DFB
Well-known member
- Aug 12, 2019
- 4,748
- 2,664
This current generation Subaru Forester in Crystal White Pearl replaces the red Outback I had been doing on a regular basis. It had just come back from a recent trip to the beach with two Golden Retrievers in tow. So both the exterior and the interior was in need of some attention.
While the exterior looked fair, the interior was a different story.....
Starting with the wheels, wheel arches, tyres and lower black plastic cladding. Wheels ect done with Brake Buster at full strength and the cladding scrubbed with Meguiars M40.
After soaking the car in NV Snow+ and rinsed, it was then a contact wash with the same soap. During all of this the door jambs were cleaned, baked on bugs treated with CarPro Bug Out and several areas including the emblems, window trims, windscreen seals, fog lamps and grill were scrubbed with a boars hair brush.
After the wash, I could just tell that there was a lot of embedded iron on the paint. Considering this car has never had any paint protection, this is not especially surprising. IronX did it's thing almost instantly.
After a very thorough rinse to remove the IronX and the contaminants it lifted, I applied Hydr02 to the entire vehicle. Blown down and dried with Bead Maker, the jambs dried with ONR.
Moving to the interior, I removed the cargo liner and scrubbed with a soft brush before being rinsed and allowed to dry.
Then it was a case of vacuuming, vacuuming, vacuuming and then some more vacuuming to get the interior free of sand, debris and dog hair. I used the Tornador along with several attachments and Paint Gloss to get the job done.
With a clean slate so to speak, it was time to address the finer details. The door trims were cleaned with APC which I followed up with Meguiars Quick Interior Detailer. The glass needed a couple of go's to get clear.
The leather was cleaned with Koch Chemie Pol Star agitated with a soft leather brush and wiped to a clean, matte finish. I followed up with Bowden's Leather Guard.
Another quick vacuum before refitting the mats, misted with Angelwax Eden.
Returning to the exterior, I dressed the tyres with Duragloss 253, wiped the wheels over with Paint Gloss and treated the black plastic cladding with Mothers Naturally Black Aerosol.
Ready for it's return to the customer -
One of the things I enjoy about detailing other peoples cars is getting to drive/check out different cars. A couple of interesting points on this Forester, there is no temperature gauge, just an illuminated blue symbol to indicate the engine is not at operating temperature. I would much rather a proper gauge. Also, the cold start on this engine has the engine revving quite hard.
I also liked the forward and side facing camera's in addition to the now expected reverse camera.
This car needed far more attention than I had anticipated. The extra work put in today however will make future regular washes much quicker. I will also note the current Forester, CVT aside, is a very well sorted and built car with lovely ride quality.
While the exterior looked fair, the interior was a different story.....
Starting with the wheels, wheel arches, tyres and lower black plastic cladding. Wheels ect done with Brake Buster at full strength and the cladding scrubbed with Meguiars M40.
After soaking the car in NV Snow+ and rinsed, it was then a contact wash with the same soap. During all of this the door jambs were cleaned, baked on bugs treated with CarPro Bug Out and several areas including the emblems, window trims, windscreen seals, fog lamps and grill were scrubbed with a boars hair brush.
After the wash, I could just tell that there was a lot of embedded iron on the paint. Considering this car has never had any paint protection, this is not especially surprising. IronX did it's thing almost instantly.
After a very thorough rinse to remove the IronX and the contaminants it lifted, I applied Hydr02 to the entire vehicle. Blown down and dried with Bead Maker, the jambs dried with ONR.
Moving to the interior, I removed the cargo liner and scrubbed with a soft brush before being rinsed and allowed to dry.
Then it was a case of vacuuming, vacuuming, vacuuming and then some more vacuuming to get the interior free of sand, debris and dog hair. I used the Tornador along with several attachments and Paint Gloss to get the job done.
With a clean slate so to speak, it was time to address the finer details. The door trims were cleaned with APC which I followed up with Meguiars Quick Interior Detailer. The glass needed a couple of go's to get clear.
The leather was cleaned with Koch Chemie Pol Star agitated with a soft leather brush and wiped to a clean, matte finish. I followed up with Bowden's Leather Guard.
Another quick vacuum before refitting the mats, misted with Angelwax Eden.
Returning to the exterior, I dressed the tyres with Duragloss 253, wiped the wheels over with Paint Gloss and treated the black plastic cladding with Mothers Naturally Black Aerosol.
Ready for it's return to the customer -
One of the things I enjoy about detailing other peoples cars is getting to drive/check out different cars. A couple of interesting points on this Forester, there is no temperature gauge, just an illuminated blue symbol to indicate the engine is not at operating temperature. I would much rather a proper gauge. Also, the cold start on this engine has the engine revving quite hard.
I also liked the forward and side facing camera's in addition to the now expected reverse camera.
This car needed far more attention than I had anticipated. The extra work put in today however will make future regular washes much quicker. I will also note the current Forester, CVT aside, is a very well sorted and built car with lovely ride quality.
