How should I keep my Ferrari clean?

Because Ferraris are special cars, special care must be taken to keep them clean. This FAQ page will discuss the necessary steps when cleaning and caring for the exterior of your Ferrari.

A large number of specialty products are available for auto detailing. Any products mentioned on this page are ones that have been tried by various members of the Internet Ferrari Email List with positive results, but you should always read the instructions on any detailing products you use, and use them at your own risk. Many of us have had good results with these products, but your results may vary.

Washing Your Ferrari's Paint
There are two types of cleaning when it comes to the painted surfaces on your Ferrari. The first is a routine washing to remove dust, road grime, and other contaminants. The second is a more thorough cleaning process to prepare your car's paint for a protective coating (such as wax). This section will address the washing process, and surface preparation will be addressed further down on this page.

Ferraris should always be washed by hand - never by a drive-thru machine like you'd find at a gas station. Taking the time to wash your Ferrari correctly will pay off with fewer scratches and swirl marks in your paint. When washing your Ferrari, you'll need a few simple items: a hose with an adjustable spray nozzle, a wash mitt, a bucket, and some soap. Sheepskin wash mitts are a good choice for cleaning your car, but don't settle for synthetic sheepskin. Natural sheepskin lasts longer, holds more water, and is safer to use on your paint. Be sure that your wash mitt has been thoroughly cleaned since the last time you used it. Pine needles, rocks, sand, and other debris that may be tangled in your wash mitt will scratch your paint.

The soap you choose when washing your car is important, too. Don't use household dish soap or other abrasive cleaners. Use a specialty car wash product (like Griot's Garage Car Wash) that is designed to remove dirt dirt road grime without damaging your paint. Make sure your bucket is clean, put some soap in, and then squirt your hose in the bucket to create some suds.

If a shady location is available, it's best to wash your Ferrari in the shade. This will help slow the drying process and allow you to manually dry your car to eliminate water spots.

Before you start washing, be sure you give your car a light rinse with the spray nozzle. Use either a mist setting or a gentle shower setting, but don't squirt your Ferrari's paint with a spray nozzle at full strength. This light rinsing will remove any loose dust and dirt, and will lessen your chances of scratching your paint with the wash mitt.

Get your mitt wet and soapy, then wash your car, starting at the top. This will save time, as you won't have to rinse running soap from areas that you've already cleaned, and it will help keep your water and wash mitt cleaner, since cars tend to be dirtier on bottom and near the wheels. Don't worry about cleaning the wheels quite yet. Wash all your painted surfaces first. Work on one small section at a time, such as a single fender, then rinse with a gentle stream of water. Continue until all painted surfaces have been washed and rinsed.

Drying Your Ferrari's Paint
After you wash your car, you should dry it by hand to make sure that you don't get dried water spots in your paint. Some owners use terry cloth towels, while other choose a chamois cloth. If you like using towels, make sure that they are 100% cotton (including the stitching around the edges) to reduce the chance of swirl marks. The best and safest option for your paint, however, is a chamois.

Some chamois users like natural chamois cloths, others prefer synthetic. I happen to prefer the synthetic variety, since the tanned sheepskin hides of real chamois cloths smell like fish and will get hard and brittle over time. Griot's Garage makes a great synthetic chamois with dimpled surfaces like a golf ball to help pick up more water from your paint's surface. If you are a chamois user, keep a few terry cloth towels handy to dry dirty areas like door jams, wheel arches, and other areas that might stain your chamois.

To use a chamois, simply wet it down, ring it out, and wipe it gently across your painted surfaces. It will act like a sponge and suck up water. Once it's full of water, wring it out, and keep going until your paint is dry.

Washing Your Ferrari's Wheels
Ferrari wheels come in a variety of shapes and finishes. Late model Ferrari wheels are painted and clear coated, just like your car. These should be cleaned and treated just like rest of the paint on your car. Other wheel types include clear coated aluminum, anodized, chrome polished non-clear coated aluminum, and magnesium.

Wheels usually get dirty more quickly than other areas of your car due to brake dust. When choosing a cleaner, stay away from the "spray on, hose off" products available in auto parts stores. They are far too harsh for use with Ferrari wheels.

For chrome wheels, use a non-abrasive chrome polish specially designed for that purpose. For non-chrome wheels, use a non-abrasive wheel cleaner such as Griot's Garage Premium Wheel Cleaner. Use a sponge or wash mitt along with your cleaning product to remove all brake dust and grime. For wheels with intricate patterns, try using a boar's hair brush to reach all the nooks and crannies that are hiding the dirt. Dry your wheels with a soft terry cloth towel when you're done.

