high-end car paint

Originally Posted by MrGoodBytes

Click to expand...

yup! fully agree. going through the paint process myself I can see why the price is that high.... will never paint another car.
I remember seeing pics a few years back on another forum of a guy who had his NSX repainted. IIRC the cost was $7k, and the guy doing the work pretty much took the car apart - then said if he were to do it all over again, he'd have charged $10k.

Originally Posted by Aaron

Click to expand...

@Turboman - Ferrari paint seems really delicate to me. A family friend runs a high-end autobody shop that deals primarily in Ferrari and other exotics. When I visit I'm always surprised when fairly new Ferraris with low miles are in for fender and nose resprays because of rock chips. That might also have to do with the cars being lower to the ground but it's not something I typically see on something like a Porsche.

Have you ever seen a ferrari stripped? Welds are terrible, paintwork shoddy, etc.

They only build road cars to fund their racing program.

Originally Posted by jet

Click to expand...

Have you ever seen a ferrari stripped? Welds are terrible, paintwork shoddy, etc. They only build road cars to fund their racing program.
I have, it is disconcerting to see the quality of some of the carbon work, especially when I compare it with the craftsmanship on my road bikes. Apparently ordering parts is also a nightmare. He now buys wrecks off ebay just for the parts. The back of his shop is a sad, sad place. Last time I was there an F430 was getting new suspension and underbody aerodynamics (what is that called again?) because a teenager had taken it out for a test drive, spun it and went over a curb.

Originally Posted by Logan

Click to expand...

The Ferrari F40 has paint so thin you can see the carbon weave through it, rock chips would be impossible to avoid without doing the worst thing you can do to a car, putting a bra on it.
That has more to do with weight savings than quality. Their GT cars aren't like that.

I was picking up a F360 (is that right) from one of the big shops down in Miami.

The owner was like, man ferrari is the worst. He had Shaq's ferrari there and said it almost caught fire because he didn't drive it for 6 months and the fuel lines cracked.

So I get about 20 miles down the road and the F360 breaks down and the shop had to come get it.


Another time I was riding shot gun with a friend in his 308. One of those cars from when I was a kid. The spark plug wires wouldn't stay on the plugs and this light kept coming on. This light warns you about fuel pouring into the cat it seems. Placed right behind the steering wheel so the driver cannot see it. So I say "is that light important?" HAHA

Turns out had I not told him the car would have went up in flames. This is also what causes all the Ferrari fires you hear about I guess.



Most of the ferraris have serious orange peel like on your typical cheap car. They don't wet sand between paint and clear coat. And the sad thing is Ferrari has never tried to hide the fact that they don't care about the customers, they just want to race.

Originally Posted by Aaron

Click to expand...

That has more to do with weight savings than quality. Their GT cars aren't like that.

Their paint process just sucked back then. You can see the weave of the CF through the paint on the F50 too. You can't on the Enzo. Their painting is now great. A lot of the problem is in dealer prep. These cars are tested about 100 miles and then shipped overseas - they are all going to have some swirls and some paint problems. It's up to the dealer to identify and rectify them. This does not always happen if you're dealer isn't the best.

Does the dealer also re-weld the chassis/frame?

Ahhh, got to love SF, where Ferraris suck.

Originally Posted by turboman808

Click to expand...

The owner was like, man ferrari is the worst. He had Shaq's ferrari there and said it almost caught fire because he didn't drive it for 6 months and the fuel lines cracked. Another time I was riding shot gun with a friend in his 308. One of those cars from when I was a kid. The spark plug wires wouldn't stay on the plugs and this light kept coming on. This light warns you about fuel pouring into the cat it seems. Placed right behind the steering wheel so the driver cannot see it. So I say "is that light important?" HAHA Turns out had I not told him the car would have went up in flames. This is also what causes all the Ferrari fires you hear about I guess. Most of the ferraris have serious orange peel like on your typical cheap car. They don't wet sand between paint and clear coat. And the sad thing is Ferrari has never tried to hide the fact that they don't care about the customers, they just want to race.
1. Fuel lines won't crack if you don't drive the car. 2. Do you think that we are supposed to believe that you and your moronic friend couldn't notice when a plug wire falls off, and the engine starts to misfire? That is practically impossible because of they way they are designed. Not to mention the terrible ******* sound the engine would start to make. Stop being so ******* stupid, if you're going to make something up, make it believable. 3. Do you know what a cat does? It burns off excess fuel, and wouldn't cause a fire. I'm not too sure what causes other Ferrari fires, but in the new 458, glue in the rear wheel arches can get too hot and catch fire (only 5 so far) NOT fuel in the cat. So please, take your bullshit stories elsewhere.

Originally Posted by jet

Click to expand...

Does the dealer also re-weld the chassis/frame?

I've been to the factory, and it's certainly a fascinating, impressive experience.

National Geographic did a whole special on the factory, which is a great watch IMO: http://www.tv.com/video/10514426/ult...ories--ferrari

Originally Posted by Logan

Click to expand...

1. Fuel lines won't crack if you don't drive the car.

2. Do you think that we are supposed to believe that you and your moronic friend couldn't notice when a plug wire falls off, and the engine starts to misfire? That is practically impossible because of they way they are designed. Not to mention the terrible ******* sound the engine would start to make. Stop being so ******* stupid, if you're going to make something up, make it believable.

3. Do you know what a cat does? It burns off excess fuel, and wouldn't cause a fire. I'm not too sure what causes other Ferrari fires, but in the new 458, glue in the rear wheel arches can get too hot and catch fire (only 5 so far) NOT fuel in the cat.

So please, take your bullshit stories elsewhere.

