Todd@RUPES
Just a regular guy
A little over six years ago I documented a detail on a Ferrari 512 BBi that I prepared for a concours car show titled The Road To Cavallino. Over the next four years I would prepare 32 cars for this event, winning 22 platinum awards, 6 golds, 2 silvers and 2 best in shows.
Last year I turned down several. opportunities to detail cars for the Cavallino show. Life and my schedule was just too busy. I did not plan preparing any Ferrari's for this years show as well. As they often do, things came together to allow me the opportunity to work on another classic Ferrari.
The Ferrari 330 GTC
This one was rough, which is the main reason I agreed to work on it. When delivered to my house it was covered in a thick film of dust that covered the paint and hid the numerous paint defects from view.
The reflections in the paint appeared cloudy and lifeless. While some swirl marks were visible, even under the blanket of dirt and grime, there had to be a bigger issue.
As with all details I like to start with the wheels and tires before washing and decontaminating the rest of the exterior. I gathered my supplies, which included BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Shampoo, a 5 gallon BLACKFIRE wash bucket, a Daytona Speed Master Brush, a Montana Boar's Hair Wheel Brush, and Tuff Shine's Tire Cleaner & brush.
The tires had a thick coating of shiny tire dressing, while the Borrani Spoke Wheels looked dull and lifeless. I immediately called my friend and sometimes detail partner Jerry in to help. Cleaning the wheels is challenging enough. Polishing them is a headache which is why I choose to use Wolfgang Wheel Cleaner. It's powerful cleaning ability helps when working intricate designs. However, it is safe for all wheel finishes and the last thing I wanted was to stain or cloud these hard-to-polish pieces.
Woflgang attacks break dust and turns the iron content purple. Here you can see it working.
A One Inch Round Detail Brush is perfect for agiating the tight areas between the spokes. Many say classic Borrani wheels are works of art (and I agree), but they are also extremely time consuming to clean and even more tedious to polish. Wolfgang Tire & Wheel Cleaner did an excellent job of removing any brake dust without dulling the delicate aluminum finish.
Finally the ultra-soft bristles of the Montana Boar's Hair Wheel Brush (combined with the cleaning power of BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo) lightly cleaned any stubborn residues without scratching.
The reason for choosing BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo was simple. It features the same high-quality "Wet Diamond" polymers as other BLACKFIRE products. These polymers attach to the surface and help sheet water away. This is critical in preventing water spots, which can quickly stain aluminum, while working on the other wheels. Always work forward.
Each wheel was cleaned on at a time. After rinsing the soap off of the wheel I used Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner to attack the baked on silicone-based tire dressing that coated the rubber.
Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner is one of the best dedicated rubber cleaners I have ever used. It made quick work of the stained silicone dressing.
The stiff-bristled Tuf Shine Tire Brush showed the ravages of water against the build up of tire goo & grime.
Rinsing away the goop reveled perfectly clean, natural-looking black rubber.
After washing all of the tires and wheels, an All-Purpose & Wheel Microfiber Towel was used to wipe away any lingering water droplets before they could stain the delicate Borrani finish.
Washing classic cars can be a bit of a juxtaposition. On one hand, you have to clean the car, either as the first step in a detailing process or to maintain the shine you created. However, on the other hand, you want to avoid soaking the car with water as much as possible. Classic cars tend to hold water. This quickly can causes frame or body rust.
Enter rinseless washing. BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Rinseless Wash encapsulates dirt and grime with "Wet Diamond" polymers to form a protective shield that allows for safe cleaning -without the use of excess water.
The process is simple. Wipe an ample amount of BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Rinseless Wash solution over the panel with a soft microfiber (In this case I used a Miracle Towel) then dry that section with a soft microfiber waffle weave towel, such as a Guzzler.
With the paint and exterior free of grime it is time to inspect the finish. Clean paint should feel smooth. The paint on this Ferrari 330 GTC felt rough to the touch, indicating that it was covered in overspray and/or contamination.
The rough feeling on the paint quickly revealed itself to be red overspray. The BLACKFIRE Poly Clay II detailing clay bar restored a smooth finish quickly.
After 1/4 of the trunk.
This was also a great time to try the Optimum Opti-Eraser which is a clay bar subsitute. It worked well at cleaning without marring the finish. I ended up using the Opti-Eraser while Jerry worked the rest of the car with the BLACKFIRE Poly Clay II.
After each square inch of the exterior was clean, smooth, and free of contamination all of the paint was carefully wiped down using Menzenra Top Inspection. The blend of alcohol and detergents will effortlessly remove any residues and reveal the true finish of the paint. In this case, it revealed that the Ferrari was going to need a lot of wok and really push Jerry and I to get it done.
