RaysWay
Autopia Specialist
This is the Ferrari I asked everyone here on Autopia.org to help me select a LSP to use. Here's the original thread.
After listening to everyone's feedback, I decided to use the BLACKFIRE Wet Ice Over Fire combination.
This Ferrari looked pretty good under the showroom lights, but I knew the paint would benefit from a light correction.
There were light swirls around the entire car.
I coordinated to polish this car inside the dealerships showroom floor. So I brought my Flex and Rupes polisher kits.
RUPES LHR 15ES and a RUPES LHR 75E.
FLEX 3401 (with a 4 inch backing plate) and a FLEX PE8 (with 3, 2 and 1 inch backing plates).
More swirls.
I used a combination of a Floor Lamp and a FLEX Swirl Finder Light to inspect the paint before, during and after polishing.
I started testing the paint with the least aggressive polishing combination I had in my arsenal. A White RUPES pad with their Diamond Ultra Fine Gel Polish.
This was after 4 section passes on speed setting 4. Pretty good results but the paint was still slightly hazy.
After a few more passes, the White Diamond Polishing gel removed the haze.
On some areas of the car like the door handles and lower panels, I had to use a more aggressive polishing combination.
Pretty cool sticker I found under the hood. Rosso Corsa Original Red Paint.
The FLEX PE8 was a life saver around the louvered engine lid. Having the ability to polish with 3, 2 and 1 inch pads is amazing.
Rear taillights polished with BLACKFIRE SRC Compound.
The paint looked much glossier after polishing.
To protect the finish, I opted to go with the legendary BLACKFIRE "Wet Ice Over Fire" Combo. The first step is to apply the Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection.
I applied the Wet Diamond by hand.
After applying Wet Diamond to the entire car, I allowed it to dry to a haze which took about 45 minutes.
I used the "swipe test" to determine that the sealant was ready to be buffed off. I used a Supreme 530 Microfiber Towel to buff off the sealant.
At this point the paint looked amazing and I almost decided to stop, but I decided not to cut any corners. So I would allow the sealant to fully cure for at least 12 hours before topping it with Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Paste Wax for the complete "Wet Ice Over Fire" application.
I came back to the dealership 24 hours later ready to apply the carnauba wax.
Overall the paint ended up great on this Ferrari. The owner was ecstatic and called me the next day to order some Quick Detailer. He said everyone would rush over to the Ferrari and immediately touch the paint, so he installed "DO NOT TOUCH" signs to the window. He thought the paint looked clean enough and was initially skeptical that he would notice a difference. But he was very happy with the results.
And for anyone curious, NO I did not get to drive her
Thanks for reading!
After listening to everyone's feedback, I decided to use the BLACKFIRE Wet Ice Over Fire combination.
This Ferrari looked pretty good under the showroom lights, but I knew the paint would benefit from a light correction.
There were light swirls around the entire car.
I coordinated to polish this car inside the dealerships showroom floor. So I brought my Flex and Rupes polisher kits.
RUPES LHR 15ES and a RUPES LHR 75E.
FLEX 3401 (with a 4 inch backing plate) and a FLEX PE8 (with 3, 2 and 1 inch backing plates).
More swirls.
I used a combination of a Floor Lamp and a FLEX Swirl Finder Light to inspect the paint before, during and after polishing.
I started testing the paint with the least aggressive polishing combination I had in my arsenal. A White RUPES pad with their Diamond Ultra Fine Gel Polish.
This was after 4 section passes on speed setting 4. Pretty good results but the paint was still slightly hazy.
After a few more passes, the White Diamond Polishing gel removed the haze.
On some areas of the car like the door handles and lower panels, I had to use a more aggressive polishing combination.
Pretty cool sticker I found under the hood. Rosso Corsa Original Red Paint.
The FLEX PE8 was a life saver around the louvered engine lid. Having the ability to polish with 3, 2 and 1 inch pads is amazing.
Rear taillights polished with BLACKFIRE SRC Compound.
The paint looked much glossier after polishing.
To protect the finish, I opted to go with the legendary BLACKFIRE "Wet Ice Over Fire" Combo. The first step is to apply the Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection.
I applied the Wet Diamond by hand.
After applying Wet Diamond to the entire car, I allowed it to dry to a haze which took about 45 minutes.
I used the "swipe test" to determine that the sealant was ready to be buffed off. I used a Supreme 530 Microfiber Towel to buff off the sealant.
At this point the paint looked amazing and I almost decided to stop, but I decided not to cut any corners. So I would allow the sealant to fully cure for at least 12 hours before topping it with Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Paste Wax for the complete "Wet Ice Over Fire" application.
I came back to the dealership 24 hours later ready to apply the carnauba wax.
Overall the paint ended up great on this Ferrari. The owner was ecstatic and called me the next day to order some Quick Detailer. He said everyone would rush over to the Ferrari and immediately touch the paint, so he installed "DO NOT TOUCH" signs to the window. He thought the paint looked clean enough and was initially skeptical that he would notice a difference. But he was very happy with the results.
And for anyone curious, NO I did not get to drive her
Thanks for reading!
