Ferrari 458 Italia – Nero Black
A 562bhp weapon with only delivery miles on the clock.
Major Paint Correction Detail.
“A Major Correction on a car that is less than a month old?!” Yep, I’m afraid so.
The owner’s daily toy, the Ferrari California, I prepped July last year. At the time, all sorts of dealer inflicted defects were spotted. We weren’t impressed.
Since then, I’ve seen many other bad examples of the dealerships’ prep work and so much so, it didn’t come as a big surprise to me when I saw the condition of the 458 in question.
Of course, any super-car from 10ft will look pretty special. It’s only when you get up close and personal with the correct lighting that you start to notice the dealer damage, flaws in the overall quality and blemishes that otherwise rob the true lustre and finish on the car.
Video highlights with some footage showing buffertrails and holograms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTsccjtZA-8
Vehicle on arrival.
What a stunning car.
First glimpse of the defects highlighted by the soft-morning sun.
It’s a warm day. The car is solid black and would be a pain to keep free of water spots throughout the wet work. Because of this, little time was spent with the camera in the wash and decontamination stages.
With the car correctly washed, contaminant free and dry, a few more defects were picked up:
Manoeuvred inside and checked under artificial ‘forced’ lights:
The front end was in a right mess.
Some weird nasty staining/hazing on the corners:
The usual holograms and swirls:
Some protective film that covers the car in the transportation stages had been missed – nice ‘pre delivery inspection’!
But then some unfinished sanding marks surrounding the air vents (both sides)
Bonnet defects:
O/S rear quarter:
Overspray and a masking mark spotted lower down on same panel:
And then more funny staining/hazing on the edge of an arch.
Plenty to get stuck into then.
First impressions when I’d begun my polishing set were, “hell, this paint is butter soft.” Every polishing set had to be exact; making two correctional passes with a mild polish and pad combination followed by a refining stage to leave a flawless, defect free finish. I can start to appreciate now how (and why) the Dealership made such a pig’s ear of it in the first place… The finish was extremely delicate.
Working conditions here aren’t great. See below:
Squeezing down the side of a Ferrari F50. *gulp*
It was a case of do what I can at the front and rear of the car, finish the O/S and then take the car out, spin it round and repeat on the N/S.
Once machined properly, things started to shape up:
50/50’s:
Tricky areas on the C-Pillar:
Before/After:
Before/After:
Before/After:
Bonnet – before:
Bonnet – after:
A bit of a 50/50:
The air intakes at the rear proved to be technically quite challenging! (Lots of contours and curves to follow)
Before/Afters:
More funky patterns left by poor machine polishing on the rear end:
Before/After:
458 span round and time to hit the N/S.
Front bumper – before/after:
N/S covered in marks, too:
Ooops. Whilst taping the N/S rear air-intake, much like the O/S, I noticed this little notch on the upper leading edge:
Someone got a little too close here; scuff no doubt caused by backing plate of machine polisher. Right handed users, be warned – expect to find yourself in some real awkward positions!
Continued to tape > corrected > refined:
Other than the roofline, N/S complete:
Sanding marks and swirls on rear end:
Before/After:
Lower down on bumper, more sanding marks!
Before/After:
One thing I will say, is, if you’re to take on a nero black Ferrari, be sure to have PLENTY of fresh (new) microfibres and lots of IPA (isopropyl alcohol) as polish residues were a nightmare to fully remove.
Once the machine work was complete, the car was jetted down to remove dusting. Another thorough wipedown was made with IPA ensuring ALL traces of oils were removed and then later protected with Raceglaze’s Signature Series Black Label Concours wax.
The finishing touches (wipedowns, wax, dressings etc) had to be completed outside. What a nightmare. If it wasn’t the sun it was the wind & dust (open area with lots of fields) If it wasn’t the wind, ugh, it was the bugs:
I lost count of how many of these midges I squished whilst buffing/wiping etc. Total pain! Having to check every inch of the paintwork before I made physical contact with a buffing towel.
With the glass, wheels, tyres and exhausts sorted, we were about there.
The following day (day 3), the California went through its maintenance protection detail (again, finished with Raceglaze black label)
After which, the Italia was given a final wipedown to remove any gassing smears by the wax and jobs a good’un!
Correction levels:
Remember, before/after:
16 hours later, the 458 was finished.
A truly awesome car.
Thanks for reading,
Jim.
