Black Ferrari F430 Paint Correction

Eric Schuster

13 years ago

Every so often, we see these super cars and something is just not right with the paint. Whether it be swirl marks taking away from the deep gloss, scratches that hinder perfect reflections, or faded paint creating a cloudy appearance, there is usually a remedy that can restore that brand new gloss and luster to the paint…that’s called paint correction.

Paint correction is a process in which the paint is refined until all defects are removed and a truly liquid-like state is returned to the paint on the car! It’s a labor of love that takes tremendous amount of time and patience. It would be a perfect world if it was possible to get a true paint correction detail done in just 2 hours, but truth be told, it takes hours upon hours to do things correctly. This Ferrari F430 took me just over 14 hours, and that was because the front half of the hood and fenders were protected in a clear film, so heavy polishing wasn’t necessary, only a light polishing over that area. Otherwise, I would have had another two hours (or more) on the car probably!

Starting out with a wash to remove all grime, wax protection using Chemical Guys Citrus Wash & Clear. I first applied with a foam gun to get some initial loosening of dirt and grime to be broken down before washing traditionally.

Notice the lack of beading in this next picture. This is a good way to tell if there is still protection on the car. The more beading the strong the protection, less to no beading, nothing on the paint!

For Drying, I used the wonderful WW towel from DI

Wheels and brake calipers were cleaned up with Sonax wheel cleaner, EZ Detail Brush, while the tires were hit with Meguiar’s Degreaser to remove old tire dressing. They would later be topped with Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing at a 2:1 ratio (water:product)

After shot

Here I am claying the car with the Detailed Image fine grade clay bar with Meguiar’s Last Touch for lubricant.

Next step, crucial for true paint correction jobs…THE TAPE OFF! Stained and burned trim will really take away from perfectly polished paint, so it’s best to tape it off and protect it.

Next up, here are the before pictures that I took. You can clearly see the damage in the paint from previous car washings, and some hologramming from improper use of a rotary polisher in the past. Rest assured, that type of damage can be removed with the proper technique and product combos. If your car looks like this, you need to get it to a reputable detailer in your area as soon as possible! No one should have to drive around in a car looking like this, especially not in an exotic!

Now for some shots in side under different lighting of different areas.

Now that you have seen the damage, it’s time to reveal the final results after 14 hours of prepping, decontaminating, compounding, polishing, sealing, cleaning up on this beautiful Black Ferrari F430!!!