Lamborghini LP560-4 110 hour detail...

Having put it off for what seems far too long now, I have finally got round to putting all the pics for this together so now I can finally post the second part of the Ne Plus Ultra detail we did on the LP560 back in the summer.

For those that haven't seen it, the first part (HD video) can be seen here: Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Ne Plus Ultra The Polished Bliss Blog


So now, for the full write up:


The car belongs to the owner of the previous Balloon White Gallardo we did our first Ne Plus Ultra on and after trading it in to the dealership this was it's replacement. The dealership used the DW write up as a selling point for the old car when they took it in and the new owner actually contacted me a short time after to say he'd purchased the car unseen but had full confidence due to the in depth write up he was able to view on DW - pretty cool!


The LP560 was brand spanking new and the owner wanted the same level of detail as his previous Gallardo. Unfortunately we had to put the big detail on hold until we could get a clear 10 days to do it. The car is one of 5 cars the owner has on monthly contracts with us so I was able to do a couple of protection details on it in between which also gave me a good space of time to decide how long we would need the car for. The reason we needed 10 days will become obvious shortly but first we'll get on to the process:


The car hadn’t moved much since the last protection detail I'd given it a week or two previous so after collecting it from the owners house (I know - it's a hard life sometimes!) this was how it looked with approx 500 miles on the clock from memory:















Onto the wheels and arches first, but after a quick press of this button...



...which helps give a bit more access to the fronts:




The wheels were given a good rinse off with the pressure washer before cleaning - the Blackfire Metal Sealant applied a few weeks previous was still doing its job well:




Gloss-It Wheel Gel (4:1) was applied...



...Then agitated...






They were then rinsed off before I applied Meguiars Super Degreaser to the arches and tyres:



Agitated again:




Then rinsed:




The engine bay was no more than a bit dusty as I had previously attended to this too:



One of the covers was removed to gain access underneath:



Then Meguiars APC (4:1) was applied, agitated then rinsed:




All exterior trim/shuts etc were then done in the same way:










The car was then foamed with R222 @ 60 degrees:




Left to dwell for a few minutes:




Then rinsed off:




Zymol Vintage beading away nicely:




Meguiars Shampoo Plus and the 2 Bucket Method with Lambswool Mitt was then used to wash the car:






There were very little tar spots on the car after rinsing so it was straight inside ready for claying.

Meguiars Mild with plain water for lubricant:



Including the shuts:




There were quite a few tar spots on the engine bay underneath the cover I'd removed so these were quickly removed with Tardis:

Before:



After:




I then dried the car off with some Luxury Drying Towels and the Black Baron Drier:





Now to show the level of defects in the paintwork - remember this is how it left the production line...

Deep clusters of RIDS? Check!






Sanding marks? Check!










Pig tails/Micro-marring from sanding discs? Check!










Buffer trails? check!








Some more random defects:






The doors and rear quarters on both sides also had very long vertical scratches which was a bit odd:







So as you can see, more than enough to keep me busy!


I removed a few bits and pieces to make polishing easier:








I then took detailed paint readings. Luckily the paint was showing healthy levels, the lowest reading I could find was 173 microns:




The plastics were pretty good too:






As always, to determine how much paint I was going to remove once on my chosen polish and pad combination I set up the laser pen to show an accurate point on the paint to take readings from:




(Approx 15-20 readings were taken each time on the same spot with an average taken from the readings)


First combination I tried was Menzerna 3.02 and a Gloss-It Polishing Pad:



This barely even removed the marring and light swirls and paint removal wasn’t even noticeable.


Next was Gloss-It's Beta Extreme Cut and a Gloss-It Fast Cut Pad:



This was a bit of an improvement with a paint removal rate of around 1-2 microns max.


I ended up settling for Meguiars 105 (with Menzerna S100 on some of the worst areas) and a Grey Gloss-It Wool Pad:



The paint was the hardest paint I'd ever polished and even with this aggressive combination @circa 2500rpm's I was only seeing a couple of microns removed. The worst affected areas needed as much as 5 hits in places to achieve full correction but in general, 2-3 attempts usually worked.


The Pillars weren't too bad so I got away with Megs 105 and a white lambswool Gloss-It pad for these sections:




Couple of before and afters:

Before:



After:




Before:



After:





Whilst wool (and heavy compounding in general) can produce a fair bit of dust, providing you keep spurring the pad then there's no reason to get any product sling etc:





As I was working along I managed to get a good pic to show the severity of the sanding marks in places:



Even with the Sun Gun directed away from the panel slightly:




Along with the above, this section on the passenger door was one of the worst areas:



After 5 hits and approx 8 microns removed:





Vertical scratches on rear quarter before:



After:





Before:



After:





Large Gloss-It Grey was needed to remove the micro-marring under the badge:






Rear bumper before:



After:





Before:



After:





With all the stage 1 correction done it was time for stage 2. This consisted of Menzerna 3.02 and a Gloss-It Fast Cut Pad:






Stage 3 consisted of Menzerna 85RE and a Gloss-It Finishing Pad:




After a thorough IPA wipe down:




So after around 75 hours of machine polishing it was time to lay down some protection. Product of choice for this was Project Awesome applied via a Gloss-It finishing pad and G220 @ Speed 5:




This was left for an hour or so and then buffed off:




I then applied 3 coats of Gloss-It Concorso over the next remaining day or so while I attended to all the other remaining details.

