# Ferrari 250 Lusso - "Enhancement" Detail



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Its been a while since I sat down and wrote up some of my detailing work, which I apollogise for - been snowed in with a shed load of PhD work and most of my weekends I've been detailing until silly-o'clock in the morning! Great fun, but leaves no time for writeups.

This detail was carried out by myself and Gordon, and organised by Mark at Raceglaze. 

This writeup will be a little different from normal for sure... especially if you are used to my writeups which generally focus around paint correction - however, there is more to detailing than that, and this car was not booked for a paint correction detail. Indeed seeing a lot of wetsanding and extreme paint correction, this detail is at the other end of the scale - enhancing the look of the finish with the minimum of paint removal possible and the reasons for this will become obvious  The brief for this detail was to take the car, which was over 40 years old for an loviongly cared for by its owners, and to enhance the look for it being part of a show. You may think that a paint correction detail would achieve this, but as you will see, this was simply not possible on the car in question. The car, well, here she is...




























The paintwork on the car was looking a little dull and faded, but certainly not in poor condition, especially when you consider that this is a 47 year old car. Under the lights, you could see some swirling however...



















And these lovely wire wheels were also looking just a little cloudy...



















Now at this stage, you may think that we got out the machine polishers and began merrily fully correcting the paint and restoring the finish to its original lustre... err, no. We'd have loved to. But, this car has been lovingly cared for for forty odd years, and also lovingly polished for the same length of time... alas, this had already resulted in regions of the finish, the primary areas being the front wing tops, already having been struck through! Any further machine polishing would have simply made this situation worse! Readings on the struck-through areas were, as you would expect, much thinner than areas of no damage but seeing this on a car instantly makes you tread very carefully indeed.

For a lot of regions, we machine polished the car by rotary using Menzerna PO85RD Final Finish on a polishing pad, just to tickle the finish and remove the worst of the swirls with minimum paint removal. Some before shots from the thicker regions on the car...
































































After using Menzerna PO85RD, a lot of the general swirls were removed with only very small paint removal - the key here was to enhance the gloss and remove the worst of the marring to improve the finish as far as possible. Full correction would have required a more aggressive combination but the key here was to _enhance_ the finish _safely_. We achieved;














































Its not perfect, but it is miles better given what we were working with in this detail. The boot lid was particularly badly marked...




























After taking many paint readings and satisfying ourselves that a slightly more aggressive polish would be suitable here, we stepped to PO106FA Final Finish on this, the thickest reading panel on the car by a comfortable 20 - 30um. This allowed a little fuller correction here...





































The front wings and bonnet of the car were reading the thinnest, and this is where the strike throughs were already present. For this reason we had to find a completely non-abrasive method of dealing with the marks on these panels...



















In the end we chose Clearkote Red Moose Machine Glaze applied by hand with a soft foam applicator pad, where the key here was on filling the marks (the only other choice, short of a respray). The results, as you would expect from this method, were not perfect but a notable improvement was achieved...










And a good gloss restored...



















The lovely wire wheels and brightwork around the car were treated with Zeppelin polishes - a new range developped with Briliant who for me make some of the finest metal polishes in the world. Zeppelin Custome Metal Polish was used by hand with a microfibre cloth and firm pressure, each small section worked for a good couple of minutes. Here, the dish of the alloy before...










and after...










Spokes were polished again by hand, wrapping a microfibre around the spokes to fully reach them. The new metal polishes from Zeppelin were easy to use, like their Briliant counterparts and proved very effective. They will be seeing more use from me in the coming months, but initial impressions in testing were good enough for me to use them on this detail and they didn't disappoint here. 

The car was protected using Raceglaze Signature Series 55 wax, a boutique wax that I know well for its durability in my experience of it compared to other waxes in and around its price-class. Lovely to use as well  Tyres were dressed using Espuma RD50, buffed to leave a more matt look. Glass cleaned with Stoner Invisible Glass.

The end results of this "enhancement" detail:




































































































As mentioned at the start, this detail is quite different to the norm and required very different approaches and style... not a full correction, even if we wanted to, we wouldn't have been able to on this car. But they key was to enhance the finish, make the car look as best as we could in the scope of our brief  This is one of the differences when it comes to working on classic cars - you do have to be prepared to significantly alter your ways, but this is what makes a car like this all very rewarding - we had to work to get the results using methods that we wouldn't normally choose... the end result is what matters though, and the owner was delighted with the car and we were pretty proud of our "enhancement" :thumb:


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

great finish Dave!