Preparing Your Paint for a Protective Coating
In order to keep your paint protected, it is essential to apply some sort of protective coating periodically, such as wax or polymer protectant finish. How often you apply the paint protection depends largely on which product you choose, how often you drive your car, and the weather conditions in your area. A good general rule, however, is that your car's paint should be protected at least every 6 months.

Before applying a protective coating, however, you must prepare your paint's surface. Surface preparation starts with a good washing following the guidelines above, but further preparation will enhance the results of your protective coating. Surface preparation removes any old wax, thoroughly cleans your paint, and helps your protective coating adhere to your paint's surface when you apply it in the next step.

A variety of surface prepping products exist, and many Ferrari owners have experienced success with a large number of these products. There are two products, however, that seem to achieve consistently good results among a large number of Ferrari owners: Griot's Garage Paint Cleaning Clay, and Liqui-tech's Finish Prep.

Griot's Garage Paint Cleaning Clay
If you plan on using wax, then Griot's Garage Paint Cleaning Clay is a great choice for surface preparation. It's designed to remove contaminants that lay on top of your paint and create a smooth surface for polishing and waxing. Rub the clay bar back and forth across the painted surfaces of your car until there is no drag, and the paint is clean. If you want to reduce swirl marks in your paint before you wax, Griot's Fine Hand Polish should be used before you apply your coat of wax.

Liqui-tech's Finish Prep
If you choose to protect your paint with a synthetic polymer protectant finish, then you should also use a synthetic polymer non-abrasive surface prepping agent such as Liqui-tech's Finish Prep. Massage this dark blue liquid over water spots, stubborn dirt, and other trouble areas before applying your final protective coating. Use Finish Prep to clean out dirt that has settled into swirl marks so that the polymer protectant finish will fill the swirl marks and reduce their appearance. Wipe off Finish Prep with a soft, clean, 100% cotton cloth before it dries.

Applying a Protective Surface
For most car owners, waxing is the preferred method of protecting their paint. Lots of Ferrari owners use wax on their cars with excellent results, but wax is not the only protection method available. In fact, because of some of wax's limitations, many Ferrari owners are abandoning wax and switching to more modern polymer-based finishes that form a bond with the car's surface and create a shiny, protective finish. This section of the FAQ will address both protection methods.

Applying Wax to Your Ferrari
If you choose to wax your Ferrari, make sure you use a very high grade Carnauba wax. Two popular waxes among Ferrari owners are Zymol Wax, and Griot's Best of Show Wax. Waxes can be applied by hand, or by machine. Machine application helps make sure your wax is applied evenly, but can damage your paint if the wrong type of machine is used. If you plan on using a machine, make sure it's a random orbital buffer. If you plan on applying your wax by hand, then make sure you've got plenty of time and patience to do the job right.

Proper waxing entails applying the wax evenly, allowing time for the wax to create a haze over your paint's surface, and then buffing the haze to a brilliant shiny finish. Use a high-quality sponge applicator to apply the wax, and use lint-free 100% cotton polishing cloths to remove it. Follow the instructions that come with your wax products to ensure the best results.

Applying a Synthetic Polymer Finish to Your Ferrari
While waxing can provide good results and adequate protection for your Ferrari's paint, there are a lot of problems with wax. Wax removal must be timed properly so that you don't have a lot of trouble removing the haze left from the dried wax. Wax build-up is a consideration, especially since waxes will turn yellow over time. It requires a lot of work to get the wax out of emblems, from around lights, off of rubber, and other difficult locations on your car. And a coat of wax doesn't last very long under normal driving conditions. In general, waxes are good protection, and we've been conditioned to love the way water beads up on a fresh coat of wax. A fresh wax job also has a nice sheen when sunlight hits it.

But wax technology hasn't changed significantly over the years, while paint formulation technology has. For this reason, many Ferrari owners are switching to a polymer-based protectant finish as a substitute for wax. A polymer-based product can bond to a clean paint surface - waxes can't. Applying a polymer-based product is more like adding clearcoat to your car. Build up isn't a problem, since multiple layers of finish will actually protect your paint even better and make your finish more brilliant.