A 562bhp weapon with only delivery miles on the clock.
Major Paint Correction Detail.
“A Major Correction on a car that is less than a month old?!” Yep, I’m afraid so.
The owner’s daily toy, the Ferrari California, I prepped July last year. At the time, all sorts of dealer inflicted defects were spotted. We weren’t impressed.
Since then, I’ve seen many other bad examples of the dealerships’ prep work and so much so, it didn’t come as a big surprise to me when I saw the condition of the 458 in question.
Of course, any super-car from 10ft will look pretty special. It’s only when you get up close and personal with the correct lighting that you start to notice the dealer damage, flaws in the overall quality and blemishes that otherwise rob the true lustre and finish on the car.
Video highlights with some footage showing buffertrails and holograms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTsccjtZA-8
Vehicle on arrival.
What a stunning car.
First glimpse of the defects highlighted by the soft-morning sun.
It’s a warm day. The car is solid black and would be a pain to keep free of water spots throughout the wet work. Because of this, little time was spent with the camera in the wash and decontamination stages.
With the car correctly washed, contaminant free and dry, a few more defects were picked up:
Manoeuvred inside and checked under artificial ‘forced’ lights:
The front end was in a right mess.
Some weird nasty staining/hazing on the corners:
The usual holograms and swirls:
Some protective film that covers the car in the transportation stages had been missed – nice ‘pre delivery inspection’!
But then some unfinished sanding marks surrounding the air vents (both sides)
Bonnet defects:
O/S rear quarter:
Overspray and a masking mark spotted lower down on same panel:
And then more funny staining/hazing on the edge of an arch.
Plenty to get stuck into then.
First impressions when I’d begun my polishing set were, “hell, this paint is butter soft.” Every polishing set had to be exact; making two correctional passes with a mild polish and pad combination followed by a refining stage to leave a flawless, defect free finish. I can start to appreciate now how (and why) the Dealership made such a pig’s ear of it in the first place… The finish was extremely delicate.
Working conditions here aren’t great. See below:
Squeezing down the side of a Ferrari F50. *gulp*
It was a case of do what I can at the front and rear of the car, finish the O/S and then take the car out, spin it round and repeat on the N/S.
Once machined properly, things started to shape up:
50/50’s:
Tricky areas on the C-Pillar:
Before/After:
Before/After:
Before/After:
Bonnet – before:
Bonnet – after:
A bit of a 50/50:
The air intakes at the rear proved to be technically quite challenging! (Lots of contours and curves to follow)
Before/Afters:
More funky patterns left by poor machine polishing on the rear end:
Before/After:
458 span round and time to hit the N/S.
Front bumper – before/after:
N/S covered in marks, too:
Ooops. Whilst taping the N/S rear air-intake, much like the O/S, I noticed this little notch on the upper leading edge:
Someone got a little too close here; scuff no doubt caused by backing plate of machine polisher. Right handed users, be warned – expect to find yourself in some real awkward positions!
Continued to tape > corrected > refined:
Other than the roofline, N/S complete:
Sanding marks and swirls on rear end:
Before/After:
Lower down on bumper, more sanding marks!
Before/After:
One thing I will say, is, if you’re to take on a nero black Ferrari, be sure to have PLENTY of fresh (new) microfibres and lots of IPA (isopropyl alcohol) as polish residues were a nightmare to fully remove.
Once the machine work was complete, the car was jetted down to remove dusting. Another thorough wipedown was made with IPA ensuring ALL traces of oils were removed and then later protected with Raceglaze’s Signature Series Black Label Concours wax.
The finishing touches (wipedowns, wax, dressings etc) had to be completed outside. What a nightmare. If it wasn’t the sun it was the wind & dust (open area with lots of fields) If it wasn’t the wind, ugh, it was the bugs:
I lost count of how many of these midges I squished whilst buffing/wiping etc. Total pain! Having to check every inch of the paintwork before I made physical contact with a buffing towel.
With the glass, wheels, tyres and exhausts sorted, we were about there.
The following day (day 3), the California went through its maintenance protection detail (again, finished with Raceglaze black label)
After which, the Italia was given a final wipedown to remove any gassing smears by the wax and jobs a good’un!
Correction levels:
Remember, before/after:
16 hours later, the 458 was finished.
A truly awesome car.
Thanks for reading,
Jim.
(received your PM, thanks - will look into it and come back to you soon)
.
