Subie Snax's Garage

[SubieSnax]

Hello all,

This thread is going to serve as my personal log where I am going to keep track of my own personal vehicles and any other jobs I find myself doing (detailing related only of course.)

Cars currently in Snax's garage:

2017 Subaru WRX Ltd (Pure Red)
2016 Ford Explorer Sport (Bronzefire Metallic)

10/9/2020

As I literally just purchased my first two DAs and am still waiting on delivery of them, I started off my project today with a simple interior detail. While it wasn't terribly dirty to begin with aside from the massive clutter that had built up in the car and sand and small rocks that had been tracked into the car over time as it had been a while since I'd vacuumed the car. I finally cleaned it all out and cleaned every surface from the bottom of the windows down (headliner wasn't dirty at all) and the carpets were mostly spared by my WeatherTech mats. The only products I used was Griot's Garage Interior cleaner and Invisible Glass glass cleaner. I also used compressed air and Meguire's Quick Detail for the door jams. Here are some before shots before I removed anything so my apologies if these are offensive lol:

And here are the after shots:

Only thing I didn't really pay attention to was the seats because I am waiting on my order of leather cleaner from the store to arrive. That will be tackled as soon as it arrives.

Thanks for stopping by, keep an eye out for my full paint correction that I will be adding to this log in the coming weeks.

 

[PaulMys]

Nice post.

This is what AGO is all about. Looking forward to your progress.

 

[SubieSnax]

10/13/2020 Called a few body shops and was able to source a free hood from a local body shop for practicing. This hood, from a 2005 Maxima, has it all, swirl marks galore, light and deep scratches as well as clear coat failure (which I know correction won't help) I also determined that the paint is not original as it is pretty fat (10 mil thick) for an import, not to mention all the other tell tale signs of aftermarket paint were present.


This hood was extremely dirty but the body shop was kind enough to give it a quick wash so it wouldn't dirty up my wife's car too much. After I got it home, I washed it again and clayed the entire hood. Here's how the paint looked at that point:

VIDEO:

At that point, all that was left to do was wait for the UPS truck to arrive.

Shortly after I was unboxing my first order:

And then it was time to use a DA polisher for the first time. First impressions, machine control looks easier when you watch experienced people do than it actually is but its not that hard either and I quickly got the hang of it. I do still feel a little clumsy when it comes to keeping the face of the pad flat and even but I'm sure that will come with practice. I only did a 2x2 square as I didn't have much time to work but I intend on doing the rest of the hood tomorrow just so I can get a feel for how the pads I have and products will work for me and what kind of correction I can expect. Here's an after video. I know I didn't get all of the swirls out but like I said, I was short on time. Also, I was a little lazy about dragging out my LED lighting rig for the after video so I just used an LED flashlight but it gives a good idea of the results for my purposes.

VIDEO:

Should be interesting to see how the whole hood comes out. I plan on taping off the failing clear coat section and a couple other spots were the paint is just way damaged just to avoid any kind of pad damage that I don't want to incur on a panel that I'm going to wind up scrapping anyway most likely. Stay tuned!

 

[Craig Encinitas]

Score!


(I need panels for practice)

 

[SubieSnax]

Score!


(I need panels for practice)

Just call around to your local body shops. The one I got my panel from just let me go ahead and pick through their scrap bin and they didn't charge me a penny!

 

[PaulMys]

You'll have at least triple the amount of products/pads this time next year.

Tell me I'm wrong on 10/14/21.................:laughing::laughing:

 

[SubieSnax]

You'll have at least triple the amount of products/pads this time next year.

Tell me I'm wrong on 10/14/21.................:laughing::laughing:

I don’t doubt it at all lol


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[SubieSnax]

10/14/2020 I finished compounding and polishing out my practice hood. A lot of the deeper scratches didn't come out but they were lightened significantly. Some of them probably would come out but that wasn't my goal with this panel. Just wanted to get my feet wet before I take on my first detail: a neglected 2008 Infinity G37S in the dreaded black color. I'll have plenty of pictures and videos to post when I get around to getting that done so for now here's a couple videos of the hood and some still shots.

After compound with Meg's Ultimate Compound and BAS Orange Pad:

After polish with Meg's Ultimate Polish and BAS White Pad:

Just a reminder of how bad this thing was:

After

I think I did a decent job. I tend to be a little more demanding of myself and I was hoping for a little better of an outcome but I just have to remember this was the first time I've ever polished anything with a machine and also using OTS products have their limitations I suppose. Also, after getting the majority of the defects out, it allowed me to see just how shitty the paint job was on this hood. Hopefully I will get better results on the car I will be working on possibly this weekend, if not next weekend.

 

[Craig Encinitas]

Top job on that test hood!

My first four detail jobs were:

Mercedes E350 -black
Mini Cooper -black
Toyota 4Runner -black
Toyota Camry -black

It was like taking the final exam before the introductory course. But they all turned out acceptable (I could do better now).

Take your time and tread lightly.
It’s a test of patience towards the end of polishing. Slow, methodical steps.

 

[SubieSnax]

Top job on that test hood!

My first four detail jobs were:

Mercedes E350 -black
Mini Cooper -black
Toyota 4Runner -black
Toyota Camry -black

It was like taking the final exam before the introductory course. But they all turned out acceptable (I could do better now).

Take your time and tread lightly.
It’s a test of patience towards the end of polishing. Slow, methodical steps.

