2010 Year in Review by Todd Cooperider of Esoteric Auto Detail

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2010 Year in Review:



I haven't posted on forums in quite some time, and thought I'd put together a year in review post so people can catch up on what I've been up to. With all of the technical articles I've written on the blog this year (over 100!), it hasn't left me much time for the forums.



For those of you who are regular readers, you'll recognize many of the cars showcased below as I have done full-blown articles on a handful of them.



As far as detailing is concerned, 2010 was a tremendous year to say the least. As with many of the fantastic detailers I network with, my business has continued on with the hyper-growth that it experienced in 2009, and I don't see any signs of slowing as I head into 2011.



Here's a quick recap on some of the accomplishments this year:

Named Technical Advisor for the Ferrari Club of America - Ohio Chapter

Featured on Autoblog.com for my Ferrari F40 60-Hour Restorative Detail

Had a 2-page article published in the most recent issue of Forza Magazine (Feb '11)

Published over 100 detailing technical articles (Tutorials, Full Details, Product Reviews)



Without all of the regulars that I network with, or the subscribers to my articles, I couldn't have had such a great year...so a big thanks goes out to an awful lot of people! Thank You!



I don't photograph or write about every car that I work on, but if there's something special about the car or the job, I'll be sure to have my Canon ready to go. In no particular order below, I'd like to showcase some of the ones that stood out for me in 2010.



1994 Acura NSX:

This client drove over from Indianapolis and spent the weekend here while I brought his classic NSX back to life. This car had been repainted at some point, and the new paint was absolutely rock-hard. 21 hours later however, it looked stunning once again.



Before:

After:

A little wetsanding to cure some serious issues it had:

D/A wetsanding that somebody else had done in the past, but failed to finish:

After:

Lamborghini LP670-4 SuperVeloce

Not only is this car quite rare (only 350 produced), but it's also an absolute beast. 670HP is serious business for sure. This was a typical brand new $450K car from Italy...paint in hideous condition from the factory. 25 hours later, it was 98% defect free and looked like it should.



Yes, this is brand spankin' new!

Wetsanding on a $450K car...priceless.

Please...somebody prevent the importation of wool pads into Italy.

After:

So THAT's where I left my bottle of compound (a little Where's Waldo exercise here)

 

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Porsche 911T

Regardless of the year, when you see a Porsche 911...you know that it's a 911! This one had the front end re-painted, and after it properly cured I worked on fixing the mess that the body shop had left behind. A few days of refinement however brought this beauty back to life!



Wool, fresh paint, and lack of training produces these kinds of results:

Gotta love those holograms!

Perfection in progress

After...now that's more like it

Rolls Royce Phantom (Full Article Available)

For those of you who have been around these cars, you know just how big they are. When I say big, I mean really, really big! For this beast, DJ Mayo of Reflections Detailing made the 400 mile drive up to Ohio to help me on (along with a Ferrari 360 Spider and Maserati QP). Together we spent 36 hours turning this car into a jewel.



Before:

In progress:

I told you it was big! Look how much DJ has to stretch to access just the middle of the hood.

RR V12 motor

And the obligatory "team" shot!

Mercedes SLS AMG (Full Article Available)

On this one I worked together with the help of another local detailer, Addison Good, to do a new car prep and get it ready for a catalog photo shoot for the aftermarket wheel manufacturer. These are sweet cars indeed!

White paint can get glossy too...

 

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Audi S8

This is another one of my Cincinnati clients that I travel down for on occasion, and while I was on this trip I did paint correction details on his beautiful black Audi S8 and his black Porsche 996. These S8's are big, powerful, comfortable, and classy all at the same time. I had about 18 hours into correcting the hard Audi paint.



Before:

After:

Ferrari 355 GTS (Full Article Available)

This was a fun project at the beginning of the year where we went above and beyond a simple detail. The dash was removed and re-wrapped in leather, the sticky-gummy plastics inside were restored, motor work was done, and it all made for a great article.



Dash removed to be re-wrapped in fresh leather

It's easier to work on the engine covers with them completely removed from the car

Paint before

Paint after

New dash, restored plastic pieces, carpets extracted, Leatherique on seats

All finished and ready to ship back to Kentucky

Ferrari 360 Spider

This is another car where I teamed up with DJ Mayo. Clear Bra was removed, front bumper was re-painted, suspension work was performed, and the paint was brought back to every bit of 98% defect-free. We had about 25 hours in this one (not including mechanical work).



DJ removing Clear Bra

These Ferraris aren't garage queens...they too require a tremendous amount of paint correction.

Scrapes fixed

Seats were removed for extracting, and to provide better access to the leather and painted surfaces inside the car. Interior paint gets polished, and all leather gets Leatherique.

