2011 WRX Paint Correction

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JamesWithASubie

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Hey all, I have a 2011 Subaru WRX, Dark gray metallic. I'm looking to do some moderate correction for swirls, a few deeper scratches and some bug pitting on the front of the hood.

In an introduction thread I got some great recommendations from a user for an AIO with a sealant after. I'm leaning towards a 2 step simply because I want the experience buffing and getting a feel for it all. I know I am going to get the GG G9 polisher with a 5" backing pad. Pads I will be buying CCS pads, probably orange and green(?). The other products I am very undecided on, every time I look at compounds and polishes I get too overwhelmed and can't make a decision, which is what brought me here.

The process I intend on following is

1. Wash (Meguiars Hyper wash)
2. Clay Bar (Mothers Cali Gold)
3. Polish - unkown product
4. Finish- unknown
5. Ceramic coat- unkown

So with that, any steps I should be adding? Product recommendations for the buffing? Thanks a ton!

James
 
In your steps what is the difference between "polish" and "finish".

I know you want to gain experience machine polishing, but don't use that as a reason to do more work on your car than you should. The really soft paint on a Subaru won't gain anything from using a more aggressive approach. A finishing polish on a medium pad should remove all but the worst damage. That is the beauty of soft paint. You can get it looking really good with very little effort! The only way I could imagine two-stepping, would be to use the finishing polish a second time and a very soft pad to try and amp up the shine even more, but I don't know if it would even be worth it.

Before applying a coating, but sure to wipe down the vehicle with a coating prep spray like CarPro Eraser. There are many to choose from, but it is an essential step to getting the most from a coating.
 
Can you post a picture of the damage you're trying to correct ?

Dr. Beasley NSP Z1 may be a aio product you want to check out especially if this is a daily driver.

Before
3b6a4f4cb6653290dc12197683cd1165.jpg


After
15b73054710b0de86243aff083402274.jpg
 
JamesWithASubie said:
Hey all, I have a 2011 Subaru WRX, Dark gray metallic. I'm looking to do some moderate correction for swirls, a few deeper scratches and some bug pitting on the front of the hood.

In an introduction thread I got some great recommendations from a user for an AIO with a sealant after. I'm leaning towards a 2 step simply because I want the experience buffing and getting a feel for it all. I know I am going to get the GG G9 polisher with a 5" backing pad. Pads I will be buying CCS pads, probably orange and green(?). The other products I am very undecided on, every time I look at compounds and polishes I get too overwhelmed and can't make a decision, which is what brought me here.

The process I intend on following is

1. Wash (Meguiars Hyper wash)
2. Clay Bar (Mothers Cali Gold)
3. Polish - unkown product
4. Finish- unknown
5. Ceramic coat- unkown

So with that, any steps I should be adding? Product recommendations for the buffing? Thanks a ton!

James
Click to expand...

Welcome and enjoy the learning curve as it's certainly fun.

Good news is the Subi's are easy to correct. Product is key but I would suggest a light polishing or AIO pad. Green is good for what you are doing.

Product wise, there are a ton of really good ones out there. The only one I use and know well that might give you a slight issue on soft paint is Meg's D156. Otherwise it's outstanding. HDSpeed is really good, Sonax Paint cleaner is really good and Blackfire AIO is great too.

If you're looking at a ceramic avoid the tradition AIO's. Use something like a CarPro Essence and then their coatings or a GYEON Primer and their coatings. Both are AIO's too but lay down a base that is compatible with their coatings. However, I wouldn't use them wait 6 weeks then try and apply a coating. If that makes sense.
 
And just a tip: Subies have notoriously 'thin' clear, so tread carefully! A PTG is your friend!
 
Desertnate said:
In your steps what is the difference between "polish" and "finish".
Click to expand...

I suppose I was thinking the polishing step was the compound or swirl remover and the finishing would be whatever finish compound and soft pad.
 
98CayenneTA said:
Can you post a picture of the damage you're trying to correct ?

Dr. Beasley NSP Z1 may be a aio product you want to check out especially if this is a daily driver.
Click to expand...


Wow that looks like amazing results. I haven't been able to capture the defects the way I want, next time i'm in the garage ill try and get some better pictures.

And yes, it is my daily but I want to get it as nice as possible and then coat it and maintain it more going forward.
 
TTQ B4U said:
Welcome and enjoy the learning curve as it's certainly fun.

Good news is the Subi's are easy to correct. Product is key but I would suggest a light polishing or AIO pad. Green is good for what you are doing.

Product wise, there are a ton of really good ones out there. The only one I use and know well that might give you a slight issue on soft paint is Meg's D156. Otherwise it's outstanding. HDSpeed is really good, Sonax Paint cleaner is really good and Blackfire AIO is great too.

