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[F 355]

Just wanted to say thanks to all contributing members on this site….been very helpful to me.



I have owned about 20 high end cars and detailing has been an obsession with me. My last car was a black 911 Turbo. Raised on Zymol until about 2 years ago when I discovered P21-S. Bought a PC, mastered it on my daily and the results on the turbo were amazing.



About a month after I did the car with the PC I sold it and bought my first Ferrari - Red 355 Spider. The car is at the dealer in SFO and is being trucked (enclosed) to me in FL and will be here the day before Xmas.



I’m ready to make the synthetic switch. Going to test the front bumper with Zaino / BF II with a topper of P21-S. I’m not going to start a thread on which is better: I think it’s about the type of paint, the color of the car and personal preference.



My concern is what to use as a base with the PC…car has minor swirls from improper previous care…after reading other threads seems that 3M SMR is the way to go. The great advice from this site educated me to dawn the car afterward so the poly can adhere…



Any other comments / suggestions are welcomed!



Thanks

Frank

[Jngrbrdman]

Since its red I would go with the SMR as well. It depends on how serious the swirls are. You could try PI-II or #9 first and see how they work. No sense in using the heavy duty stuff right off if you don`t have to. :) Red and blue have to be the toughest colors to keep looking good. I swear that even black is easier. I`m sure that its going to look even better once you get the swirls out. :xyxthumbs

[imported_memnuts]

Originally posted by Jngrbrdman

Red and blue have to be the toughest colors to keep looking good. I swear that even black is easier. I`m sure that its going to look even better once you get the swirls out. :xyxthumbs



I own 2 red and 3 black cars. Red is a walk in the park in terms of maintaining the ultimate finish appearance. Dark blues are as hard as black- no question. If F 355 horned his skills with the black 911 he will be quite surprised how easy it will be to work with red. Just my years of experience with many cars of varying colors. My daily driver is silver mist. :D

:wavey

[Jngrbrdman]

The reason I rank Red up there is because of how quickly it will show oxidation. Anything other than a perfect finish seems to just show up worse. It may not show the swirls and dings quite as bad as Black, but I would definatly rank it up there. Saying it was as bad as black isn`t probably totally accurate, but in some aspects it can be true I guess.

[imported_memnuts]

Originally posted by Jngrbrdman

The reason I rank Red up there is because of how quickly it will show oxidation. Anything other than a perfect finish seems to just show up worse. It may not show the swirls and dings quite as bad as Black, but I would definatly rank it up there. Saying it was as bad as black isn`t probably totally accurate, but in some aspects it can be true I guess.



I never considered oxidation :scared. Red is very bad in that respect. My apologies :bow :bow:)

[imported_Aurora40]

Hey F 355, you don`t need to Dawn before using the BFII. You can put it right over the gloss the SMR leaves behind. In fact, a polish/glaze will improve the look of the Blackfire. But I guess it would be hard to Dawn just the Zaino half...

[imported_ThreeSixT]

I second that..thanks to all the veteran Autopians who have helped me out so far. Especially Jngrbrdman, Intermezzo, Ranney aka PakShak, and NY Detailer...you guys have been great. I finally placed my $450 order at CMA and received my products yesterday. Wow, that`s allot of stuff. I`m waiting for my P21S Kit to come in that is on back order...and none of the Harley shops in Honolulu have the S100 SEPC/GEPC. So I`m out of luck...just waiting. Anyway, thanks again to all. :bow :xyxthumbs

[F 355]

You guys are great! Thanks for all the input.



Aurora40 - Thx. I was going to Dawn to make sure BF sticks, but after reading the bottle on 3M I noticed it said no wax/silicones so you`re right...can go straight to BF! Thanks.



Three Sixt- Howzit Bruddah! Lived in Aiea for 7 yrs before moving to FL. So hard to keep a car pristine there...daily rain followed by intense sun...use to drive me nuts.



re: Meguiars - I bought some DACP yesterday to try also.



I wish their product name / numbering system made better sense - you would think that the numbers would reflect the order of application, or the order of aggresivness (ie 7 more course than 9) or something like that...



Anyway...gonna work on the car between Xmas & New Year and will post some pix as soon as I`m done.



Thanks again to everyone - again great site!

Frank

[imported_Aurora40]

Originally posted by F 355

I wish their product name / numbering system made better sense - you would think that the numbers would reflect the order of application, or the order of aggresivness (ie 7 more course than 9) or something like that...



Some of those low-numbered products have been around for an eternity, though. So they`d have to change the numbers around when new products came out. Their new "aggressiveness" scales are really helpful. You can use them for comparing the various products in their lineup (if only MPPC had a rating...).

[F 355]

Now this may be dumb...but what scale? Have not seen one yet.



Check the pix I just put up under "P21S Testimonial"...