Projects l Porsche 918 Spyder l Ceramic Coating l Final Photos (Part 3)
by James MelfiThis is the third part of a four-part article series by James Melfi of Auto Nuvo. In this series, James takes a beautiful jet black Porsche 918 Spyder and performs various detailing steps. Everything from inspection, washing, drying, polishing and even clear bra installation will be covered! To view all of the articles in this series click here.
With all exterior surfaces covered in top coated paint protection film, it was time to turn our attention to coating every surface on this vehicle in our full range of ceramic coatings.
If you missed our clear bra installation, refer to Part 2.
Since this car wasn’t going to be shy at the track, we chose coatings surrounded around ease of maintenance and enhanced gloss–serious gloss. We wiped the film down again with isopropyl alcohol to ensure there wasn’t any soap residue left behind from the film install.
We chose 22ple’s exclusive pro-only ZX Mistico Elemento glass coating for all the paintwork. We laid down three layers of Mistico, letting the coating flash on the surface for 10 minutes before wiping off with a CarPro BOA towel. We cured each individual layer allowing for a harder, stronger, more vibrant coating. Mistico is one of our favorite coatings providing unsurpassed levels of gloss and depth of shine. After all the paint was coated and had cooled down we topped it off with a few coats of 22ple VS1 to protect the coating from water spotting and adding lots of slickness. VS1 can actually improve the scratch resistance of the surface if used regularly after each wash.
The exhaust housing and surrounding area was coating with 2 layers of 22ple VM1 metal coat. VM1 provides excellent protection while also being able to withstand high temperatures.
Ian and myself applying the first layer, long road ahead
All the leather in the cabin was coated with two layers of CarPro Leather, a two year leather coating providing stain resistance and extreme hydrophobic properties without changing the appearance of the material.
Glass protection went nuclear as well with 6 layers of CarPro Flyby Forte on the windshield, side and rear mirrors. 
The main goal with the wheels was to protect them against tar and rubber buildup. We choose two base layers of 22ple VM1 Rim + Metal coat topped with two layers of ZX Mistico Elemento and finished with VS1. The tires were treated with a few coats Gyeon Q2 tire and heated.
All the paintwork was coated, I mean all of it!
Final shots, in total we worked on this beauty for about 7 days and had about 50 hours into it. Worth it in the end!
In part 4, the final part of this 4-part series, we fast forward 4 months and perform a track day maintenance clean up!
Buy Products From This Article
WOW. That was an epic project and I enjoyed reading it.
With your experience, do you think the coating has any effect on the self healing properties of the clear bra?
From what we have seen it will only aid in keeping the film in pristine condition. Thanks for reading
Incredible work by you and your crew. The pictures speak for themselves. The picture of the rear is very unique. Your camera angle shows more aero/styling than I’ve seen before. It almost looks like a very subtle HDR photo. Nice work and thank you for the write up.
Thank you for the kind words, it was a fun project to say the least
Struggling for the rights words James… masters at work!
Truly inspiring.
thanks bryce!
When applying the VS1, did you just spray on and wipe off using microfibers or did you utilize the 22ple applicator pad or something along that line?
We use the two towel method, spray two sprays of VS1 into a high quality microfiber wipe onto surface then flip towel to remove residue. The second towel is used to catch any remaining residue.
why the mask?
The harsh chemicals used in coatings aren’t the best for breathing in, so we use them as a health precaution.
James, that’s an awesome protective mask. Where did you get it, name?
Tom Compton
Without a doubt, one of the most BEAUTIFUL Porsche’s ever created. Ferdinand Porsche himself would be extremely proud of what his company and more importantly the vehicles have become. Incredible detailing work as well on that Porsche 918 Spyder and the tremendous work you did only brings out the natural beauty of the vehicle. Stunning work. And that tip about the “water polishing” in Article 1 in the series was really informative.
I have a question about ceramic coating. I recently bought a used vehicle that I found out after the fact had been repainted. Its a flat tan Jeep wrangler. I was wondering how I can find out if it was ceramic coated prior because the guy spent a lot of money on the paint job and even rhino lined the entire interior. The only reason I even think theres a chance is because a month after I owner it I rinsed off some mud and all the water was beading right off. This vehicle was owned by a dealership for about 2 months. He seemed to have done everything to make life easier to clean a muddy jeep. thank you very much and keep up the great work.