Thank you for the compliment. I just went back and looked at my post and looked back and forth at the before and after pictures and I gotta stop being so hard on myself :laughing:

 

[Sizzle Chest]

Cool thread, great way to learn on that hood...it was hammered! NICE!

 

[DeadlySheds]

Great job. You can save money by buying products that serve several purposes as well. Like instead of buying clay lube, waterless wash, and a water softener for washing you can just get a gallon of optimum no rinse. Very very versatile product. Also Optimum Power Clean. That stuff will pull dye out of grocery bags at full strength....

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[Odrapnew1]

Nice job with the test hood and good idea. I wish I did that.
I went head first into paint correction by tackling my 16 VW Golf R (bright red like your subie)
First time I picked up a DA was to use on that car.
HUGE risk, but I took my time and am thoroughly satisfied with the results.

I agree, patience is critical. I started rushing a few areas and could tell it wasn't being corrected like it should. Had to step back and reset myself.

I look forward to the progress. (Need some exterior shots )

 

[Rsurfer]

Hello all,

This thread is going to serve as my personal log where I am going to keep track of my own personal vehicles and any other jobs I find myself doing (detailing related only of course.)

Cars currently in Snax's garage:

2017 Subaru WRX Ltd (Pure Red)
2016 Ford Explorer Sport (Bronzefire Metallic)

10/9/2020

As I literally just purchased my first two DAs and am still waiting on delivery of them, I started off my project today with a simple interior detail. While it wasn't terribly dirty to begin with aside from the massive clutter that had built up in the car and sand and small rocks that had been tracked into the car over time as it had been a while since I'd vacuumed the car. I finally cleaned it all out and cleaned every surface from the bottom of the windows down (headliner wasn't dirty at all) and the carpets were mostly spared by my WeatherTech mats. The only products I used was Griot's Garage Interior cleaner and Invisible Glass glass cleaner. I also used compressed air and Meguire's Quick Detail for the door jams. Here are some before shots before I removed anything so my apologies if these are offensive lol:

And here are the after shots:

Only thing I didn't really pay attention to was the seats because I am waiting on my order of leather cleaner from the store to arrive. That will be tackled as soon as it arrives.

Thanks for stopping by, keep an eye out for my full paint correction that I will be adding to this log in the coming weeks.

Nice job, now keep it that way

 

[SubieSnax]

10/23/20 Progress Update. Due to logistics, the car I was going to work on first (My father's 08 G37) is getting pushed back so i decided to tackle my own car first as its a much bigger project (finishing up with ceramic as opposed to a wax or SiO2) Its taken me quite a bit of time to get through all of the steps to properly correct the paint as best I could and I am decently satisfied with my results. Some of the scratches just wouldn't come out but the paint is MUCH MUCH better now than it was before. Here are some before shots as well as some close ups of the paint chips on my hood that I fixed with Dr. Colorchip. A word to the wise when it comes to Dr. Colorchip, contrary to what I have read literally EVERYWHERE that you should do you paint correction before you do chip repair is terrible advice. The chip repair process swirled the bejesus out of my paint no matter how little of pressure I applied and I was pissed. After trying to hand polish the corrected areas the next day and being unsatisfied with those results, I rolled the dice and use the DA on them with no pressure and they came out beautifully with no ill effects to the repair. So fill your chips before you polish boys and girls and it will save you time especially if you have soft paint.

All taped off and ready to go.

And here are some shots after correction. Since I had used Dr. Paintchip I am waiting the 3 days for that to cure before I coat which will be tomorrow (Saturday) so I will have many many more after shots once that is complete (GTechniq CSL and EXO v4)

Bottom half of the bumper is super beat up but it looks a lot better than it did.

Pictures do it no justice...but I'm sure you already knew that. As always thanks for dropping by!

 

[Odrapnew1]

Looking good.
My red R was very similar. Swirls, scratches galore.
There were a few scratches I decided to not try to perfect for risk of burning through the clear.

Isn't it satisfying to see the difference after you wipe off the polish?

I also did the Gtechniq CSL and EXO V4. It really makes the red paint look like candy (that's a good thing).
One thing I'm not convinced is the protection from bug guts. I have what appears to be bug guts etched into the top coat (EXO). Not sure if just plain CSL would be better, but I plan to re-polish the hood and just do a coat of CSL before winter hits. I have a wee bit left from the original application that needs to be used up in the next few months.

This is the first car I ever corrected paint and coated, but I don't have any bug gut etching issues on my '14 Explorer that only gets a wax 2x a year.

 

[SubieSnax]

Very satisfying indeed. I can’t wait to put the ceramic on tomorrow and finally be able to drive my car again. It hasn’t moved out of the garage since last weekend.


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[SWETM]

Awesome work!

Looking forward to see the aftershots of the CSL/EXO!

 

[SubieSnax]

10/25/2020 CSL + EXO v4 complete!!! I snuck her out to the street for a quick few night pictures before I tucked her back in for the next 24 to let the coating cure. I'll do a proper photoshoot on Monday during the day....and maybe at night too. :cruisin:

Now I need a beer and bengay for my back :laughing:

Stay tuned in the next few days for daytime shots and thanks for stopping by!

 

[SubieSnax]

10/26/2020 I am adding some daytime photos I just shot a bit ago. The sun is not coming out today and the roads are wet so she didn't make it past the end of the driveway. Maybe tomorrow will be more favorable. Enjoy!

Yes, I even put coating on the license plate :laughing:

Not too shabby for a car with 75k miles.
Hopefully I'll have some sun to take pictures in tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!