This was applied by hand:





So in between applying those 3 coats I turned my attention to the wheels.

We double checked with a Lamborghini Technician on where the best place to jack a Gallardo was from. The fronts were fairly obvious (although you have to do it very slowly or the windscreen can crack :doublesho) but the rear needed to be under the solid beam going under the gearbox/diff:




(Our Insurance fully covers us to remove wheels)


The wheel bolts were letting the wheels down as these were already chipped somehow, so I put them in our new Hi-Tech spray booth - or card board box if you want to be pedantic...




After a going over with some Satin Black paint they looked like new again:




I then gave the arches and callipers a good going over with some APC and Werkstat Prime Strong - not much to clean anyways as there was only a couple hundred miles worth of grime to remove. The arch liners were then dressed with Gloss-It TRV for the natural look:




The wheels were then corrected with a Gloss-It Polishing Pad and Menzerna 203S...




...Then Cleansed with Werkstat Prime Acrylic:




Blackfire Metal Sealant was then applied and left until you could leave a clean swipe with your finger (indicating that it had cured):




Centre caps got the same process:






Wheel back on and a couple of coats of Gloss-It Tyre Dressing and this was how it looked:






Same process for the fronts:






Once all 4 corners had been done I torqued the wheel bolts up to the correct torque setting...



...then added some Gloss-It Concorso for an extra bit of protection and bling:







The interior was fully detailed, including a thorough hoover and dusting of vents etc:




Glass cleaned in and out:



Using the Sun gun to check for smears:




Leather cleansed with Gloss-It Leather Cleaner and Raceglaze Leather Brush:



Then fed with Raceglaze Leather Balm:




Door shuts polished and protected with Werkstat Prime Strong:







Engine bay dressed with 303 Aerospace Protectant:




Painted parts were done with Prime Strong:




Once everything was complete it was time for one last going over with the duster:




A final wipe down with Gloss-It Gloss Enhancing QD followed and this was what 110 hours worth of work looked like














































A walk around with the Sun Gun:




























The following weekend we were sponsoring a local car show and the owner very kindly gave us permission to have the car on display...








I had hoped to get some full sun shots at some point during the day but instead of sun we got rain...



The beading looked good I guess!





Fortunately, a month or two later I managed to get a few brighter pics while I was at the owners house. This is just after a wash and dry with the black baron drier, nothing else:






















Thanks for reading, and if you got all the way to the end then seriously - well done! :lol: :thumb:


Clark

 

Clark, your writeups are some of my favorites. Nice job. It pains me to see a Lambo have to been buffed with a wool pad!

 

Clark, big thanks for always doing such good write ups and showing us what products you're using for every pic. Makes it easier instead of scrolling to the top!

Probably some of the wettest white paint I've ever seen...

 

I started reading your Ne Plus Ultra explanation, and then the photo ended. Car looks awesome.

 

Stunning. Just stunning.

 

The final paragraph explains the process which you just read. Its all good. :thumb:

 

absolutely AWESOME ... nice supercar ...

 

Looks awesome!
Great one!

 

:druling:

Truly stunning, Clark.

Question for you. I too use Meguiar's Super Degreaser on tires/arches. Are you not afraid of damaging the painted wheel's finish by the inescapable overspray? Or do you find that it is a non issue. I have never had an issue with it, but am always nervous. I spray/agitate/rinse almost immediately. I don't like to leave it to dwell on the tire surface, just because I'm afraid of it dripping down onto the wheel and damaging it.

 

Fantastic work as always...Thanks again for sharing the process, products and techniques with us all :thumb:

 

I've never had an issue with SD staining wheels etc - it's perfectly safe as long as you use it sensibly (i.e dont leave it too long if the direct sunlight is out etc). I use it neat sometimes and it works no problems at all

Thanks for the feedback folks!

 

That is just phenomenal......I wish i was your caliber

 

Simply amazing Clark. Your work is an inspiration.

 

That white paint just glows Clark! Kudos to the owner for paying to perfect the paint, and kudos to you for having the patience to do it!

What is project Awesome you spoke of in the write up?

Cheers,
GREG

 

Clark is the win!

 

Killer work and thorough write-up, thanks for sharing!

 

killer job long hours but well worth the time white is such a pain it hides so well .

 

WOW!!!
its all i can say !!!

 

DAMN! clark your work is second to none! may i ask what you used for the exhaust tips

 

nice work Clark :applause: