# Polished Bliss®: F355 F1 Ne Plus Ultra Part II...



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

It's been a good start to 2010 for us so far with 2 Ne Plus Ultra Details already complete and this is the first one - A Beautiful example of one of the all time great Ferrari's with only 22k on the clock (and an aftermarket exhaust that would make any petrol head grin like a child! )

Here's the car upon arrival, in for the best part of 10 days - considering it had just been driven 20 odd miles on salt/snow covered roads it had stayed amazingly clean:










To help with the washing and polishing, I removed a few bits and pieces including the number plates and rear prancing horse badge:










Front grill also removed...










So, onto the wash process. Up first was R222 through the lance at 60 degrees:










This was left for a couple of minutes and then rinsed off thoroughly at high pressure:










A good level of protection was still evident from the owners previous wax applications:










I then worked round the car with R222 and a Raceglaze detailing brush to clean all the exterior trim etc:





































Meanwhile, Colin was working on the wheels with Gloss-It wheel gel (4:1) and tyres/arches with Meguiars Super Degreaser (4:1):



















Once all the exterior trim had been cleaned I turned my attention to the door shuts...



















Then the engine bay was treated in the same way - R222 applied, agitated and then rinsed at 60 degrees:



















With all the various details now attended to all that remained was to wash the paintwork with Meguiars Shampoo Plus and the 2BM:










Then rinsed:










A quick once round the car with Autosmart Tardis showed next to no signs of tar spots so after a final rinse off the car was put inside for claying.

Meguiars Mild Clay (mild was used as there was very little contamination present on the paint) and water for lube was used:










The car was then dried off using PB Luxury Drying Towels and the Black Baron Drier:










Now the car was ready for polishing so I began to take detailed paint readings:










The 355's are prone to galvanic corrosion where the rear pillar meets the back quarter so it's quite common for them to have seen some paintwork done on these areas and as the owner had suspected, this was confirmed with the paint gauge:










Paint readings were as follows:

Roof: 150-200 microns
Engine Cover: 180-200 microns
Bonnet/wings/bumper: 200-400+ microns
Rear Quarters: 200-400 microns (with the odd high spot as the gauge pic shows above)
Rear bumper: 200-220 microns
Doors: 150-200 microns

So as the readings will show, the car had seen a respray to the front end (to remove a few stone chips) as well as the rear to fix the corrosion on the quarters with the doors,roof,engine cover and rear bumper being original. It has to be said at this stage that the quality of the paintwork was extremely good which was very pleasing on such a stunning example - quite often we see poor paintjobs letting down so many supercars etc but fortunately this was definitely not one of them :thumb:

Now it was time for a few defect shots:































































































































As you can see, the defects were pretty deep in places with large random scratches being the biggest problem.

When it came to settling on a pad/polish combination I started with Meguiars 205 and a Gloss-It Polishing Pad as a starting point but this barely even took out the marring - the resprayed areas were rock hard!

I eventually had to settle for a Lake Country Wool Pad and Meguiars 105:



















This was worked @2500/2800 rpm's from the start with moderate pressure untill the defects were removed, due to the hardness of the paint I needed a minimum of 3 hits per section to gain the desired correction.

Using the laser pen method I found that the average paint removal after 2 or 3 attempts was around the 4-5 micron level going up to around 6-8 if paint thickness allowed me to really lean on the machine head (using the advantage of the new Megs abrasives) to get extra cut.

After each hit I made sure I gave the panel a thorough IPA wipe down in order to remove any oils. The Meguiars 105 & 205 polishes are very impressive but I've found they can fill any light remaining defects slightly unless wiped down. It's also good practice as the polishing dust doesn't stick so much to the corrected panels afterwards 

After each panel had been corrected with wool and then IPA'd I refined this with Menz 3.02 to remove the odd pig tail that you can often get with wool pads that wouldn't be fully removed with just a dedicated finishing polish:










Here's a few before and afters, these are all after wool and then 3.02 - no refining with a finishing polish yet:

*Before:*










*After:*










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*After:*










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*After*:










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*After*:










*Before*:










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*Before*:










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The section between the rear lights was too small to get the machine into so this was done by hand with a Light Cut CCS hand pad and Meguiars 105:

*Before*:










*After* (still to be refined by hand again using Menzerna FPII):










One last *Before*:










*After*:










