I've been keeping myself extremely busy over the winter, and in the process have accumulated many photos that I would have liked to share, but didn't have the time to do the level of writeup that everybody has become accustomed to see from me.

I always try to make my posts as educational as possible, and on occasion I get lucky and make them somewhat entertaining as well to keep people reading. With that I always make sure to throw in plenty of eye candy to make the write-up well balanced.

If I were to do full write-ups on all of these cars the way I normally do I'd be sitting here typing away at this keyboard for days. Unfortunately I've got a busy schedule as normal, and therefore will provide you with the CliffsNotes version. There are plenty of juicy photos to savor, so don't spin that scroll wheel on your mouse too fast...take your time and enjoy since you don't have to do as much reading this time.

And for the legal disclaimer...other than resizing and adding a border, as always my photographs are straight from my camera to your screen. No enhancements, no tweaking, no pumping up of colors. WYSIWYG.

First up is a brand new yellow F430. As with pretty much all of these cars listed below, it came from the factory in less than stellar shape. On the rear bumper of this one, it looked like a lot of heavy sanding had been done, but they completely forgot to go back and buff it out. Being yellow, it was much harder to see. This one got M105 on the heavier defects, M205 on the entire car, then it was sealed with Optimum Opti-Seal, and topped with Optimum Car Wax (gasp...a $200K car with a $17 wax!...say it isn't so!)

Engine was cleaned with P21S TAW


Be careful polishing around that lip!


Full Leatherique treatment in process


Interior all tidied up:


Final engine shot


















That's some serious gloss out of the Optimum Opti-Seal / Optimum Car Wax combo.

 

Next up is the incredible Ferrari F430 Scuderia. Low, lots of carbon fiber and alcantara, sounds incredible, carbon brakes, and generally a wicked car. This one was brand new, yet had already seen some track time. I cleaned up the factory installed defects, polished out the interior carbon fiber, and made it look the way it should. M105/M205 for polishing, and Blackfire Wet Diamond for protection.

Engine compartment getting completely cleaned with P21S TAW


The interior carbon fiber had a severe case of holograms.


They were polished with M205


After


All dressed up for surgery


Interior all finished




Carbon fiber polished and sealed with Blackfire Wet Diamond


Now time to show off a little bit of gloss

 

Here we have a 599 GTB with a monster V-12. This one had even more bumps and bruises, but looked incredible once fully corrected. M105/M205 were used for correction, followed by a coat of Chemical Guys EZ Creme Glaze, and then sealed with Blackfire Wet Diamond.

Full Leatherique application in process




First you have swirls and scuffs


Then you add Megs 105, Makita rotary, and Lake Country Cyan Hydro Tech pads...mix them up at the proper ratios



And then bake at 350 for 40 minutes to reveal your new finish!


Completely finished interior




The obligatory testosterone enhancer shot


No swirls here










Sweet!

 

Speaking of sweet, here we have a beautiful California. Now some have “mixed reactions” to the California, but personally I think it has stunning lines and style. I really enjoyed working with this one. M105/M205 for correction, CG Vertua-Bond as a bonding agent, and then topped with a buttery layer of CG Ezyme Natura wax.

Leatherique is a must-have for convertibles in particular. Yeah...I like this stuff if you haven't figured it out yet.


Finished Interior (notice the yellow F430 in the mirror reflection)


Getting artsy with the camera




Interior is protected while polishing


Yes, that's the black 599 in the background that you just looked at


For some reason, I just really like this simple shot!




There was some serious gloss and depth on this one when I was finished

 

For this '98 F355, it was a full-on mini-restoration. I spent about a day doing a full write-up on the processes involved on this car, but it's too much to post on the forum. This car is being entered in the Keeneland Concours d'Elegence in Lexington, KY this summer.

This one had just about everything going on...dashboard removal, hood removal, wetsanding, you name it. There are too many products and processes to list here, so I'll just include a few of the photos.







Before


After


My neck hurts just looking at this picture


A little bit of wetsanding


Getting that level of gloss and depth in such tight quarters is not an easy task...many hours were spent on the engine cover!


Re-wrapping the dash in leather, Leatherique, restoring the sticky plastic components, and extracting the carpets made a big difference.

 

I threw this one in just to quickly show that you don't have to spend 20+ hours to make a car look fantastic. Take one very dirty Lamborghini Gallardo, wash with the 2x4 method, clean out the interior, and do a quick polish with Optimum Poli-Seal, and you end up with a 3 hour job that will look fantastic and make the customer very happy.

 

The last one on today's installment is an incredible 360 Challenge Stradale. Despite the fact that the body style is twice removed now, this is one of my favorite Ferraris. It just has a certain attitude about it that I really enjoy. And when started, the sound is very intoxicating. This was just purchased from the west coast...it was put on a semi truck, driven across country and delivered to us to perform a full detail and belt service before it even made its way to the owner's garage. M105/M205 were used for correction, and it was sealed with Optimum Opti-Seal. I just finished this one last week, and have another Stradale (with stripes) that I'm working on this next weekend.

I think you get the point by now...if they have leather, they get Leatherique!


Swirlies


After just compounding stage


Blatant self-promotion shot


More carbon fiber polishing with M205


Wheels were removed, deep cleaned, and sealed


The suspension was fully detailed






No more swirlies


Carbon fiber after polishing and sealing








Light of truth


The entire front end, even the A-pillars, was covered in protective film so the reflections aren't quite as sharp as the rest of the car...still pretty darn good though.










OK, so that's it for now. I want to thank everybody for taking the time to “read” through my post, and I want thank all of your employers for allowing you to surf the internet and look through all of these juicy Ferrari (and Lambo) photos while they pay you!

Have a wonderful day...

 

Holy Sh*t that is amazing work. Kudos to you.

 

ohhh my gawddddddddddd EPIC thread Todd!

 

You are MASTER of your profession. It's nice to see someone that truly is a perfectionist.