Top work:thumb:


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## wedgie (Apr 5, 2008)

Stunning work as always Dave :thumb::thumb::thumb:



Is that the happy owner standing at the door talking to gordon??


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## chrisc (Jun 15, 2008)

very nice the chrome sets it off


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

wedgie said:


> Stunning work as always Dave :thumb::thumb::thumb:
> 
> Is that the happy owner standing at the door talking to gordon??


It is indeed


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## 03OKH (May 2, 2009)

Very nice indeed :thumb:


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## *MAGIC* (Feb 22, 2007)

Great work guys.

Robbie


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## Scotch (Jul 23, 2009)

Great work, cracking finish.

Thanks for posting.


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

As ever Dave a great job. What is the car in the background?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Mirror Finish said:


> As ever Dave a great job. What is the car in the background?


The one being built - its a Sunbeam IIRC.


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

Cracking work mate! 

Am I missing something? Where's the pics of the rims?


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

what a beauty of a car!!!

nice work Dave:thumb:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

grantwils said:


> Cracking work mate!
> 
> Am I missing something? Where's the pics of the rims?


No, you're not - I've just forgotten to add them! One sec...


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## Amused (Nov 22, 2009)

Nice car...gotta love Ferrari red!


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Sorted - so used to my old laptop, you just click on the picture in Photobucket and it copies the link... but doesn't do that on my new one, so I'd inserted three of the same pic. Ooops. Ah well, sorted now.


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## pdv40 (Sep 11, 2008)

What an absolutely stunning car, I've seen one before in the metal and I was in awe of it.

Top job too :thumb:


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

superb work Dave and Gordon, stunning car :thumb:


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## GS300 (Dec 16, 2007)

I love it I think it was one of the best looking Ferrari's ever


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## raitkens83 (Jun 7, 2009)

What a cracking car, Great job done!


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## Racer (Oct 27, 2005)

Super Job There Dave :thumb:


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

Is it just me or are the six pics after the first one all the same Must get some of that metal polish to try.


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## Miglior (Feb 12, 2006)

That is a beautiful car dave, and you've lovingly brought about a proud shine, well done!


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## liammc (Mar 9, 2009)

another great detail dave and gordon.


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## Jody 4444 (Mar 12, 2009)

What a great car to work on and a very nice turn around too :thumb:


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

stunning as normal and bet thats worth a prity penny or two


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## Perfection Detailing (Nov 3, 2007)

Nice work on a lovely car....


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

Excellent work as always chaps :thumb: :thumb: and the first Ferrari from the 250 range to be seen on here to the best of my knowledge?

Great to see another side to detailing that's not primarily concerned with maximum correction, as not everyone one here owns new cars with plenty of paint to facilitate this, so it's welcome to see how it can be approached for those who don't know.

Lovely car, and a credit to the owner, (but all the stickers in the back window spoil the look for me personally). Other than that great car and post :thumb:


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## 123quackers (Jan 29, 2009)

Beautiful work on a beautiful car.... Its such a nice change to see classics being loved as well.... The Sunbeam behind must be a Tiger if the V8 on the floor is out of it??

Was the paint acrylic or cellulose do you know dave? coz tpa acrylic heats up and re floats under heat from memory....:wave::thumb:

Stunning work lovely to see a very rare 250 lusso


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## karburn (Feb 1, 2008)

Talk about walking on egg shells! You did a great job with such a delicate subject. Those wire wheels require more patience that I could muster, I'm afraid. WELL DONE. :thumb:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

123quackers said:


> Beautiful work on a beautiful car.... Its such a nice change to see classics being loved as well.... The Sunbeam behind must be a Tiger if the V8 on the floor is out of it??
> 
> Was the paint acrylic or cellulose do you know dave? coz tpa acrylic heats up and re floats under heat from memory....:wave::thumb:
> 
> Stunning work lovely to see a very rare 250 lusso


There were several V8s there  The owner was very interesting to speak to indeed, really knew his way around cars, especially classics and was a joy to chat with 

The paint on this car we were told was cellulose


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Nice work and a lovely car, but if i were the owner i couldn't live with that paint on such a beautiful classic and i'd be getting it resprayed in a heartbeat.


