# Polished Bliss®: Ferrari F40



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

"*The car that launched a thousand posters*" as they say, and one I was delighted to have sat in our Studio at the start of this week (and what a bad time Alan had chosen to take his Holidays! :lol










As you can see this one does get used:


















































































Lots of old product residue and a couple of the wheels look like they hadn't even been buffed off last time they were polished/sealed:




























The aim of this detail was to clean and protect all surfaces inside and out whilst giving the paintwork a light machine polish to remove some of the more noticeable scuffs etc.

I had planned on doing a step by step picture guide for the wash stages but as you can see it was raining rather hard and I didn't fancy getting the camera wet...










So instead, this was the process carried out:

- Wheels, tyres and arches pre-rinsed.
- Wolf's Deironizer, EZ & Swissvax brushes for the wheels. 
- Meguiars APC (4:1) for the tyres and arches.
- Meguiars APC (10:1) for all exterior trim and badges.
- Foamed with Meguiars Hyperwash & thoroughly rinsed.
- Paintwork washed with 2BM & a new test shampoo.
- Autosmart Tardis on a few small areas of paintwork.
- Clayed with Meguiars Mild Detailing Clay.
- Dried off with PB Lux Drying Towel and the Black Baron.

With the car now clean and dry there were alot of random scratches and almost cat claw type marks visible in the paintwork:




























Machine polishing was going to be the only way to remove/improve this but first I had to measure the paint thickness to make sure it was safe to do so.

As there are no metal panels on the F40 a normal paint gauge wouldn't work so the Positector 200 was needed in order to give readings on the composites:










The paintwork was slightly thicker than I was expecting with a few low areas but certainly nothing scary 

Menzerna 203S and a Lake Country HT Crimson Spot pad were used with the DAS-6 Pro for the smaller areas:










Whilst correction wasn't really the aim for this detail (just to try and reduce the deeper marks) this achieved a good result with minimal paint removal (approx 2 microns removed).

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The larger areas were done with a Wolf's finishing pad that Jesse had kindly sent for me to have a play about with:




























Scratches removed from front end (you might have to look hard to see them)

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The rotary was used for the rear quarter windows which are made from Lexan. These were badly scratched so Menzerna 3.02 and a LC HT Tan spot pad was used to greatly improve them,

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The scratches left were on the inside which could be removed given more time but I didn't have days to spend on this one unfortunately.

The rear screen which is also made of Lexan was polished with 203S but due to a new backing plate I'm testing there's no pics of that yet 

With all that done I dusted the car down with a Lambswool duster and then treated the glass with Nanolex.

First up was the cleaner:










This is applied with a firm foam pad (my own preferred applicator as it ensures you don't put it on too thick compared to a softer pad):










Then with a spritz of water it's buffed off:










Next up is the application of Nanolex Ultra Glass Sealant:



















This was left for a few hours while I attended to the other details.

Swissvax Cleaner Fluid was used to prep the paintwork ready for wax:










Wax of choice was Crystal Rock:




























Wheels were protected with Nanolex Ultra Paint and Alloy Sealant:










All 4 dust caps had product residue on them so these were cleaned up:



















By the time that had been done the Nanolex on the glass was ready to come off:










Onto the engine bay now, the underside of the rear screen was cleaned with Swissvax Crystal:










The engine bay was largely done by hand with various brushes and microfibers with Meguiars APC (4:1). I found this bit hugely frustrating as I could have spent a whole day on this alone:




























Exhausts polished up with Swissvax Metal Polish:










The front end was pretty clean underneath so just a quick hoover and APC wipe down was sufficient:



















Interior now and as always, I started with the glass:



















Then a good thorough dust out of all the switches etc with a Swissvax Brush:










Followed by a hoover:










The pipe off a spray head makes for a good accessory for getting into the really tight areas:










Don't forget to pull back the seams of the seats when doing interiors:










An APC wipe down followed, including the roof lining which was a bit grubby:



















Swissvax Metal Polish was used again for this part:










Another quick hoover followed by a check over and then it was back onto the exterior to finish off a few small bits.

Wolf's Nano Trim Coat was applied to the front lip of the bumper:










Then a few ****tail sticks were used to remove all that old product residue:





































It was now nearly 3am Tuesday morning so a final wipe down of the paintwork was all that was left before a bit of time was spent photographing the final result. The pics are in no particular order and you may notice a few look slightly different to the rest as they were taken with my brother's camera 





































































































































































































































































































































Thanks for looking!