There was one other area that could be accessed by machine so again this was done by hand but this time with Menzerna 203S:










Correction wasn't great in there if I'm honest but it brought the gloss level up a wee bit 

Onto the lower half of the doors, these are plastic so the Posi 200 gauge is needed for this:










During the refining with 3.02 and the Gloss-It Polishing Pad:










After (feint trail left to be removed later with the finishing polish):










Another *Before*:










*After*:










Rear lights were soft-ish (most light casings etc are on the softer side) so Meguiars 205 was all I needed to correct these:




























Onto the engine cover now, this was removed to A) avoid leaning over the rear quarters and B) to save my back 










This was original paint and pretty soft so correction was alot easier, using Meguiars 205 and Menzerna 203S where there were a few deeper marks:

*Before:*










*After*:



















All wiped down with IPA and ready for waxing:



















Front bumper now;

The top strip between the bonnet and bumper was really bad for deep scratches and sanding marks:










After 4 hits with the wool:










*Before*:










*After*:










Once all the correction work and IPA wipe down had been done I refined the finish with a Gloss-It finishing Pad and Menzerna 85RE:










Crystal Clear now 










While I'd been busy doing the paintwork I'd found plenty for Colin to do, amongst these were fully detailing the interior plus a full feed of every single piece of leather in site with Raceglaze Leather Balm:










The tool kit was also done:










Brilliant Metal Polishes were used on the tools:










Migliore Trim Dressing was used for the black plastics:

*Before*:










*After*:










Werkstat Prime Strong was used to brighten up the prancing horse:

*Before*:










*After*:










Prime Strong again for the front grill:

*Before*:










*After*:










The wheels were also removed as the inner rims were covered in stubborn staining that wouldn't shift:










The combination of Tardis, neat Gloss-It Wheel Gel, Menzerna FPII (the latter was applied to the face too to remove some light scratches) Werkstat Prime Acrylic and 2 coats of Blackfire Metal Sealant left the following:










Rear arch before APC,Tardis and Meguiars All Season Dressing (callipers polished and protected with Prime Strong):










*After*:










Front arch done in the same way too:










The wheel bolts were all polished with Brilliant Metal Polish before being torqued up to the correct setting but I forgot to take a pic!

*A big thanks must go to Chris_VRS at this point, after a quick phone call he was able to confirm the jacking/axle stand points for the car before we took the wheels off, always good to double check so thanks mate* :thumb:

Before I applied the protection to the paint I dusted it down with a lambswool duster and used the Black Baron to clear the panel gaps:



















LSP of choice for this one was Zymol Vintage (re-fill time soon again!):










Badges and grill etc all re-fitted after the wax was buffed off:



















I applied a couple of coats of Migliore Tyre Dressing to the tyres:










I'm really impressed with this product, it gives a slightly duller finish than the Gloss-It or Blackfire which I think suited the 355 more than a high gloss 

A thorough wipe down with Migliore Quick Detailer followed and all that remained was to take some finished pics.

This is the result of just over 80 hours machine polishing and 112 man hours in total - enjoy :thumb:








































































































































Whilst the car was sat on the trailer waiting to be taken back to the owner I took a few more pics as the natural light coming through the roof really highlighted that "glassy" look the paint now had:














































And finally just for fun, here are some arty pics that Rich captured late at night:









































































And here's the HD Video if you haven't already seen it  http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/blog/2010/01/ferrari-355-f1-berlinetta-ne-plus-ultra/

Thanks for taking the time to have a look - 155 hour Bentley Arnage Detail will be next 

Clark

And here's the HD Video if you haven't already seen it  http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/blog/2010/01/ferrari-355-f1-berlinetta-ne-plus-ultra/


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Fantastic, looks absolutely stunning. :thumb:

Can't help but think your trying to confuse us by changing your coat so many times in the wash stage!? :lol:


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## *MAGIC* (Feb 22, 2007)

Great stuff Clark :thumb:

Loving the 355s :argie:

Robbie


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## ay4alex (Apr 15, 2009)

Great work Clark! loving the 355. Awesome work. Great final pictures, how were the last three taken? 