I used a lot of this combination in 2010...stellar results!

Paint is now like glass!

 

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Ferrari Challenge Stradale (Full Article Available)

This beauty was shipped all the way from California to the shop, the car was highly refined, then it was shipped off to the new owner. I've done quite a few Stradales this year (another was shipped from South Texas recently!), and absolutely love these cars.



Moderate swirls before

Man vs machine

Even the interior CF gets polished!

I went through a considerable amount of Leatherique this year...

Full suspension detail as well

After:

Ferrari 458 Italia (Full Article Available)

This was (I believe) the first documented full paint correction on a 458 in the States. The paint was in less than stellar condition when it arrived, and I put a tremendous amount of effort into refining the finish to where it belonged.



This is not how a brand new car should look!

In progress 50/50 shot

Looks like a F1 steering wheel!

Beautiful!

 

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Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (Full Article Available)

An uncommon Ferrari in an uncommon color for one...but with common swirls and holograms! This one was purchased out of Texas and brought up to Ohio and the new owner wanted me to get it looking as it should. This one was a huge turnaround, and the paint was surprisingly soft for a Ferrari.



I think the selling dealership let little Ricky from the parts department work the buffer on this one.

After:

Ferrari F40 (Full Article Available)

Not only was this one special just given the cult-like following the F40 has, but also because the story was picked up by Autoblog.com. We did a bit of a restoration on this one in addition to intensive detailing, and we ended up with about 60 hours invested when we were done. This car went through a huge transformation for sure.

Lots of hand-polishing is required on the F40

Suspension / engine area before:

After:

Engine was disassembled for cleaning, repainting, re-plating, re-dying, etc. This was right before it got put back together.

 

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Foose Mustang

I've worked on other cars for this client before, and he had just purchased this pre-owned Foose Mustang. After about 17 hours worth of work, the paint was now in better condition than when it was custom painted. A few days later he entered it into a car show and won Best Detailed (another one of my clients won Best of Show that day).

After:

The Proud Owner!

1987 Lamborghini Countach

This one had a bit of a funny story. The owner brought it down to Columbus over the summer for a car show, and while parked at the Hilton overnight it sustained a bit of damage. Apparently a female from a wedding party decided that it would be a good idea to stand on the hood of this car...in her high heels! Well the shoes slipped, and the heel dug deep into the hood. You could follow the tracks of how far they slid. I was able to correct about 90% of the damage, preventing an expensive re-paint job. The rest of the car was detailed as well.



High heels, alcohol, and the hood of exotic sports cars don't mix!

Just a few of the sanded areas

Like I said...just a few highlights from the year that I thought I'd share with everybody. I hope you enjoyed...

 

[justin30513]

Very nice Todd. I've followed your work for years. Love your writing skills! The details are perfection.

 

[imported_dfazekas]

Some seriously beautiful cars and some incredible work.

Congratulations on the successful year!

 

[Leadfootluke]

Some beautiful cars there Todd.

Nicely done!

 

[Buff Guys Auto]

wonderful work! I particularly enjoyed the f40, that amount of disassembly takes immense skill! fantastic!

 

[Pats300zx]

Beautiful and amazing work Todd. I have read just about everyone of your articles on the blog. I have no doubt that things will be just as amazing for you in 2011.

 

[wesr]

Congrats on a great year and more to come. That Countach story has my blood boiling! Great save!

 

[Thomas Dekany]

I also LOVE your work and writeups. Excellent stuff Todd. Wishing you another good (lots of $$$$) year!

 

[Barry Theal]

In many ways Todd your an insperation to all of us here at Autopia. I know for a fact I admire alot of things about you as a person and a detailer. I know this is only a small part of some of the fantastic cars you have been working on. Its a treat to have you post this. Keep up the outstanding work. Thanks for sharing passion with us here at autopia. I'm proud of your success.

Barry

 

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Sincerely...thank you all for the kind words! I take a lot of pride in what I do, how I go about doing it, and how I present it to others and it's always great to hear such positive feedback from both my peers and enthusiasts alike.

 

[imported_JoshVette]

As always nice work on awesome cars.

 

[RaskyR1]

That's one hell of a year Todd! Definitely something to be proud of that for sure! :bow







Here is to 2011 buddy! Cheers!

 

[Rickrack]

Simply the best! I wouldn't expect anything less...



Glad to hear that business is booming.



I hope 2011 is even better. You deserve it for all of the hard work you've put into your business over the past couple years !

 

[SilverJag]

Breathtaking work- props to you, and wish you the best.



Did you by any chance (I can't seem to find it) do a separate write up for that AMG SLS? :drool:



Cheers

 

[stotte20]

amazing work. where are some of the articles you wrote. would love to read some. is there any links?