2002 Panoz Esperante Gets Blackfire Pro Ceramic Coating After 3 Years

[Mike Phillips]

This Panoz had a makeover done to it at the Autogeek Show Car Garage about 3 years ago.

Here's the original write-up: https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ighlight=Panoz

The owner recently had some work done to the rocker panels since they were showing signs of rust and had them repainted. He contacted me since I was part of the makeover team and wanted it re-coated again. This Panoz is a garage queen, the owner takes good care of it and never takes it out in the rain. It was in good condition with some minor swirls. The owner washed the wheels and the car before I came to cut down the time and the cost of the project.

I've seen this car at multiple car shows over the years since we did the initial detail and it's always very rewarding to see the owner not only help out with their own car detailing project but then to see them take care of it afterwards.

Here's the owner Steve, (in the light brown t-shirt), doing the Baggie Test before we detailed it 3 years ago...

I had the opportunity to use the new Blackfire Pro Ceramic Coating on a couple of cars before it was released and I decided to go with the BF coating again.

Steps:

1. Wash - waterless wash with McKee's 37 N-914 and some MF towels, just to remove the dust.

2. Polish - Flex 3401, Flex 4.5" Mini Backing Plate, 5.5" LC White Force Pads, McKee's 37 Fast Polish.

3. Wipe Down - CarPro Eraser.

4. Ceramic Coating - the new Blackfire Pro Ceramic Coating.

5. Tire - the owner used Blackfire All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant (not available anymore).

I Didn't take any before pictures. The polish combination with the 3401, White Force Pads and McKee's Fast Polish worked great to remove the minor swirls and remove the previous BF coating.

Nice simple but thorough process. My guess is this took you about 8 hours?

Most people that want a ceramic coating don't understand how much time it takes nor the volume of high quality tools, pads and products.

Moral of the story:

Better to take your time and get it right the first time.

I agree.

Something a person can rush, like quickly claying, or even doing an aggressive wash, but the installation and just as important, the INSPECTION of the panel after installatioin, and then the final buff - can't rush this. I too have also had to learn the hard way.

It came out looking great and the owner was very pleased.

Steve is lucky to have someone that knows what the heck they are doing work on his Panoz. A fairly rare care that gets a lot of attention when he takes it to car shows and cruise-ins.

I'm confident it looks great and it's nice having the owner appreciate your hard work and then taking care of the results.

[FrankS]

...Nice simple but thorough process. My guess is this took you about 8 hours?

I forgot to mention in my initial post that it was clayed also. It wasn’t too bad but needed it.

You’re right on Mike, it took about 8 hours for the wash, clay, polish and coating installation. Not including the time for going back and re-applying.

Steve is lucky to have someone that knows what the heck they are doing work on his Panoz...

I'm confident it looks great and it's nice having the owner appreciate your hard work and then taking care of the results.

Thanks Mike and I agree!