRL.

Magnificent work - you deserve that bi-weekly work and more :)

Cool first post! That 599 actually looks BETTER than new when you were done with it! IS that color called Vinaccia? Great color combo on that car.

Oh, I almost forgot: welcome to the team!

Fantastic Job!! With both the first post AND that detail!!! Wow. And welcome to the Team!!!

thanks for joining I'm sure everyone will love all your post!

Cheers!

Thanks!

Thank you kindly! I love the color, as well :)

Cheers mate! Yep, that's Vinaccia. I just finished an F430 in Vinaccia, but with a slightly different interior... sort of plumb-colored (Vinaccia), with an off white complete leather, that was just sweet... will post soon!

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Cheers Phil!