This article is written by Jeff McEachran, National Brand Manager of Gyeon quartz USA and Owner of Denver Auto Shield in Denver, CO.
To break up the How To content a bit, I thought we’d highlight a recent project through the shop and show some of the GYEON quartz products in action. Denver Auto Shield is located 10 mins directly South of downtown Denver. We operate out of a 2200 sf shop and are expanding in to 4800 sf at the end of this year. We have 3 awesome full time employees (one of which is Jared McEachran, part owner of the shop, and my brother) as well as a full time photographer/videographer/graphic designer who splits duties between Gyeon and the shop. We specialize in large area Clear Bra, Coatings, and Paint Correction.
We are heavily involved with our local Ferrari community, sponsoring the FCA locally, hosting yearly events, and contributing to their Newsletter. As part of our Sponsorship of Denver’s yearly Italian only car show, Automezzi, we ran a Show Special for the FCA designed as a single day service to focus on the areas of the car most needed to have it well presented at the show. We limited the offering to 5 cars and included a full photo album of the process for download as well as a short video of the process and show coverage. The service is intended as a “light” detail at an entry price point designed to bring people in who we have not yet done business with. We sold out the special quickly and booked in a 355, 456 GT, 360 Spider, this 575 Maranello, and a 488.
The goal was to allocate our time towards the areas that we could make the most improvement, which to no surprise on any of the cars was the paint. The 456 GT was actually in fantastic condition and a good portion of the time went in to the interior. So lets run through the 575!
The first step is always a thorough decontamination of every inch of the car starting with Gyeon quartz Q²M Foam to help remove the loose dirt and contaminant from the surface before we physically touch the paint.
Next, we clean the wheels with Gyeon quartz Q²M Iron to remove the embedded metallic filaments from the brake dust as well as accumulated road grime. After the wheels are clean, we rinse the Foam from the car and apply Q²M Iron to the paint.
After the Q²M Iron has had a few moments to dwell on the paint, we rinse it off and wash with Q²M Bathe and the Q²M Smoothie Wash Mitt. We clay’d this car as well, but missed a few pictures.
Once the paint is perfectly clean and decontaminated we can evaluate its condition. As expected, the paint was showing the usual light to medium surface marring of an older Ferrari. There were a few deeper spots we did not chase.
We went with a Single Stage polish using the Rupes LHR15 Mark II with the Rupes Yellow Pad and SONAX Perfect Finish. This is a very consistent combination on Rosso Corsa Ferrari Paint, when you know you aren’t chasing deeper defects and want the most bang for the time spent. Blair Gilpatrick knocked this one out of the park.
With the paint in proper shape, we can move on to a bit of protection and a bump in gloss. We went with Gyeon quartz Q² CanCoat on the paint and wheel faces on most of these Ferrari Show Specials for its ease of use and fast application. But first we need to remove the polishing oils and lubricants from the paint with Gyeon quartz Q²M Prep.
Once the paint is clean, it is time for Gyeon quartz Q² CanCoat. Q² CanCoat is very quick and easy to apply. Just spray 1 or 2 sprays on to the included microfiber towel, or here I used a Q²M BaldWipe as it is a similar short pile height which I like for application. Make sure to cup the sprayer to control over spray. Using a relatively quick arm speed just work it in to a shoulder width area until the product nearly disappears. The carrier solvent will evaporate out quickly. Q² CanCoat is not meant to dwell on the paint, but to be moved across quickly and any excess material wiped up immediately. I use a hand held light during application and removal so I can see where too much material is built up or where I need to remove more. This helps a ton. I use a longer fiber towel like the Q² SoftWipe for removal as I want as much absorption as possible.
And this 575 is complete! We were able to make a huge impact on the presence of this car in a short amount of time. It has a ton of gloss and is well protected. A quick clean up of the interior and engine bay and it is ready for the show. This was not a “perfection” style detail. It was an entry level service designed to make a major visual impact. We had roughly 6 hours in to the service from start to finish. 1.5 hours to wash and decontamination. 3 hours in to a single stage polish, where we did not break out the 3″ machines and did not look to perfect every inch. 1 hour to Prep and apply CanCoat. And another 30 mins to quickly tighten up the interior, glass, tires, and engine bay.