If you're looking at a ceramic avoid the tradition AIO's. Use something like a CarPro Essence and then their coatings or a GYEON Primer and their coatings. Both are AIO's too but lay down a base that is compatible with their coatings. However, I wouldn't use them wait 6 weeks then try and apply a coating. If that makes sense.
Click to expand...

Yeah I see what you're saying. Is there something I should be looking for that ISNT in a particular AIO so I can coat? I.e. "Product A contains no x ingredient"
 
The Guz said:
What products are you interested in?
Click to expand...

That's the issue, I know very little about any of the products out there and I'm interested in them all! I don't want to overdo it as others have pointed out with soft Subie paint, but i'm also not afraid to put some work in and try some stuff out to get the deep gloss look back to my car.
 
If it were me wanting to remove swirls, get the gloss up and then coat it. Id be looking at HyperPolish or Essence and would coat with Cquartz UK3.0. Almost guarantee that with a yellow Rupes pad, you’d get enough correction and refinement prior to coating.
 
JamesWithASubie said:
Just curious since iv'e never used one, how would a PTG help? Would it just guide pad and product selection ?
Click to expand...
PTG means paint thickness gauge.
Gives ya a rough idea of how much clear you're working with. Also can tell ya where panels have been resprayed or have filler/ body damage
 
Here is a very quick and sloppy example of how they come in handy and tell you a lot about what's going on.....

I see most here measure in mills, I myself prefer microns for it's a more precise measurement.
1 mill = .001"
25.4 microns = .001"
25.4 microns = 1 mill

So what I do is take measurements from the door jams and underneath the hood where the bare minimum of paint is put down and on most American vehicles they don't even clear under the hood.

So in the first picture below you can see it's reading 35.5 microns under the hood of my Trans Am. That 35 microns is primer and base combined.

b2bd4adcdf80a8ee61ee9f7625e6b63a.jpg


Then going to my rear quarter panel I'm getting readings of 99.8, we will just call it 100 microns. So 100 - 35 = 65 microns of clear roughly or around .0025" which is thin but relatively speaking it's healthy clear especially for a 22 year old car that is currently flawless.

547bfa3e7fc1bbed2e7a2cb6ed999d8a.jpg


Now if it jumps to say 320 microns on a certain panel or area you know something is up and inspect closer.

If it drops to say 50-70 microns, again inspect closely and tread lightly.

Hope that helps a bit....
 
On other Japanese cars with soft paint I've successfully used Meguiar's Ultimate Polish, DP Polish, Optimum Hyper Polish, Sonax 04-06, and Blackfire's Polish.

The Meguiars is OK, but the others produce a better shine. The DP product is really nice, but has a short work time and is a bit hard to remove in high humidity. I tend to go with the Hyper Polish because I think it has a touch more correction than the others and is nice to use.
 
JamesWithASubie said:
That's the issue, I know very little about any of the products out there and I'm interested in them all! I don't want to overdo it as others have pointed out with soft Subie paint, but i'm also not afraid to put some work in and try some stuff out to get the deep gloss look back to my car.
Click to expand...

For folks new to polishing starting with a full 'system' maybe the easier way to go - something like the Griot's Boss 3 pad/polish system, or the new Rupes DA 2 pad/polish system. The 'system' approach will get you good results, without the guess work of pad & polish choices. If you continue to do paint corrections down the road, you can buy other pads & polishes to work with and go down that rabbit hole like the rest of us!
 
mc2hill said:
For folks new to polishing starting with a full 'system' maybe the easier way to go - The 'system' approach will get you good results, without the guess work of pad & polish choices.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more!

When I was a newbie, it was the product/pad choices that had my head spinning.

It seemed the more I read, the more confused I became.

Starting with a system, you at least know that you aren't very far off base to start.
 
JamesWithASubie said:
Just curious since iv'e never used one, how would a PTG help? Would it just guide pad and product selection ?
Click to expand...

Yes, it could. If you have 'thin' areas, then you would choose a lighter pad/product combo as well as how many section passes/etc to do/use.
 
Thank you to everyone for the replies, the information you guys are giving me is awesome! @98CayenneT thank you for that write up and pictures, makes sense what you and @Sizzle Chest are saying.

I'm leaning towards the Pinnacle Swirl Removal Combo with an Orange Pad for the swirl removal and a blue pad for the finishing polish. That or the Wolfgang Swirl combo with same pads.

They Hyperpolish is intriguing, is that basically an AIO or would I need other product with that?

Also, is chemical decontamination something I should be doing prior to clay bar? It seems there's a lot of mixed opinions on that.
 
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