# 1997 Ferrari 456GT



## Scoobr (Jan 9, 2008)

After working on my friends STi http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=365072

a colleague of his asked if I'd have a go at doing the same to his Ferrari 456GT, obviously it would be a pleasure!

Car in question is a 1997 model in the launch colour of dark blue, current owner has owned the car for the last 5 years. it has covered just over 60,000 miles with the current owner having covered 30,000 of those during those last 5 years.

A lovely car that has been used by the owner and not sat pampered in a heated garage. Having said that, by the owners own admission it hasn't seen much love in the washing department and probably hadn't had a proper valet/detail since 2010.

The idea was for me to give it a much needed proper clean inside and out and then try and restore some much needed shine back to the dark blue paintwork, not looking for absolute perfection, but a big improvement.

My car relegated to the driveway while the Ferrari was with me



Before









Gave it a good rinse with the pressure washer and attended to some areas with Auto finesse Citrus Power









Followed this by snow foaming with Auto Finesse Avalanche, while the foam dwelled, I cleaned various areas with an AF brush









Wheels cleaned with Auto Finesse Imperial wheel cleaner, a bucket of water mixed with Auto Finesse Revolution and various brushes, arches also cleaned and scrubbed.









Tyres scrubbed with Meguiar's All purpose cleaners and a Chemical Guys stiff brush.



Washed using Dodo juice Basics of Bling shampoo and 2 bucket method, using a Gyeon wash mitt.





Then onto the decontamination stage, Gyeon Iron used for this, totally covered the car and wheels and seemed to do a great job.





Followed this with AutoFinesse Oblitarate to remove any tar spots



Foamed and rinsed again and into the garage for claying.



I used Gyeon clay and lube for the first time, the lube was great but I found the clay far too hard for my liking and used some AF clay I also had in the cupboard instead.



After the decontamination stage, the paint was fairly clean now, with not a lot coming off the paint at all, the only area that was still pretty bad was the rear bumper, around the exhaust exits.



I also tended to some intricate areas to try and remove any dirt and polish residue









Now onto polishing and under the lights it became clear that the paint was in pretty poor condition, the drivers door was especially bad :doublesho











As mentioned, this wasn't about perfection but a good one stage enhancement to bring the paint back to life.

I used Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on a Lake Country Hydrotech polishing pad, this worked well on the worst areas.



I switched to Sonax EX 04-06 on a Hnexlogic orange pad for other areas, really like this, seems to work really well as a single stage and seems to generate much less dust.



Not perfect, but looking a lot lot better





Once the car was finally polished, I took it out and rinsed it down to remove any polishing dust, then back inside for some protection.

Dried off with Metro Blaster side Kick and Auto Finesse drying towel, then wiped down with Gyeon Prep before applying LSP







I decided I'd use a wax as it was a dark blue colour, so went with Auto Finesse Essence, topped with Illusion.







Windows then polished with Auto Finesse Vision



Sills polished with Auto Finesse Tripple





Interior wasn't too bad, although the cream leather was a little dirty. Leather given a good clean with Valet Pro Leather Soap, massaged in with finger tips and then lightly scrubbed with a brush and then rubbed down with a microfibre cloth













Plenty of dirt came out of the cream leather



Leather then treated with Gyeon Leather Coat, liked this a lot, went on nice and easily and smelt pretty good too.



Interior carpets and mats were cleaned with auto Finesse Total, as were the pedals











The gear gate and gear knob gently cleaned with Meguiar's metal polish





leaving the interior looking pretty good for a 17 year old car











Exterior plastics and rubber were dressed with Wolf's Trim Coat







Exhaust tailpipes were cleaned and scrubbed with Auto Finesse Mercury, a toothbrush and some wire wool. I think I needed something a little bit more heavy duty for these and would have liked to get them cleaner still, but they were a big improvement.







Then dressed with Backfire Wet Diamond all metal sealant







Exhaust before



Exhaust after



I only gave the engine a wipe down by hand, the V12 is a work of art and frankly I felt a little too fragile to be blasting away at with a pressure washer! Paint was already flaking from the engine cover, so caution was definitely the order of the day. I did treat it with Auto Finesse Dressle, leaving looking like this





Wheels sealed with Chemical Guys Wheel Guard



Tyres dressed with CarPro Perl





Arches dressed with Chemical Guys Bare Bones



This beautiful leather tool case was in the boot, this was also wiped down a treated with Gyeon Leather Coat







And finally, a wipe down with Auto Finesse Finale before the owner collected



After shots









































and my favourite reflection shot



Oh, and an Auto Finesse air freshener to match the yellow prancing horse 



Thanks for looking :thumb:


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## ibiza55 (Feb 22, 2008)

What a read, what dedication, what fine products used, excellent work on such a fine motor, lovely jubbly


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## s70rjw (Apr 18, 2006)

Great turnaround. What's next........


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## Tabbs (Aug 3, 2009)

Great job and car :thumb:


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## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

Great work and nice write up


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## chris.t (Jan 18, 2014)

Great work on a great car


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## Paul JC (Apr 15, 2007)

Great write up. Really enjoyed reading that!