Oh yes everyone is lying in the internet. Thanks for the reminder.

Originally Posted by turboman808

Click to expand...

Oh yes everyone is lying in the internet. Thanks for the reminder.

Well every thing you said seems like bullshit. What the **** were the fuel lines made out of that they cracked, paper mache? I have had a car sit for close to two years and never had that happen. That was on a car that was no where near the cost of a Ferrari. And a warning light that tells you the plug wire fell off/the cat is getting saturated with fuel? Holy ****, I have heard some dumb **** in my day, but that is probably in the top 10.

Originally Posted by turboman808

Click to expand...

He had Shaq's ferrari there and said it almost caught fire because he didn't drive it for 6 months and the fuel lines cracked.

Shaq's ferrari is notorious in the F-car community for being an unmaintained POS. He took a 456 and had some chop shop in Texas make it a convertible (only way he could fit in the car); repainted it some horrendous color; and generally f*d up the whole thing. It's been on and off ebay a dozen times looking for a buyer, but nobody seems stupid enough to pull the trigger (even sub $30K).

Originally Posted by Logan

Click to expand...

Well every thing you said seems like bullshit. What the **** were the fuel lines made out of that they cracked, paper mache? I have had a car sit for close to two years and never had that happen. That was on a car that was no where near the cost of a Ferrari. And a warning light that tells you the plug wire fell off/the cat is getting saturated with fuel? Holy ****, I have heard some dumb **** in my day, but that is probably in the top 10.
Hm. Do you like to feel dumb? Prepare to, because your post is some seriously ignorant ****. The Ferrari 308s for the U.S. market (where emissions required Cats), did indeed have what were called "Slow Down" indicators, one for each cylinder bank, that illuminated when the cats were overheating. And while they don't tell you 'hey a plug wire came off' the most common cause of overheating was a dead cylinder dumping fuel into the exhaust -- an effect for which a bad wire is a prime cause. Though cats are meant to scavenge unburnt fuel (and other compounds), they're not meant to 'burn' raw fuel -- something that surely could cause an engine fire. I happen to know about this because of my experience with Jaguar XJ-S's of the same vintage that had Italian fuel injection (Marelli) -- there was a failure mode that would result in losing ignition to an entire 6-cylinder bank. All that raw fuel quickly overheated that cat and numerous cars went up in flames -- Google "Kirby Palm Jaguar" and download the book about the XJ-S and you can read about this failure in detail, along with stories from people who've had it happen. Most Marelli drivers now install pretty much the same system as in the 308, so they know if the failure occurs. Some even have fuel-cutoff switches for each bank so they can kill fuel to the dead bank and 'limp-home' on the other six cylinders. Also, a lot of European rubber (my field is elastomers) had very poor aging qualities because of a high proportion of natural isoprene rubber in the compound. Engines are prime environments for them to dry out, become brittle, and crack when exposed to pressure. This type of failure is not one you can predict by short-term testing, so they didn't know it was going to happen. Part of my job (in another field) includes methods and apparatus for life-prediction of rubbers, and I understand how challenging that is, and so am not surprised that it seems ridiculous to someone who doesn't understand the complexity. I know this happens, not merely from my work, but in cars, as XJ-S fuel lines from the rail to the injectors frequently suffered from this issue as the cars got a little older and sat around -- the solvents in fuel attack the plasticizers (agents that keep rubber pliable) in the rubber while thermo-oxidative degredation starts breaking down the polymer chain backbone -- after that happens, if the rubber is allowed to dry out, it loses the solvents that had taken the place of the plasticizers -- the last thing that kept it alive. It becomes extremely brittle, and at least in the Jags, couldn't tolerate the high pressure in the rail combined with general engine vibration (they used the short rubber hoses to mitigate the vibration that might have resulted in hard lines fatigue cracking). Again, you can read about that in Palm's book. So turbo's story here is hardly out of the realm of reason.

Originally Posted by Logan

Click to expand...

2. Do you think that we are supposed to believe that you and your moronic friend couldn't notice when a plug wire falls off, and the engine starts to misfire? That is practically impossible because of they way they are designed. Not to mention the terrible ******* sound the engine would start to make. Stop being so ******* stupid, if you're going to make something up, make it believable.
This is also pretty ignorant. Losing one cylinder is not always the most noticeable thing in the world, I realize it depends on a lot of factors, but you don't have to be a 'moron' to miss it. "Terrible ******* sound?" From what? What extra thing will be happening in that cylinder to make such racket? The main effect is that it throws the engine out of balance, but if the mounts are decent it won't be a 'terrible ******* sound.' And yes, the exhaust note will be off, it will be a little uneven, and how noticeable that will be depends on a lot of things. I know for certain you'll never notice it on an idling V-12, and some American V-8s with that warbling firing order can also make it hard to tell. Geez. You know, it's OK to be wrong, but the righteousness with which you tout your ignorance as truth makes you look like a donkey. ~ H

if your 100% serious about this i can probably help you.

Originally Posted by jet

Click to expand...

All you would have to do really I would imagine is asking a high end body shop who will be able to provide sikkens or glasurit.

Glasurit is the premium BASF paint... very good, it's on one of my cars. $5k - $6k job to do it right, and that was on a $4k car

painting all removable panels off the car, removing front and rear glass, removing all trim around the side glass etc. etc. that's how to do it properly... among other things

if you're changing the colour completely it better be worth it... highly recommend not doing that.

Originally Posted by Logan

Click to expand...

Don't be surprised to spend $3000 or more for a decent job. If you can do any prep work yourself, do it.

for a good paint job the materials alone will be nearly $2k for a complete.