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Wow guys what an honour for you to work on such a beautiful car, those wire wheels are just perfection.

Where does this rank in the 'most enjoyable details' list?

Im not jealous at all lol.

Gav


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Thats the thing about classic car. You can get them resprayed. But loose all the luster and distinguishing marks that is part of the cars history also.
But the owner did in fairness mention this and It is now his sons responsibility. As he has handed it down to him.

What ever they decide to do. I guess in fairness up to them and the personal welfare of the car. Only time will tell.
On a personal point of view I would leave it as there is so much beauty in it as it is. Every classic has its own story to tell and is part of the cars history.
Gordon.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

rmorgan84 said:


> Nice work and a lovely car, but if i were the owner i couldn't live with that paint on such a beautiful classic and i'd be getting it resprayed in a heartbeat.


You'd loose the car's originaility there though - in some ways, this car is like an antique, its wearing marks which are part of its history... respray it and you loose all of that. Yes, it would look "better", but thats something I am learning about these older cars - preservation of originality is very important to the owners. From a detailing point of view in the quest for the perfect finish, a respray would be a must, but it wasn't the owner's aim... Perhaps the new owner will repsray her though as he may prefer to go for perfection in the terms of finish.



Detail Ecosse said:


> Wow guys what an honour for you to work on such a beautiful car, those wire wheels are just perfection.
> 
> Where does this rank in the 'most enjoyable details' list?
> 
> ...


It ranks very highly... but I enjoy any car I work on, every one throws up its little quaint challenges


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Dave KG said:


> It ranks very highly... but I enjoy any car I work on, every one throws up its little quaint challenges


Politician :thumb:


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Dave KG said:


> every one throws up its little quaint challenges


Especially the wheels. :lol:

He always is Gav. You should know this.


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## Mike Hunt (Jan 31, 2008)

caledonia said:


> Thats the thing about classic car. You can get them resprayed. But loose all the luster and distinguishing marks that is part of the cars history also.
> But the owner did in fairness mention this and It is now his sons responsibility. As he has handed it down to him.
> 
> What ever they decide to do. I guess in fairness up to them and the personal welfare of the car. Only time will tell.
> ...


One lucky lucky son, the originality issue I understand like my late 60's cellulose finished Fender strat, but that was one of tens of thousands. Refinishing it wouldn't be the end of the world as the logbook and service record tell its life story, but each to there own and what a position to be in to make that decision. Bella figura


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

:thumb::thumb:Stunning work indeed Dave!! :thumb::thumb:


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## 123quackers (Jan 29, 2009)

Dave KG said:


> You'd loose the car's originaility there though - in some ways, this car is like an antique, its wearing marks which are part of its history... respray it and you loose all of that. Yes, it would look "better", but thats something I am learning about these older cars - preservation of originality is very important to the owners. From a detailing point of view in the quest for the perfect finish, a respray would be a must, but it wasn't the owner's aim... Perhaps the new owner will repsray her though as he may prefer to go for perfection in the terms of finish.
> 
> It ranks very highly... but I enjoy any car I work on, every one throws up its little quaint challenges


Another issue is the paint for these cars, as Cellulose and Acrylic is I think banned in this country due to its VOC's.... So it would be base and clear or solid colour in a 2K material which gives a totally different finish... IMO keep it original unless you have to paint it...

Any micro blisters in this paint guys? they can be a pain on these old cars... They really can be fun to work on as they are so different.. Love the work:thumb:


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

Dave KG said:


> You'd loose the car's originaility there though - in some ways, this car is like an antique, its wearing marks which are part of its history... respray it and you loose all of that. Yes, it would look "better", but thats something I am learning about these older cars - preservation of originality is very important to the owners.


Agree 100% with this Dave and whilst I don't own a Ferrari or something as old and rare as this classic, one of my cars is in it's 21st year with all original paint, and even though almost everyone who sees it can't believe that, for me, with my 'detailer's eye', even though it's totally swirl free, there are still plenty of little RDSs that I know about and that do bug me a bit if I'm honest.

But they don't bug me enough to ever consider having it repainted (unless I had to of course), as then it becomes no different to the other cars of its type that have all had full or partial resprays. Like Dave says, I'd much rather have the pride of being able to say it's still got it's orginal paint, than have a totally flaw free finish on every square inch, even if that means living with the odd 'battle scar' (as annoying as they are for someone with OCD ).