Last year I turned down several. opportunities to detail cars for the Cavallino show. Life and my schedule was just too busy. I did not plan preparing any Ferrari's for this years show as well. As they often do, things came together to allow me the opportunity to work on another classic Ferrari.
The Ferrari 330 GTC
This one was rough, which is the main reason I agreed to work on it. When delivered to my house it was covered in a thick film of dust that covered the paint and hid the numerous paint defects from view.
The reflections in the paint appeared cloudy and lifeless. While some swirl marks were visible, even under the blanket of dirt and grime, there had to be a bigger issue.
As with all details I like to start with the wheels and tires before washing and decontaminating the rest of the exterior. I gathered my supplies, which included BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Shampoo, a 5 gallon BLACKFIRE wash bucket, a Daytona Speed Master Brush, a Montana Boar's Hair Wheel Brush, and Tuff Shine's Tire Cleaner & brush.
The tires had a thick coating of shiny tire dressing, while the Borrani Spoke Wheels looked dull and lifeless. I immediately called my friend and sometimes detail partner Jerry in to help. Cleaning the wheels is challenging enough. Polishing them is a headache which is why I choose to use Wolfgang Wheel Cleaner. It's powerful cleaning ability helps when working intricate designs. However, it is safe for all wheel finishes and the last thing I wanted was to stain or cloud these hard-to-polish pieces.
Woflgang attacks break dust and turns the iron content purple. Here you can see it working.
A One Inch Round Detail Brush is perfect for agiating the tight areas between the spokes. Many say classic Borrani wheels are works of art (and I agree), but they are also extremely time consuming to clean and even more tedious to polish. Wolfgang Tire & Wheel Cleaner did an excellent job of removing any brake dust without dulling the delicate aluminum finish.
Finally the ultra-soft bristles of the Montana Boar's Hair Wheel Brush (combined with the cleaning power of BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo) lightly cleaned any stubborn residues without scratching.
The reason for choosing BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo was simple. It features the same high-quality "Wet Diamond" polymers as other BLACKFIRE products. These polymers attach to the surface and help sheet water away. This is critical in preventing water spots, which can quickly stain aluminum, while working on the other wheels. Always work forward.
Each wheel was cleaned on at a time. After rinsing the soap off of the wheel I used Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner to attack the baked on silicone-based tire dressing that coated the rubber.
Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner is one of the best dedicated rubber cleaners I have ever used. It made quick work of the stained silicone dressing.
The stiff-bristled Tuf Shine Tire Brush showed the ravages of water against the build up of tire goo & grime.
Rinsing away the goop reveled perfectly clean, natural-looking black rubber.
After washing all of the tires and wheels, an All-Purpose & Wheel Microfiber Towel was used to wipe away any lingering water droplets before they could stain the delicate Borrani finish.
Washing classic cars can be a bit of a juxtaposition. On one hand, you have to clean the car, either as the first step in a detailing process or to maintain the shine you created. However, on the other hand, you want to avoid soaking the car with water as much as possible. Classic cars tend to hold water. This quickly can causes frame or body rust.
Enter rinseless washing. BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Rinseless Wash encapsulates dirt and grime with "Wet Diamond" polymers to form a protective shield that allows for safe cleaning -without the use of excess water.
The process is simple. Wipe an ample amount of BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Rinseless Wash solution over the panel with a soft microfiber (In this case I used a Miracle Towel) then dry that section with a soft microfiber waffle weave towel, such as a Guzzler.
With the paint and exterior free of grime it is time to inspect the finish. Clean paint should feel smooth. The paint on this Ferrari 330 GTC felt rough to the touch, indicating that it was covered in overspray and/or contamination.
The rough feeling on the paint quickly revealed itself to be red overspray. The BLACKFIRE Poly Clay II detailing clay bar restored a smooth finish quickly.
After 1/4 of the trunk.
This was also a great time to try the Optimum Opti-Eraser which is a clay bar subsitute. It worked well at cleaning without marring the finish. I ended up using the Opti-Eraser while Jerry worked the rest of the car with the BLACKFIRE Poly Clay II.
After each square inch of the exterior was clean, smooth, and free of contamination all of the paint was carefully wiped down using Menzenra Top Inspection. The blend of alcohol and detergents will effortlessly remove any residues and reveal the true finish of the paint. In this case, it revealed that the Ferrari was going to need a lot of wok and really push Jerry and I to get it done.
