Ferrari 458 Italia Detailing work, lot's of pictures folks!
#1
01-06-2010, 09:58 AM
Ferrari 458 Italia Detailing work, lot's of pictures folks! Amazing work by Auto Apollo in Hungry.
Source: Autopia
The front bumper on this thing was just trashed (next 4 pics)!! I'm sure when it comes time to sell this car, we'll have it repainted. Scuffs galore, burn throughs, scratches, etc. I managed to make it look presentable, but... we're hoping that nobody will notice.
Oops! A little chip in the paint...
Some of the usual suspects getting warmed up on the radiator... it was -12 last night so they were a bit thick in the morning
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Source: Autopia
Hi boys and girls! I got an email from the sales manager at Ferrari a couple weeks back with a copy of the dealership's order for their 458 demo car. I jokingly wrote back to him, "Make sure you order that with an extra coat of scratches!!" It was expected to be in "sometime" before the end of December. With that in mind I quickly revised my Christmas list and ordered a scratchy Italia and then had it UPS'd overnight to Santana Claus. The service manager called me between the holidays and said that there will be a California waiting for me on the 4th and I replied, "Another one??!! Not again..." **insert humor** Anyhoo, I made my way to the back of the service department to heal the next lil pony and didn't notice that there was a brand new Italia sitting in front of me... actually I made another trip to my truck before it dawned upon me. Then the owner of the dealership and I met and he asked me, "Can you do the Italia now?" "Does the Pope wear a funny hat? I replied.
The front bumper on this thing was just trashed (next 4 pics)!! I'm sure when it comes time to sell this car, we'll have it repainted. Scuffs galore, burn throughs, scratches, etc. I managed to make it look presentable, but... we're hoping that nobody will notice.
Oops! A little chip in the paint...
Some of the usual suspects getting warmed up on the radiator... it was -12 last night so they were a bit thick in the morning
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#2
01-06-2010, 09:59 AM
Some original Italian swirls that I caught under God's Brinkmann.
There was a HUGE scratch on the driver's door that stretched from one end to the other. Actually it was more like something had brushed up against it more than once.
I used several different pad and polish combos during this 16-hour operation. I exorcised the scratch-demons only and preserved as much of the car's innocence as I possibly could, therefore switching between Insta Cut #15, Menz 106FA, Scholl S03+ and different pads was a must. Actually, the Menz 106FA left the worst finish I've ever seen. It was crap, really. When I tried to finish with it I saw tons of micro-marring and even larger scratches that it left behind. I tried different pressures, working times, etc. and just couldn't get on with this polish. So what the Menz couldn't clear up, I squared away with Insta Cut #30... never fails!
Here's me polishing away with my faithful sidekick Flexcalibur... and my new, can't-live-without Splinter Cell head lamp. I stated using a head lamp about 1 year ago, but only sometimes. Now that I've gotten use to it and have bought a high-end lamp that produces 32 lumen, I don't even use halogens anymore. They're also damn handy when you're doing interiors. Get yourself a cheap one and try it out... you'll never go without one after that!!
Polishing all finished up at about 10:00 last night then LSP was applied today after a quick bath. For me the LSP was a no-brainer on this one. I gave the honors to Migliore Competizione... it was just fitting and man what a finish it left... These next few shots are pre-LSP.
This is a cool shot
Something about the back end of this car: 90% of it was scratched to hell and the other 10% was scuffed. Being that these are made from fiberglass I can't take readings on them, but from experience and from the SEVERAL burn-throughs it had on the back already I wasn't prepared to polish it any more than it had already been. Heavy, deep swirls and random scratches riddled this thing so I had to accept the fact that you can't win them all... So I broke out some Insta Finish glaze and glazed the whole back end. It did an exceptional job of filling in the damage, though for the most part, still quite visible. Such is life but really, this was just the most appropriate thing to do in this situation.
The bumper came out nice...
My wash stuff ready to take this bad-a$$ downstairs and give him a bath
#3
01-06-2010, 09:59 AM
Ferrari final fitting at its best?
Oh great!! The guys at the BMW dealership downstairs (where I washed the car) had a water blade that I can use!
Just kidding. I had a couple of these to do the drying.
GPS and other screens are in a really odd place on this car. This is about what you see of the GPS when you're driving...
Enjoy the afters!! (some may look like duplicates, but they're just in different light)
Oh great!! The guys at the BMW dealership downstairs (where I washed the car) had a water blade that I can use!
Just kidding
. I had a couple of these to do the drying. GPS and other screens are in a really odd place on this car. This is about what you see of the GPS when you're driving...
Enjoy the afters!! (some may look like duplicates, but they're just in different light)
#4
01-06-2010, 10:00 AM
If you like Playstation, you'll love this steering wheel! Everything is on this thing... the indexes, F1 shifter, "get the fook outta da way" high-beam button, traction control, you name it... pretty cool. And the suspension adjustments on this car can be felt immediately! Really this car is fantastic.
New style gas tank... no gas cap. It automatically opens when you stick the nozzle in it!
Just in case the electric parking brake fails, you have this little crank here...
That you stick in here and unwind it
#5
01-06-2010, 10:00 AM
Like I said, this car is just fantastic. The owner of the dealership was telling me about some of the 100's of "little details" that this car has. For example, the front end, those little wings, they act as a ram air induction that increases horsepower by about 5-8 ponies. Or the area where the heat comes out of the engine serves to reduce drag, or the intakes under the car that act as a vacuum and help to keep the car's back tires on the ground... wow. BTW, here's a short video of the start up...
#6
01-06-2010, 10:03 AM
Great detailing work and nice pics. But one thing actually makes me lost in thoughts - why so many Ferraris coming from the F-factory with crap paint in recent years. That is something I do not want to recieve from such a make.
