The Devil is in the detail for this raging bull
I was contacted by the Berkshire based owner of this car to carry out an Enhancement Detail, with a view to restoring a deep lustre to the Nero Pegaso (Metallic Black) paintwork.
This 2001 car is a Diablo 6.0 VT, one of 260 examples produced worldwide, and believed to be one of just 10 in the UK today. Being near the very end of the Diablo run (the finale was a run of 42 VT SE’s in a special Gold or Mocha Brown colour), it benefitted from all the best refinements developed through the model’s production run. Whilst the body is immediately recognisable with its famous Gandini designed shape, the technology within was cutting edge.
The engine in this car was the biggest offered, the 6.0 litre, 60 degree V12 producing a massive 550bhp. A sophisticated drivetrain normally sent power to the rear wheels, but when a loss of traction was detected the Viscous Traction (VT) system could send power to the front wheels to aid grip. It was better built, and easier to drive, than any Diablo before it.
If you’ve never seen a Diablo up close, you might not realise how big the car is. Sitting very low, the roof just above waist height, the Diablo is both long and very wide, it’s distinctive wedge shape very evident from the driver’s seat when the wide rear haunches fill the wing mirrors. Weight is kept down through the extensive use of carbon fibre. The whole body is made from the light but super strong composite material, except the steel roof and distinctive aluminium scissor action doors that make getting in and out surprisingly easy.
Arriving on a cold, drizzly, grey morning, my customer greeted me with a very welcome cup of coffee before moving the car out of the garage for me. Due to the snow over Christmas it hadn’t been out and was pretty clean, so first job was a quick wash of the bodywork, with particular attention paid to the inner part of the huge magnesium wheels. With this done, the car was moved into the shelter of the garage.
After a light pass around the car with a clay bar to remove a small amount of tar and other bits stuck to the paint, it was time for polishing. Whilst no severe paint correction was to take place this time, I carefully inspected the paint depth as a safety precaution. Due to the bodywork being mostly carbon fibre, the majority of paint depth gauges wouldn’t work. Thankfully, my ultrasonic Positector gauge is designed exactly for this application, so I was able to carry out a full paint assessment. I was amazed to find the paint so incredibly even across every panel. Normally, the thickness of paint on a single car can differ thick to thin by as much as 50-60 microns. However, this Diablo showed a difference on no more than 10 microns. Very impressive! This was also a comfort to the owner as it proves the paintwork is completely original, without any sign of repair.
A medium abrasive polish applied and worked through using a Festool rotary polisher had exactly the effect desired. As can be seen in the pictures above, the slightly cloudy finish gave way to a deep gloss, the metallic flake really ‘popping’ out under the halogen light. Happy with this, I continued around the car in the same way, except for the bonnet. Here, being an important visual area, I used a stronger polish to remove some of the deeper scratches, before re-finishing with the lighter polish to bring out the best gloss.
I’d allowed a couple of days to get this detail completed, and due to the size and sometimes challenging shape of the body, it took me the whole day to finish the machine polishing. So end of day one I dusted a little polishing dust from the car, tided up, and shut the garage for the night.
Starting fresh on Day 2 (and it was even colder!), I embarked upon the rest of the jobs that needed doing. In light of the temperature I wanted to give the waxes as long as possible to cure. First of all, I visited every panel and each wheel in turn with Swissvax Cleaner Fluid. This removed any oils left by the polish from the day before, leaving a really clean surface onto which I could apply wax. Swissvax Divine had been chosen for the paintwork, Autobahn for the wheels. These were applied by applicator and left.
The owner had requested that both the interior and engine bay receive some attention too. Starting inside with a thorough vacuum, the soft red and black leather seats were dealt with using a Swissvax Leather Cleaner and a soft brush. Used properly, this removes dirt from within the grain of the leather, without causing any damage or discolouration. The leather on the dashboard was also cleaned in the same way. Turning my attention to the dials and buttons, another soft bristled brush was used to gently remove dust from corners and crevices, before Divine wax being applied to the glossy carbon fibre that makes up the dash surround and transmission tunnel. Cleaning the inside of the deep and steeply raked windscreen took something of a gymnastic effort!
In the engine bay, bare carbon fibre again features heavily, surrounding the huge engine. Wiped down with a degreaser, then treated with a polymer sealant to help protect and beautify, the rubber and plastic parts were cleaned and dress too, restoring a factory fresh appearance.
With this work completed, and the wax having been left for a suitable amount of time, I buffed the paint and wheels to a brilliant shine. Finishing touches were to dress the tyres with Swissvax Pneu, and use a metal polish to restore shine to the bazooka-like exhaust tips. Finally, the owner moved the car out into the hazy sunshine to inspect the work, and allow me to take some photographs.
My sincere thanks to the owner of this car for the opportunity to work on a proper ‘poster hero’, and the supply of lovely hot coffee on bitterly cold days!
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!)”