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

I'm not sure I agree with keeping things original. Don't get me wrong. I understand why many would want to but if it was a door handle that was broken or an exhaust that was blowing we'd have no hesitation in replacing it. Why should we consider paint differently? If that sacrificial layer is past it's usefulness, then why stick with it. In this case Dave has said it already showed signs of strike though on the wing. I think that would do my head in and I'd be looking for a quality respray. It is a tough one but I'm not sure that respraying somehow removes character, it's just another part of the life story. Maybe it's because we tend to see so many poor resprays we consider it devaluing the car somehow or maybe we asscosiate resprays with bodywork repairs, ie. removing rust ect. But as I said, if it were an exhaust we'd have no hesitation would we?


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

AWESOME can't beat red paint on a Ferrari


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

spitfire said:


> I'm not sure I agree with keeping things original. Don't get me wrong. I understand why many would want to but if it was a door handle that was broken or an exhaust that was blowing we'd have no hesitation in replacing it. Why should we consider paint differently? If that sacrificial layer is past it's usefulness, then why stick with it. In this case Dave has said it already showed signs of strike though on the wing. I think that would do my head in and I'd be looking for a quality respray. It is a tough one but I'm not sure that respraying somehow removes character, it's just another part of the life story. Maybe it's because we tend to see so many poor resprays we consider it devaluing the car somehow or maybe we asscosiate resprays with bodywork repairs, ie. removing rust ect. But as I said, if it were an exhaust we'd have no hesitation would we?


Fair comment :thumb: and I guess it depends on the severity I guess. Strike through or any other such serious defect would have me thinking exactly the same, as I just couldn't live with that. But the odd little RDS that by polishing out could leave the paint perilously thin and with no further scope for correction at a later date, and that you've really got to look hard to spot isn't worth loosing the originality for imo.

I suppose you could think of it in terms of a painting (although admittedly it is a very loose analogy), if the vibrancy of the oils have faded over time and there are odd hairline cracks that are only visible when you're 6 inches away, it would be sacrilege to have someone 'touch it up' with fresh paint as it could then look like a modern reproduction and the character would be lost. If, however, there was a tear in the canvas or a chunk of the frame was missing, then of course it would need attention - in the same way as a mechanical part of the car like an exhaust would.

Unless you actually own a car that's a couple of decades old or more that's still got it's original paintwork, it's hard to convey what trying to preserve it's factory finish means to the owner 

Interesting discussion, and apologies to Dave as it's taking his thread off topic a little.


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

Viper said:


> Fair comment :thumb: and I guess it depends on the severity I guess. Strike through or any other such serious defect would have me thinking exactly the same, as I just couldn't live with that. But the odd little RDS that by polishing out could leave the paint perilously thin and with no further scope for correction at a later date, and that you've really got to look hard to spot isn't worth loosing the originality for imo.
> 
> I suppose you could think of it in terms of a painting (although admittedly it is a very loose analogy), if the vibrancy of the oils have faded over time and there are odd hairline cracks that are only visible when you're 6 inches away, it would be sacrilege to have someone 'touch it up' with fresh paint as it could then look like a modern reproduction and the character would be lost. If, however, there was a tear in the canvas or a chunk of the frame was missing, then of course it would need attention - in the same way as a mechanical part of the car like an exhaust would.
> 
> ...


Yes apologise to Dave although I know Dave doesn't mind healthy debate. Maybe best for another thread though sometime.:thumb:


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## dodger (May 20, 2006)

Very nice work Dave and the team.

One question though, wouldn't a PC be better than a rotary on this occasion as it can produce the same result but removing less clearcoat/paint or have i missed the point


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

cracking detail gang on an absolute stunner :thumb: Always the classics for me, and this is one of the most beautiful ever to grace the virtual airwaves of DW IMHO.

Not sure where I stand on the respray debate, owning a 40 year old fully rebuilt (and repainted) classic myself but our Rolls has the same issue where some monkey struck through on the ridges of the front wings years ago :wall:


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

Lovely, sympathetic, restoration of the paint on an awesome classsic guys. Much respect for the end result on a difficult subject. :thumb:

That was surely a great pleasure and privilege to work on. 

Alan W


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## ross-1888 (Feb 22, 2009)

car looks good for an old dear


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## nick1275 (Jun 7, 2007)

lovely finish there dave


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## MickCTR (Mar 4, 2006)

Dave, you lucky so and so! Excellent work!!!


