# 1983 Ferrari 512 BBi Original Paint detailed by Mike Phillips with 3D Products



## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

1983 Ferrari 512 BBi Original Paint detailed by Mike Phillips with 3D Products

*7000 original miles - 1983 Ferrari 5112 BBi*










This is an all original 1983 Ferrari 512 BBI with 7000 miles on it. It's never been apart and it's possible it's the most original representation for this make and model. It's also believed the paint has never been machine polished since leaving the factory. When I arrived the paint was visibly oxidized and filled with swirls throughout the finish. The swirls look to be shallow and my guess is they are predominantly from wiping with some type of towel over the last 38 years.

Original Factory Single Stage Paint
Most Ferrari's of this vintage have single stage paint. It's on the soft to soft/medium side of the paint hardness spectrum. You have to be very careful when buffing out paint like this as it's very easy to burn through any edges or raised body lines. I did 3 Test Spots and finally dialed-in this process.

For the hood and roof - where the swirls and scratches were the most abundant - I cut with 3D ACA 510 with a foam cutting pad on the FLEX Supa BEAST on speed 6 for approximately 8 section passes. I followed this with machine polishing using 3D SPEED and a foam polishing pad on the FLEX Supa BEAST on speed 6.

For the rest of the vertical body panels I used 3D 505 Correction Glaze to cut using a foam polishing pad and then refined using 3D Speed and a fresh foam polishing pad.

For the louvers and tight, intricate areas, I hand polished using 3D SPEED and a combination of a microfiber applicator pad and/or a small piece of microfiber cut from a full size towel - about the size of a large postage Stamp.

To seal the paint I used 3D Cherry Wax machine applied with a black foam finishing pad and the FLEX Supa BEAST on speed 5

Apologies for no before pictures but when I do mobile detailing I get in and get out. Including wiping the car down with 3D Spray Detailer followed by claying all the paint and machine polishing all the glass, I knocked this out in 6 hours.

*Glass Polishing*
Just like the paint was oxidized and had surface contamination so did the glass. I used a lab sample of a new topical glass polish from 3D and it works great.

*BEFORE*



















*AFTER*










*Again - no process picture but towards the end of the process I took a few of the LSP step. This is the 3D Cherry Wax machine applied.*



















I let the wax set-up and dry for about a half hour and while it was drying I hand polished all the louvers and there's a LOT of louvers!










*The wax wipes off super easy - I used the Karate Kid Technique.*




























*Here's the final results...*























































*Here's everything I used...*




























*Ready for display at the 2022 Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach - January 20th through the 23rd.*


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

More...

Here's a shot of the engine - it's a flat or opposed 12 cylinder


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Lovely work Mike on a stunning Ferrari :argie:


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## RS3 (Mar 5, 2018)

Can't see the pics.


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

RS3 said:


> Can't see the pics.


Sorry - not sure what to say? They are there. I uploaded them to the 3DDetailTalk.com gallery after resizing to 1000 pixels wide.

They show up on my computer testing Firefox and Edge and also on my iPhone.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

RS3 said:


> Can't see the pics.


Showing on Tapatalk mate…


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Very nice indeed :thumb: 

Looks to have come up lovely, the red paint with a lovely depth…


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

Andyblue said:


> Very nice indeed :thumb:
> 
> Looks to have come up lovely, the red paint with a lovely depth…


Agree.

I'm not in a position to capture a lot of photos at his shop or I would as is my norm for the last 20+ years of sharing my detailing write-ups online.

When I arrived however - the paint was visibly oxidized with a opaqueness to the appearance plus millions of fine swirls likely from wiping over the decades.

I've buffed out quite a few Ferrari's of this vintage with the original single stage paint and it's very soft. This means it corrects really easy but it's also very easy to buff through the paint on edges and raised body lines - definitely have to focus on the task at hand and as a normal good rule-of-thumb,

*Use the least aggressive process to get the job done*


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## President Swirl (Oct 23, 2011)

Excellent work as usual Mr Phillips.


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## ridders66 (May 24, 2019)

Super job Mike, absolutely stunning car which I love, sadly when I drove one a few years ago I was so disappointed. It was horrible to drive, the clutch was horrendously heavy, as was the steering. To be honest I was glad when I arrived back at the showroom with it, my arms and left leg were aching. But I still think they look awesome!


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Great work as usual Mike :thumb:

Best of luck at the Cavallino Classic


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