Clark


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## dominic84 (Jan 27, 2007)

Excellent job :thumb: It's all great but the rear screen looks fantastic.


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## wookey (Jul 13, 2007)

Absolutely stunning, fantastic turnaround! :argie:


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

fantastic work just outstanding bet allan was kicking him self :lol:


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Quality work as always mate.:thumb:


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## jonjay (Feb 28, 2008)

Fantastic job PB! F40 still looks great even after all these years.


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

Stunning works as always Team PB..

Must of been a pleasure and pain to work on. Pleasure being what it is, An F40 and a pain with all the little bits ..


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## turbanator (May 21, 2011)

lovely job:thumb:


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

I think I might be in love!!  truly stunning car. Like so many I had a huge F40 poster on my wall when I was a kid. Awesome cars.

Great work and finish. I bet it was a real buzz just been able to work and look at the F40 :thumb:


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Awesome, im amazed at the result with the DAS6 Pro - i have both one of those and a SIM180 Rotary and i cant get that level of correction with the DA - just shows that experience is everything!

Love these write ups!


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## bero1306 (Jan 24, 2011)

VERY Very Nice Indeed.


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## uzi-blue (Mar 16, 2011)

Amazing work, car looks great, stunning finish :argie:


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Stunning 

Thanks for sharing :thumb:


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Amazing work guys. 

You can really tell when you guys post up something that gave you a buzz while it was in. The Enzo was the same.

Looking at getting 1 or 2 of the new SV cloths guys. Grey ones. You guys used them much? I noticed you removed the CR with a PB towel.

I'm guessing the SV ones are a bit on the expensive side to be using all the time even in your own studio! 

Keep up the amazing work. Thanks for taking the time to post it up, can't wait to read the next one!


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## zippo (Mar 26, 2008)

nice job Clark. Out of curiosity how much more time could you have spent on it .


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

Luuuurvly ! Hope you like the pads mate, they've already gone into production! - Jesse


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Cracking work mate, car looks mint.


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## Perfection Detailing (Nov 3, 2007)

Very nice Clark.


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## UberCool1 (Feb 13, 2011)

Pro class work as always Clark - one of my all time fav cars - stunning job:thumb:


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## Glennroy (Jul 12, 2006)

nice work great car


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## Eddy (Apr 13, 2008)

It does not get better than that, _the_ Supercar above all supercars.


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## gkerr4 (Oct 27, 2005)

awesome work on an awesome car!

truly a great car - my favourite ferrari (and therefore car!) ever. period. 

i was fortunate to have a passenger ride around Knockhill at a ferrari owners club day a number of years back - a MONUMENTALLY fast supercar which although from the late 80's, could easily hold it's own with much more modern cars. limited concessions to comfort it's just an awesome car. love love love (can you tell i love F40's?)


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## David-R (Apr 18, 2011)

your write-ups are always brilliant, a pleasure to read, and such an inspiration. Thanks for posting- Beautiful work yet again :thumb:


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## Jarw101 (Jun 7, 2011)

Superb job. Loving the wheels on the F40


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Great work Clark, some superb photography:thumb:


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## Miglior (Feb 12, 2006)

One of the best write ups this year! well done guys, its looking stunning now!


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## paranoid73 (Aug 5, 2009)

Very nice, great work as always :thumb:


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## S-X-I (Sep 6, 2006)

Great work, legend of a car!


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

A fantastic transformation.


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## ashk (Aug 11, 2008)

Love it nice work dude....


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## Leodhasach (Sep 15, 2008)

Excellent work! And on possibly _the_ ********** supercar icon as well...not a bad day at the office eh? :argie:

I'd give a left nut to work on one of those. What have I been working on this week? Volvo estate. Not quite the same... :lol:


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## pogo6636 (Jan 18, 2009)

WOW.. what a transformation.
the windows were a mess.

how long did this take, and i bet you wish it was booked in for a full bifta:buffer: ne plus ultra.:buffer:

again, great work:thumb:


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## jpmcc (Mar 3, 2007)

Detailing Porn, absolutely stunning guys :argie::argie::argie:


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## PootleFlump (Jan 1, 2006)

Lovely car and nice work.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

gally said:


> Amazing work guys.
> 
> You can really tell when you guys post up something that gave you a buzz while it was in. The Enzo was the same.
> 
> ...


You're pretty much spot on mate, the SV towels are obviously first class but we go through so many MF's on a monthly basis that it's cheaper to use the PB ones which I still love, have used them for years now and can't fault them 



zippo said:


> nice job Clark. Out of curiosity how much more time could you have spent on it .