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

I agree with Dave - I come across many seriously old cars, some very valuable, like the 250GT Europa that was runner up in Car of the Show at the NEC last month - 1961 paint, not perfect any more, but only 7 years younger than the car itself and the owner will be keeping it on. And I know this owner didn't want to respray it as it was his fathers car from new and he was the one who overpolished it, so memories are in that for him.
Originality is important for valuable cars, many owners keep the broken parts even, and you'd expect old things to show some life scars, like a country house or a person - do we refront old buildings everytime they start to show patina or have facelifts ? I'd prefer not too, we'd always lose something.
Chris Evans paid £6m for a Ferrari with shocking paintwork - big cracks on the bonnet, but it didn't affect the desirablity of the car, even though he may well have it in the bodyshop this winter for painting in his customary white. While DW's will look hard to at the condition of the paint, those who lust after old cars often don't notice it or consider it important. Its like being a drummer - it ruined my appreciation of music as I'm always listening to the drummers work, not the overall sound. I think cars are best appreciated as a whole too.


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

What a machine! Looks stunnings!!

Well done guys.


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## HDog (Oct 4, 2009)

Wow, fantastic job!! Those cars are beautiful, not sure i will be saying that about the F430 in 40 years time!!

How long will the areas polished with the filler last approx before it will need re-applying?? I guess the wax will protect for a good while if not used and washed regularly.


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

RaceGlazer said:


> I agree with Dave - I come across many seriously old cars, some very valuable, like the 250GT Europa that was runner up in Car of the Show at the NEC last month - 1961 paint, not perfect any more, but only 7 years younger than the car itself and the owner will be keeping it on. And I know this owner didn't want to respray it as it was his fathers car from new and he was the one who overpolished it, so memories are in that for him.
> Originality is important for valuable cars, many owners keep the broken parts even, and you'd expect old things to show some life scars, like a country house or a person - do we refront old buildings everytime they start to show patina or have facelifts ? I'd prefer not too, we'd always lose something.
> Chris Evans paid £6m for a Ferrari with shocking paintwork - big cracks on the bonnet, but it didn't affect the desirablity of the car, even though he may well have it in the bodyshop this winter for painting in his customary white. While DW's will look hard to at the condition of the paint, those who lust after old cars often don't notice it or consider it important. *Its like being a drummer - it ruined my appreciation of music as I'm always listening to the drummers work, not the overall sound. I think cars are best appreciated as a whole too*.


Funny you should say that, several years ago my best mate at the time was a drummer (I strum the guitar a bit; only for fun now, but we were in a band back in the day). Anyway, he used to say exactly the same thing to me.

An interesting point that our 'detailers eyes' can in some ways, be a bit of a burden to carry around. I've experienced this myself, as have many of you guys I suspect, when visiting car shows and found myself scrutinising the paintwork and failing to appreciate the car as a whole.

In fact at some shows, when the weather's been a bit overcast and the sun's only been coming out intermittantly, I've actually found myself hanging around a particular car I'd only viewed in shade, waiting for the sun to hit it so I can see what the true condition of the finish is like - how sad is that 

I try to leave my 'detailer's' head at home these days and just don my 'petrol' head (in true Wurzel Gummidge (sp) fashion), so I can enjoy a day out.

Just one final thing there you mentioned, and what came from the horse's mouth on Top Gear the other week; does Chris really have all his Ferrari collection repainted white? On some models I can see that working, but really?


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

I'll let you know - I hope to see the collection sometime soon..........but I know his Dino, 288GTO have been repainted white, his California Spider is Giallo Fly but he's only had it since June so maybe not had time to get it done ! Not 100% sure on the rest.


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## edition (Sep 7, 2008)

Stunning car!


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## 123quackers (Jan 29, 2009)

RaceGlazer said:


> I'll let you know - I hope to see the collection sometime soon..........but I know his Dino, 288GTO have been repainted white, his California Spider is Giallo Fly but he's only had it since June so maybe not had time to get it done ! Not 100% sure on the rest.


his F40 is white also:thumb:


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## GAZA62 (Jan 23, 2007)

Nice work Dave :thumb:cars like that must be a joy to work on something special about detailing an older car


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

very nice Dave indeed..

here are a few pics of mr Evans' ferrari's

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/chris-evans-ferrari?imageNo=0


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Top job :thumb:


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