Alex


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Gaz W said:


> Fantastic, looks absolutely stunning. :thumb:
> 
> Can't help but think your trying to confuse us by changing your coat so many times in the wash stage!? :lol:


Lol, it's that great Scottish weather where the sun comes out and then 6 seconds later it's back to torrential rain! :lol:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

ay4alex said:


> Great work Clark! loving the 355. Awesome work. Great final pictures, how were the last three taken?
> 
> Alex


Rich will be along to explain better than I can mate - I get confused if it's anything more than my point and click compact camera


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## Ian P (May 20, 2008)

I think I'll use my first post to say: WOW!

Ian


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

Stunning work as always!

Love the last few pictures!


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## Carn (Apr 13, 2007)

Fantastic work guys, thanks for sharing :thumb:

@ Clark, what wool pad are you using in the following pic and at what rpm's?










TIA


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## MoggyTech (Feb 28, 2009)

Brilliant work :thumb:


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## ChrisST (Jul 19, 2009)

This is what makes being on this site such a pleasure, stunning work.:argie:


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## J3FVW (Sep 28, 2009)

Proper stunning. Love it :thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Carn said:


> Fantastic work guys, thanks for sharing :thumb:
> 
> @ Clark, what wool pad are you using in the following pic and at what rpm's?
> 
> ...


Lake Country @2500/2800rpms IIRC


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## IYRIX (Jan 31, 2009)

Lovely job. Love that car!

If you read the post i think its says about Pads and rev's...


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## athol (Oct 3, 2009)

Awesome work Clark :thumb:


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## WyattEarp (Mar 9, 2008)

Oh My God:doublesho:argie: You have absolutely once again made my day Clark. I woke up this morning to find this thread and my day could not be off to a better start.:thumb: You are a great man for taking the time to post this. Absolutely amazing. Thanks mate.:thumb:


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## Jorge (Oct 12, 2009)

What an inspiration....! :argie:

Last pictures....::doublesho


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Stunning work Clark! Great photo's and write-up too!!:thumb:


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## StuaR32t (Jun 6, 2009)

Aye WIN! ken... look forward t seein this bentley!!!:thumb:


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## Sonic (Jun 28, 2007)

That is truely amazing :thumb:


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

Amazing ...absolutely amazing.

My second fave Ferrari (behind the 430).:thumb:


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## johnsastra16v (Oct 7, 2007)

phoenominal stuff carl!

a great inspiration yourself and polished bliss are.


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## paranoid73 (Aug 5, 2009)

As alwats, cracking work and write up :thumb:


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## mike_shrops (Oct 27, 2007)

Fantastic work as ever :thumb:! Can't wait for the Bentley vid/writeup, from the pics you posted on twitter it looked like an absolute monster!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

mike_shrops said:


> Fantastic work as ever :thumb:! Can't wait for the Bentley vid/writeup, from the pics you posted on twitter it looked like an absolute monster!


Yup it was pretty huge! It's still sat in the studio as the snow meant the owner didnt want to collect it till Monday - just want rid of the thing now as I'm sick of the sight of it  :lol:


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

Clark said:


> Yup it was pretty huge! It's still sat in the studio as the snow meant the owner didnt want to collect it till Monday - just want rid of the thing now as I'm sick of the sight of it  :lol:


I'd be happy to take it off your hands until the owner collects.

As a favour of course.:lol::lol::lol:


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## SparklesFylde (Jan 28, 2010)

Brilliant, bet the owner was well Happy.


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## ajmanby (Jan 12, 2010)

wow lovely work! and such a lovely car!


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

Carn said:


> Fantastic work guys, thanks for sharing :thumb:
> 
> @ Clark, what wool pad are you using in the following pic and at what rpm's?
> 
> ...


He say's in the write up just above the picture you quoted dude:



> I eventually had to settle for a Lake Country Wool Pad and Meguiars 105 - This was worked @2500/2800 rpm's from the start with moderate pressure untill the defects were removed, due to the hardness of the paint I needed a minimum of 3 hits per section to gain the desired correction.


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## evenflow (Apr 2, 2008)

ChrisST said:


> This is what makes being on this site such a pleasure, stunning work.:argie:


Yep, I'll second that.

What a fantastic machine, and looking its absolute best after your amazing work.

One day, one day...


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

awesome work as usual Clark and Co :thumb:
do you apply a rain repellent to the glass or just clean it Clark?


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## markcoznottz (Nov 13, 2005)

Superb. Which exhaust has the owner fitted?. Apparantly the dogs bo****ks is a level 1 capristo, which has been de-catted, gives the engine a sound to match the cars looks. What a deeply deeply beautiful car, I dont know how any car enthusiast cant love it.


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## amiller (Jan 1, 2009)

very nice write up young man. i do like the honesty you have in your write-ups when you admit that total correction isn't possible. very commendable. :thumb:

A few questions if I may?

- is there any reason why Zymol was used instead of the PA this time round? 
- what is your technique for IPA wipedown?
- can you link up the 2 jacks used? One looks like the aluminium one that was available in Costco a while back.
- any thoughts on changing rotary to the new festools? (big and/or small)


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

simply stunning clark takings detailing to new highs as all ways love your wright ups 

atb 

tom


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## cotter (Aug 31, 2008)

Stunning :thumb:


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## Ashtra (Oct 17, 2007)

absolutely stunning clark.always loved the 355


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## andyd73 (Jun 17, 2009)

Great work and what a beautiful car. I love the 355


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

WOW, that is truly epic!!! :argie:

Gorgeous car, results are flawless as usual!


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## magpieV6 (Jul 29, 2008)

lovely results


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## Ultimate Shine (Jun 3, 2008)

stunning mate as always, I am starting to feel like the more cars you machine the more you notice.

Awesome mate:thumb:


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## GlenStaff26 (Mar 10, 2007)

PB strike again, top class work guys :thumb:


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## ajc347 (Feb 4, 2009)

Nice work guys.

Thanks for the excellent write up - it was really informative and I learnt a good few things from it. :thumb:


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## MAXI-MILAN (Oct 26, 2008)

Top work & great write up :thumb:


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## Racer (Oct 27, 2005)

Great Work Clark :thumb:


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## Nick_S (Dec 20, 2008)

Stunning as always Clark :thumb:


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Simply stunning


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## ayrshireteggy (Dec 13, 2006)

Great work as usual. :thumb:

I don't bother with the videos 'cos I enjoy your write-ups. Thanks for taking the time to post.


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## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

Yet another stunning turnaround. 

I know Jim was dumbfounded with the results.

Top work guys, hurry up with the Bentley write up...............

:thumb:


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Great write up Clark, really enjoyed reading that!


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

Stunning lad very good indeed!!! amazing how well it came up.


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

great turnaround as always lads....

quick question relating to this pic










I'm assuming it's "safe" to polish like that? Never done the "bar" that goes across the front of my FMIC, or the lower bit of my bumper with the machine as I thought I may burn/remove paint from the "corners"









(the bit where the forge sticker is, and the bit below it - sticker has been removed now)


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

-Kev- said:


> awesome work as usual Clark and Co :thumb:
> do you apply a rain repellent to the glass or just clean it Clark?


We apply Werkstat Glass Sealant to the glass (not released yet but will shortly) :thumb:



markcoznottz said:


> Superb. Which exhaust has the owner fitted?. Apparantly the dogs bo****ks is a level 1 capristo, which has been de-catted, gives the engine a sound to match the cars looks. What a deeply deeply beautiful car, I dont know how any car enthusiast cant love it.


Capristo rings a bell but I may be wrong mate - this thing sounded like an F1 car on full chat, hair rasingly good! 



amiller said:


> very nice write up young man. i do like the honesty you have in your write-ups when you admit that total correction isn't possible. very commendable. :thumb:
> 
> A few questions if I may?
> 
> ...


Owners request of a high quality Wax as he has the likes of Zymol Concours/Raceglaze 55 etc so Vintage was an easy choice this time round :thumb:

IPA method - mist onto the panel or cloth (1:1) and use like a QD really, although you have to take a little extra care on some paints not to marr it.

Both jacks are/were available at Costco at one point or another, if you do a bit of googling I'm sure you'll find them!

No plans for Festools at this moment in time, I'm more than happy with my Makitas 



KKM said:


> Yet another stunning turnaround.
> 
> I know Jim was dumbfounded with the results.
> 
> ...


Cheers Kev - Bentley will be posted at some point in the next 6 months, time aint something we have at the moment  :lol:

Thanks to all for the feedback guys :thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

-Mat- said:


> great turnaround as always lads....
> 
> quick question relating to this pic
> 
> ...


Yep, it's fine mate - obiously you just need a bit of common sense and take care if using the rotary. If you have any doubts at all just use a DA machine :thumb:


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## Select Detailing (Feb 19, 2009)

Bloody Hell Clark,

Just when I thought I had done a cracking job on the 599 In Red, you go and blow me away with what you guys achieve.
Cracking to read again and the results speak volumes.

Regards

Gareth


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## paulmcmillen (Mar 3, 2008)

Fapping awesome! Can't wait for the full Bentley write up!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Select Detailing said:


> Bloody Hell Clark,
> 
> Just when I thought I had done a cracking job on the 599 In Red, you go and blow me away with what you guys achieve.
> Cracking to read again and the results speak volumes.
> ...


Thanks Gareth, have you posted the 599 yet? I havent seen it (sorry if I missed it )



paulmcmillen said:


> Fapping awesome! Can't wait for the full Bentley write up!


Might be a few weeks yet for the Bentley i think - we're really struggling for time at the moment and we have our new unit to kit out amongst other things too!


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## DPN (Jan 7, 2006)

Excellent turnaround as expected from PB 

It's always a pleasure to read your write ups.

Regards 
Dave


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## nicp2007 (Apr 25, 2007)

awsome as always mate :thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

DPN said:


> Excellent turnaround as expected from PB
> 
> It's always a pleasure to read your write ups.
> 
> ...


Thanks Dave,

Out of interest, did you ever get that car cover on that STi done? Mine's in an Air Chamber now but still interested to see what it was like? Cheers :thumb:


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Stunning work as always mate.

One of my old customers had a 355 with a custom exhaust fitted, 1st time I heard it approaching me it sounded like a formula 1 car, not sure i've heard anything as menacing since.
Definately one of my favourite Ferrari's.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Gleammachine said:


> Stunning work as always mate.
> 
> One of my old customers had a 355 with a custom exhaust fitted, 1st time I heard it approaching me it sounded like a formula 1 car, not sure i've heard anything as menacing since.
> Definately one of my favourite Ferrari's.


Definitely mate, it was up there was a clients 360 CS - amazing note and that's coming from a Porsche fan


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## baptistsan (May 4, 2009)

Beautiful car, beautiful finish.

Am I the only one to feel a little queezy at the thought of pressure washing an engine bay?


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

baptistsan said:


> Beautiful car, beautiful finish.
> 
> Am I the only one to feel a little queezy at the thought of pressure washing an engine bay?


Nope, plenty people are quite rightly apprehensive when it comes to pressure washing engines - rightly so as it's better to err on the side of caution, however - it's fine providing you cover up all the necessary parts (altenator/plugs etc) before hand and dont put the end of the lance milimetres away from components. Just remember to do it when the engine is cool and switched off, then start it up afterwards and let idle for 5/10 minutes to help with the drying stage.

More modern day engines (with the exception of Evos and Scoobies to name a few) and electrics are even safer to do as everything is covered up :thumb:


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## Bloicy (Feb 22, 2010)

One word...Stunning!!

I live in Aberdeen and may be in contact after seeing the top work you guy's acheive time again (although i only own a Vec B GSI, not what your used to!)

Can you possibly PM me with options / prices etc when you have the time?

much appreciated. Alan


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Bloicy said:


> One word...Stunning!!
> 
> I live in Aberdeen and may be in contact after seeing the top work you guy's acheive time again (although i only own a Vec B GSI, not what your used to!)
> 
> ...


Service options and prices are in the following link mate :thumb:

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/detailing-services-service-options.html


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Beautiful work Clark!!!!!!:thumb::thumb::thumb:


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

wow absolutly stunning guys! awesome stuff


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Clark said:


> Yep, it's fine mate - obiously you just need a bit of common sense and take care if using the rotary. If you have any doubts at all just use a DA machine :thumb:


Ah, cheers fella

Looking at possibly getting a kestral to add to the silverline


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## pcc (Oct 11, 2006)

Really nice work Clark, never thought of removing the engine cover which makes sense really. Rich's final pics are also incredible, well done guys.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

-Mat- said:


> Ah, cheers fella
> 
> Looking at possibly getting a kestral to add to the silverline


Definitely worth having a DA machine in the armoury mate :thumb:



pcc said:


> Really nice work Clark, never thought of removing the engine cover which makes sense really. Rich's final pics are also incredible, well done guys.


Thanks! Sometimes its safer to leave such panels on the car as alligning them back up can be tricky but it's only 4 bolts on the 355


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## DiamondD (Feb 26, 2010)

ah an oldie but goody, fantastic job on the recon really brought the paint back to life.:thumb:


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