I'm not exaggerating when I say I could easily spend 100+ hours on this car if I was given the chance :thumb:



Wolf's Chemicals said:


> Luuuurvly ! Hope you like the pads mate, they've already gone into production! - Jesse


They all certainly get pass marks from me mate - simple yet effective 



pogo6636 said:


> WOW.. what a transformation.
> the windows were a mess.
> 
> how long did this take, and i bet you wish it was booked in for a full bifta:buffer: ne plus ultra.:buffer:
> ...


Will have to make do with its bigger brother coming in for the Ne Plus Ultra in August 

This took just under 2 days from start to finish.

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I ended up with a Migrane today after sitting at the computer for so many hours editing down the pics, finally got rid of it after a good snooze this evening! :lol:


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Simply stunning


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## mrfixit (Jun 14, 2011)

Ace:thumb:What did the customer say,would love to have seen the reaction on pick up.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

mrfixit said:


> Ace:thumb:What did the customer say,would love to have seen the reaction on pick up.


They were very happy, I wasn't there though as I was out doing maintenance work at another client


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## riles (Jan 27, 2011)

awesome job,awesome car.


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## *MAGIC* (Feb 22, 2007)

Looking good Clark.

I have a red F40 in at the moment.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

*MAGIC* said:


> Looking good Clark.
> 
> I have a red F40 in at the moment.


Don't you just love the smell that comes off them?


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## Capital HF (Nov 17, 2010)

Stunning car & stunning work


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Banging job guys on an iconic car.


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## ROMEYR32 (Mar 27, 2011)

Love these write ups, Great work you must be pleased! Pictures are stunning.


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Fantastic finish..


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## Energy Lab (May 10, 2011)

Simply awesome!


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## *MAGIC* (Feb 22, 2007)

Clark @ PB said:


> Don't you just love the smell that comes off them?


So much so that I have a sleeping bag next to it for tonight :lol: :thumb:

This is running a Tubi Le Mans straight through system so sounds pretty good also.


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## Ali (Apr 5, 2006)

Outstanding!


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## Pavlosgreece (May 19, 2011)

Amazing work on a stunning car !!!


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## DarrenSTI (Apr 30, 2008)

Yet another awesome detail and awesome car, I dont know.......one week an Enzo the other an F40, you do have it tough aye 

Does detailing/machine polishing carbon panels diifer much from normal metal panels?


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Polished bliss, you certainly work wonders on cars, credit to you for your hardwork.

Car looks amazing, cracking efforts.

Kind regards

Triptdi.


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Gorgeous !


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## NickP (Nov 20, 2005)

Wow - still my all time favourite supercar


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Awesome!:thumb:


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## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

Noice, reeeeeeeeeeal noice!!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

DarrenSTI said:


> Yet another awesome detail and awesome car, I dont know.......one week an Enzo the other an F40, you do have it tough aye
> 
> Does detailing/machine polishing carbon panels diifer much from normal metal panels?


You have to watch and keep temperatures down slightly more but that's about it really. I love polishing these types of panels as they don't flex under the weight of the machine like so many "normal" cars do when polishing roofs/bonnets etc


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## horned yo (Feb 10, 2009)

stunning work


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## Big Craig (Jan 16, 2009)

Cracking job. Saw this car this morning on the hard shoulder of the M9 still in the back of the covered trailer.. Wonder if the guy had broken down....


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Big Craig said:


> Cracking job. Saw this car this morning on the hard shoulder of the M9 still in the back of the covered trailer.. Wonder if the guy had broken down....


It'll have been away getting serviced.


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## shantz (Feb 1, 2011)

One of the nicest Ferrari's ever built.
I've always had a soft spot for the F40.


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

The best supercar ever!! Looks absolutely stunning Clark, as usual!!! :argie: :thumb:


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## mestew87 (Jun 28, 2011)

Always loved the F40


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## trackslag (Mar 20, 2011)

Amazing!


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## Pink_Floyd (Nov 11, 2007)

I've only ever seen one in the flesh and the rear windows and screen were a mess, as was the paint. It really detracted from the car. The work you've done shows what a top example should look like. Stunning! Nice work :thumb:


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## uzi-blue (Mar 16, 2011)

Stunning work, always great to read your write ups.


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## gb270 (Aug 22, 2008)

Very very nice


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## Razorback (Jul 25, 2011)

excellent..


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## slobodank (Nov 17, 2010)

:thumb:


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