The most popular polymer-based finish among Ferrari owners is Liqui-tech's Finish First Auto Polish. It is an excellent choice for protecting your car's finish (and is the product of choice for the author of this FAQ). While Finish First is referred to by its manufacturer as a "polish," it's not a polish in the traditional sense of the word because it's non-abrasive. Rather than rub out swirl marks like traditional polishes, it actually fills them with a clear resin that virtually eliminates them. This clear resin also creates a mirror-like finish that is easy to keep clean, makes water bead up into tiny drops, is stronger than wax, and provides UV protection to inhibit paint fading.

Apply Finish First by wiping a thin layer of the polish in a non-circular fashion over the entire painted surface of your Ferrari. For the first application, allow the polish to cure at least overnight. You could theoretically allow the polish to dry for months, and it would still wipe off easily with no adverse affects. As the polish cures, it turns into a white haze. After it is fully cured, it can be wiped off quickly and easily with a soft cotton polishing cloth. You should re-apply the polish every 6-8 months, and each application creates stronger protection for your car's paint. Follow-up applications only require 15-20 minutes curing time.

Cleaning Your Ferrari's Engine Bay
Just because your engine bay isn't in plain view doesn't mean you should let it stay dirty. Grease, oil, dirt, dust, grime, and other contaminants can make a Ferrari's beautiful engine look dull and uncared for.

Before using any liquid cleaners in your engine bay, however, make sure that electrical contacts are covered. Spray a degreasing agent, such as Simple Green or Griot's Engine Cleaner, onto your engine and allow it to work for 5-10 minutes. For stubborn spots, use a detail brush to scrub away the dirt. Rinse away the degreasing agent and allow to air dry. If you really want your engine to shine, try following up with some of Griot's Spray-on Engine Gloss.

Do not use any flammable dressings on hoses, wires, or any other surfaces in your engine bay, as they could cause a fire if exposed to high temperatures.

Glass Care For Your Ferrari
Keeping your windshield and windows clean is an essential element of Ferrari detailing. A number of cleaning products are available, but two standout products are Griot's Haze Free Windows Cleaner, and Spray-On Glass Foam. Griot's product claims no dyes, perfumes, or any other chemicals that lead to hazing on your window surfaces. The Spray-On Glass Foam is safe to use on window tinting film, and prevents fogging when used on the inside of your windows. Use lint-free towels or newspaper when wiping off glass cleaning products to prevent streaking.

Once your windshield is clean, try using Rain-X Window Polish to make rain roll off your windshield as you drive. Apply a liberal amount of Rain-X with a circular, overlapping motion. Allow it to dry to a haze, then polish clear by sprinkling a small amount of water on your windshield and then wiping with a clean towel. Some Ferrari owners claim that they no longer need to use their windshield wipers after applying Rain-X, since the speed of the car makes the raindrops fly away!

Using Tire Dressings On Your Ferrari
There are almost as many varieties of tire dressing available on the market as there are tires. Which product you use depends greatly on how you want your tires to look when they're finished. If you like the "wet" look, then you might try products such as Armor All Protectant (Regular or Ultra-Shine) or Black Magic. If you want to restore your tires' original black look, but without excessive shine, then you should try either No-Touch Tire Foam, Black Chrome, or Black Again. Most of these products are readily available at most auto parts stores.

Regardless of which tire dressing product you choose, you must be careful that you apply the dressing only to the outer edge of the tire. If tire dressing drips, runs, or is accidentally sprayed on the tread of the tire, your tires could become slippery and create a dangerous situation for the driver.

Dressing Black Trim On Your Ferrari
The only remaining part of your detailing project is the black trim that adorns your Ferrari. Most of the products mentioned above for tire dressings are also good choices to dress black rubber, plastic, and vinyl trim on your Ferrari.

For targa tops, try using Turtle Wax's Black Chrome. It helps restore faded and sun-damaged tops to a deep, rich, and shiny black. Black Again is a favorite for bumpers, plastic trim around mirrors, and the rubber seals around doors. When using these products, however, be careful to minimize the amount of dressing that drips, runs, or gets wiped on painted surfaces. Because most of these dressing products contain high amounts of petroleum distillates, they smear across painted surfaces instead of wiping up easily.

Locating Products Mentioned On this Page
If you're interested in obtaining products mentioned in this FAQ by mail order, such as Griot's Garage products or Liqui-tech products, visit the Car Care section of the FerrariClub.com Links Page. Non-specialty products mentioned on this page can be found at most auto supply stores.

None of the above-mentioned products are officially endorsed by the author of this FAQ, and the author is in no way related to any of the above companies.

Contributions to this FAQ by: Steve Jenkins, Michael Charness