Special Detail: Liquid Finish Nth Degree Detailing Red Ferrari 355 GTS

Special Liquid Finish & Nth Degree Detail for a beautiful unique 355 Ferrari. Chris from Nth Degree Detailing and I recently teamed up this relatively well preserved vehicle. The owner reached out to both of us to improve and enhance the overall appearance of the vehicle. Our inspection visits and paint measurements revealed a few repainted sections and a pretty rough front clear bra. We decided to go for a safe 85% correction detail so that the vehicle will have plenty of life and leeway for maintenance. Total  time of 30 man hours over the course of two days. Read on more for picture instruction and descriptions of all the work involved. Sadly for all the madness I could only take so many pictures.

About the vehicle:

In 1995, Ferrari introduced the GTS model to the F355 family. The GTS model is based on the Berlinetta but offers a removable “targa-style” hard top roof, which can be stored behind the seats. Other specifications were identical to the Berlinetta. A total of 2,577 GTS models were produced, with 2,048 delivered with the 6-speed transmission and another 529 with the F1 transmission. This was the last GTS Targa style model produced by Ferrari.

Further Forum Posts

Autopia Forums

Autopia.org

Detailing Bliss

Product Usage

CarPro IronX, Eraser

Stoner Tarminator

3M Adhesive Remover

Menzerna Top Inspection, SF4500

Optimum Car Care Power Clean, Opticlean, OptiSeal, Eraser, Hyper Polish, Optibond, Poliseal, No Rinse, Opticoat 2.0

Meguiars M100, M101, D300, 205, All Purpose Cleaner Plus

Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection, Midnight Sun Carnauba, Total Polish & Seal

Ultima Tire & Trim Gel

Eiszett Gummifledge

303 Aerospace Protectant

Before

We started at a bright 9 am.  Vehicle was on jack stands and wheels removed due our choice of Opticoat 2.0. While the paint had a decent glossiness to it there was a huge room for improvement.

Wheels off, before decontamination and full cleanup. One wheel revealed to have been refinished. We found the shop involved simply cleared over staining and incorrect preparation.  It was suggested Opticoat 2.0 would be used to protect the wheels due to the awesome protection it offers.

Ugly paint protection film, notice the swirling and orange peel? Client requested removal and a good preparation.

From afar, a beautiful Ferrari ready for surgery. In the background, Chris from Nth Degree preparing the madness to ensue.

Nice gloss, much room for pop.

Notice the elevated back portion of the vehicle? Gotta love rear engine vehicles.

You can catch a tiny glimpse of the overall swirling and defects in the paint protection film alone.

My view for a few hours as I would apply vapor steam, Optimum Power Clean, and 303 in various doses.

A few hours in, vehicle was Optimum No Rinsed by Chris and clayed. As I worked on the wheels in the hot Raleigh/RDU sun, Chris secretly ventured to tape off everything. Sneaky devil.

Wheels all done after at least 2 hours. Power Clean initially, then detarred with Tarminator. I turned a different color after baking in the sun cleaning. 3M Adhesive Remover was  used to decontaminate the wheel. Once the majority of the tar was removed we IronX-ed the wheels. Our lone refinished wheel turned a bright purple from all the iron deposits stuck in the coarse clearcoat. Hyper Polish by hand was used next. Wheels left to dry in the sun.

Mirror Clear bra removal, pretty easy and painless thankfully. I used Optimum OptiClean as an aid to avoid scratching the surface.

Evidence of swirling, hindering a huge pop to the paint. My weapon of choice was M100 Meguiars, M101 Meguiars, and D300 Meguiars with the use of my Rupes/various pads.

Fun rear section removal. Not fun and everyone agonized over the worked involved. Tailights were polished and sealed.

Wiping down the panel before cutting with M100.

Making process on wheel wells. I was verbally accosted for not getting these perfect on the first go around.

Taping off engine cover. Notice how Chris is taping? Sticky Madman.

The only swirls to see daylight before removal. M101 and M100 were used to freely cut the paint with no pressure.

Tape Carnage. Chris & Nth Degree Detailing was here.

Blackfire Wet Diamond Sealant & Blackfire Midnight Sun. Tires have Optimum Optibond.

Engine bay curing from 303 Aerospace. Wiped down and brushed the engine bay with ONR/Opticlean.

Much better depth and wet look from polishing.

Afters

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