Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Sticky No More? Is this really a Ferrari Parts Blog?
Anyone who owns a modern Ferrari (348, 355, 360, 430, 456, 550 and so on!) shares a mutual frustration with the sticky, gooey, melting of their interior trim parts. Ferrari, in their incredible wisdom, chose to coast most plastic items with a textured rubber coating for purely aesthetic reasons. Yes, it looks great when brand new. However, within a matter of months and a few hot days in the sun, the rubberized coatings begin to melt and stick everywhere. Yes Virginia, even a $250,000 Ferrari is prone to this mess.
Some people claim the mess is because of cleaners like Armor All. Others claim its the result of damaging UV rays on the interior. Regardless, it is just amazing that Ferrari owners tolerate this gunk. Simply touch your A/C vent to redirect air and blammo! the gunk is on your hands. Touch the rear-view mirror switch and blammo! the gunk is on your hands. To make matters worse, if you then touch the nice leather seats, the black goo is easily transferred to the seats and makes a horrible mess. Ferrari knew about this problem with interior parts as early as the 348 (1989), but in their incredible blindness to customer pleas, they continue to use it on the latest 430 Scuderia and California.
So, what is a person to do? For several years we at Ricambi America have been selling replacement plastic panels (genuine Ferrari parts) which indeed look great and fit perfectly. But sadly, they are also coated with the same messy rubber which degrades and turns to goo. For F355 owners, we have offered a brilliant HVAC overlay to ensure the air conditioner panel never goes sticky again. But those original plastic pieces? What's a Ferrari owner to do? The answer is here!
As long as you're not planning to enter an FCA sanctioned concours, a new company has emerged to professionally refinish the panels with an extremely strong black paint. The coatings are strong enough to survive in a mass production Honda, but gorgeous enough to fit perfectly in a Ferrari. The company , www.stickynomore.com is run by a true Ferrari enthusiast who can also professionally install our HVAC panels.
Last week, I tore my 348 apart and sent all my interior Ferrari parts for professional refinishing.
Although I certainly could have pulled new ones from the shelf at Ricambi America, I really wanted to see the results from Stickynomore. Within 3 days my panels were returned -- and in a nutshell, I was absolutely speechless. The quality of the finish is superb. The color match is excellent. The durability -- I can already sense -- will be outstanding. Here is some of their handiwork: Ferrari Parts Refinishing
Really -- as much as we'd love to sell new plastic pieces to every Ferrari owner on Earth, I must strongly recommend the services of www.stickynomore.com. As an owner myself, I know the plight of these interiors, and do think (for non concours cars), this is the ideal solution.
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