A prancing horse receives the Shine On treatment
This 2004 car is one of the last 360 coupe’s made at the end of the production run and has covered less than 8000 miles from new. It was in very good condition having been obviously loved and cared for so the paint correction needed was very little, only light swirls and the odd random deeper scratch to be dealt with. The main aim was to make it perfect then apply a suitable wax to keep it look its best. The interior and engine bay were also short listed for attention.
Here it is upon arrival, a truly beautiful car.
Starting with the outside first, the car was washed and clay used to remove any tar or other bonded contaminants from the lower panels. As said, the car was in great condition at the start do this didn’t take too long.
Previous experience with Ferrari paint has shown it can be very thin and very hard. However, after drying it with a soft microfibre towel I inspected the whole car using a digital paint depth gauge and was pleasantly surprised with the findings. Very healthy figures of between 160-190 microns of paint all over, a couple of places just topping the 200 micron barrier. No sign of any repair work at all so we can only assume this was a Monday morning car, not a Friday afternoon effort! Pleased with this, out came the polishing equipment and after a test patch it was clear that a fine finishing polish removed all the swirls. This just left a few deeper scratches that needed approaching with a slightly different approach.
Further to this, the only other correction photographs taken that came out were these below of the rear bumper.
To start, using a soft brush attached to a vacuum, the majority of the loose powder was removed from the engine compartment. Then, using a cloth with a diluted solution of all purpose cleaner, all the surfaces were cleaned and any further traces of the power removed. Once rinsed and dried, attention was turned to the collector box itself which was lightly polished to remove a small amount or water marks and tarnishing that had appeared. Finally, a dressing was applied to the entire engine compartment that would help protect the rubber and plastic parts from drying out and fading through UV damage. This is the end result.
Next up was the interior. All surfaces were cleaned first using a microfibre cloth and a diluted all purpose cleaner solution. Carefully dried, the extensive areas of leather were then treated with a product that both nourishes and protects it, helping to prevent discolouration and cracking. The glass was cleaned and the beautiful aluminium gearlever and open gate were polished. To finish, the entire interior was thoroughly vacuumed.
With everything else finished, it was time for the exterior finishing products. In this instance, the customer had asked that he supply his own wax, in this case Zymol Concours, so that he could continue to apply regularly after our treatment. To prepare the paint, Zymol’s own pre-wax cleanser was used first, HD Cleanse, this was followed by the wax. Whilst curing, a sealant was applied to the wheels which gave them a beautiful gloss, tyres and arches dressed, glass cleaned and tail pipes polished. By now the wax had cured and was buffed to a brilliant shine.
Some of these are my pictures, so were take by the customer who was totally over the moon with the result. The sun was just starting to set and the Rosso Corsa red looked really deep and rich, dripping wet and almost glowing.
Testimonials
“I would definitely recommend anyone to use Shine On regardless of marque, Paul is a genuinely nice bloke who has the rare attributes of actually loving his job and doing it to the best of his ability (bordering on OCD). I personally plan to use this service at least every 8months to keep the cars looking at their best.
And to top it all off…..even my wife commented on how and I quote ‘amazing’ it looked, that testimony alone is worth its weight in gold!
Andy (M3 and Battle Bus!)”
