Oakes Detailed: The First Ferrari 458 Speciale in the US - From New to Perfect!

Oakes

Oakes

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"It's a brand new car, the paint is perfect."

A statement, which has proven false far more times than true. Which will be supported by this beautiful example, the very First Ferrari 458 Speciale to arrive to the US.

This pretty lady arrived to me a few months ago, April 10th to be exact, after being on US soil for almost three weeks. The owner, who had yet to see the car in person was out of the country.
Which gave us time to address all of the important bits, such as getting the paint perfect and protected, body matching or blacking out the Ferrari emblems and logos and so forth.

Over the course of a few working days, we took this "brand new" 458 and made it as perfect as it SHOULD have arrived. The visual journey below will show you exactly what to expect from Ferrari's
(as well as nearly every exotic manufacturer) quality control team. Do not get me wrong! They make a beautiful, fantastic vehicle, and for arguments sake not everyone is as attentive to the fine details like myself or the owner of this example.

We spent approximately forty hours on this vehicle preparing and perfecting the paint and then protecting her with some of the best available paint protection in the industry, CQuartz Finest.

The pictures tell a much better story below, so I will let them take it from here. Not for the feint of heart, but luckily that's why there are guys like myself around.

For the record, none of these photos have been edited aside from cropping, face blurring to protect identities and watermarking to protect my property. Enjoy, as I know I have!

The before condition of the paint, as very heavy amount of swirling, holograms/buffer trails and unfinished sanding...








This one was almost laughable, didn't even need direct light to spot it






These next two pictures, are flooring. For a brand new finish to respond this drastically on ANY car, let alone one with an MSRP over $400k US.




Some brief before and afters




They left me a present from Italy!




Two things will be seen in the following photos, how a $400k Ferrari SHOULD arrive from Maranello and the reason I haven't been able to post often is in the background. I am alive and well! Thanks to those who have asked :)




















Thanks for checking it out! As always, any feedback is welcome and appreciated!

Nick Oakes​
 
This made me laugh because I was arguing on another forum with some yo-yo who would tell you that you wasted 40 hours polishing that car when all you needed to do was use some solvent-based wax remover on it (because wax causes swirls--and sanding marks, and removing the wax....oh, never mind...).

Great work!
 
Impressive work. Who can stand ordering such car without letting it pass through your care before actually getting it?

Nothing against Ferrari dealers, but this car was nothing splendid before your work.

After... ahh, now we are talking about one of the most beautiful and exciting cars ever made! You nailed it!

This picture changed the whole story of this car:
12_zpsf21f3627.jpg


Congratulations, works like this one are a huge motivator to every detailer.

Thanks for sharing.

Kind Regards.
 
Great job on a great car ! What s the color , we don t see this one often .
 
Incredible car!! Unbelievable that the paint left the factory like that!!!
 
Nick, excellent job as usual.

I've seen this car in person, and the pics don't do it justice.
 
Awesome job.

With hacky looking paint leaving the factory in that condition - it makes you wonder what kind of care they use when screwing the engine and the rest of the car together. I don't care how fancy pants Ferrari does it - workmanship like that would be a deal breaker for me against buying any Ferrari (assuming I could afford 400k)... If they can't get the paint to look decent before shipping, whose to say they did anything else correctly while building the car?

You don't see $30k cars leaving the factory like that.
 
swanicyouth said:
Awesome job.

With hacky looking paint leaving the factory in that condition - it makes you wonder what kind of care they use when screwing the engine and the rest of the car together. I don't care how fancy pants Ferrari does it - workmanship like that would be a deal breaker for me against buying any Ferrari (assuming I could afford 400k)... If they can't get the paint to look decent before shipping, whose to say they did anything else correctly while building the car?

You don't see $30k cars leaving the factory like that.
Click to expand...

have to agree, but Ferrari paint is nothing to write home about
had both a 430 & 458 'paint corrected' by a professional, and was amazed at the quality or lack thereof with Ferrari paint jobs
the motor however.......that's another matter :)
 
Their s no reason for paint correction required after having it bought new ,

at this price ranges ! Terrible on my end .
 
sproketser said:
Their s no reason for paint correction required after having it bought new ,

at this price ranges ! Terrible on my end .
Click to expand...


sadly I agree
but as long as guys like myself continue to buy.....it is what it is
 
Lol , understood mate , what s having it polished professionally afterward . Great looking 458 by the way .
 
This seems to be the norm nowadays for almost any Ferrari leaving the Factory :(

Great work and that's how it should have looked in the first place!
 
Any super car is like that now days. The materials used, anything will scratch so easily if not properly maintained. I could go all day on these cars, specially the terrible orange peel. Great save for sure on a beast.
 
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