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## W124coupe (Jun 8, 2014)

Great turnaround and a good write up.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Nice write up, nice car, bet the owner was as pleased as punch when he picked it up!
Good work fella


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## squiretolley (Mar 10, 2014)

Cracking job!


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## Ricky88 (May 17, 2015)

Superb job, you really put the sparkle back into that gem!


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## luke w (Dec 11, 2012)

Top job, cheers for posting!


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## cadmunkey (Jun 8, 2015)

Wow, superb attention to detail. Thanks for sharing, end result is brilliant.


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## Migliore (Jan 23, 2010)

Nice work!


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## gibbo555 (May 3, 2011)

Excellent write up, very thorough and detailed :thumb:

I'm sure the owner was very pleased with that! I actually hated these when first came out, they've aged very well and i like the look of them now.


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## carrera2s (Jun 28, 2009)

Great car and a great write up and pictures too. thanks :thumb:


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

You've done a fantastic job on that, well done! The owner bought at the right time too, my prediction is that these will start appreciating very nicely. Any Ferrari with the open gate manual box is a great investment.

Nice work!


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## Scoobr (Jan 9, 2008)

Thanks everyone for the kind comments :thumb:


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## Scoobr (Jan 9, 2008)

JBirchy said:


> You've done a fantastic job on that, well done! The owner bought at the right time too, my prediction is that these will start appreciating very nicely. Any Ferrari with the open gate manual box is a great investment.
> 
> Nice work!


Thanks mate.

Very true, current owner paid just 36k 5 years (list new was over 160k!), they are now moving back up in price.....


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Fantastic job:thumb:


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

I had the chance of buying a mint 348th at the Auto Italia show around 5 years ago for £24k

I ummed and ahh'd and thought it might be a money pit.
Could have made a decent 10-15k profit on it judging by todays prices.

Then again, I guess it would have cost me a few grand in servicing repairs, upkeep over 5 years.
Free motoring perhaps at least ? 

BTT and the car in question, yes they were looking a bargain too a few years back but the prices have jumped likewise.


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## AS_BO (Sep 29, 2013)

A lot of hours in that, really appreciate the attention to detail! Fantastic work buddy! 
I had a Clarkson video when I was younger and he visited Maranello when the 456 had just been released. The noise was enough for me and I've always loved them. Classic front engined V12, long nose GT car - stunning.


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## Dazzel81 (Apr 20, 2013)

Great work & write up fella :thumb:

never knew the hand brake was by the drivers door, learn something new every day :lol:


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## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

Beautiful. Cracking Job
Always loved these.


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## Dan Walker (Feb 2, 2013)

shame to see them get to this state. great job


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## Andrew Goacher (Dec 27, 2012)

really good write up, enjoyed this post, great work, well done!!


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

A great write up, loved ever image and detail you went in to and an amazing turnaround
Dave


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## Scoobr (Jan 9, 2008)

Thanks guys :thumb:


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## Scoobr (Jan 9, 2008)

James_R said:


> I had the chance of buying a mint 348th at the Auto Italia show around 5 years ago for £24k
> 
> I ummed and ahh'd and thought it might be a money pit.
> Could have made a decent 10-15k profit on it judging by todays prices.
> ...


It's interesting isn't it, how prices are creeping up again.

There is no doubt that it is a thing of beauty, but not sure I'd be brave enough 

Service this year, with belts came in at 4k :doublesho so if you are going to take the plunge you do need to take into account running costs and cost of ownership.


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## Scoobr (Jan 9, 2008)

AS_BO said:


> A lot of hours in that, really appreciate the attention to detail! Fantastic work buddy!
> I had a Clarkson video when I was younger and he visited Maranello when the 456 had just been released. The noise was enough for me and I've always loved them. Classic front engined V12, long nose GT car - stunning.


Thanks, must admit it was hard work this one!

You are right about the noise, sounds fantastic 

We have an integral garage and my teenage sons bedroom is above it, I certainly ruined his weekend lay ins when I started it up Saturday and Sunday morning :lol:


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## steveo1986 (Apr 8, 2013)

Great write up and fantastic job! :thumb:


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## Chicane (Mar 31, 2011)

i absolutely adore these cars, always have. best looking ferrari imo. well done with the clean up!


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

Cracking work.


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## Stu Mac (Aug 18, 2014)

Superb job mate, I wouldn't of minded seeing the owners face when he collected it


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## trow81 (May 10, 2015)

Really enjoyed reading this thread  makes me want to go detail my car right now thanks for posting


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## Glen B (Feb 28, 2014)

Lovely turnaround there, nice write up too.


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## Alex jb (Mar 23, 2015)

Great job!
2 full days on it, was the owner happy with the result?
Hope you charged well, 4k for a service... He should be able to afford a quality detail!


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## Scoobr (Jan 9, 2008)

Thanks guys :thumb:

Yes, the owner was very happy to see it restored to it's former glory.


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## irish pete (Feb 29, 2012)

Unreal work and one serious collection of products


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