Detailed: 2006 Subaru WRX STi - World Rally Blue Pearl

[Marc08EX]

Wheels/Tires:
Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner and Meguiar's Deep Crystal on wheels
Meguiar's APC on tires
Meguiar's Hyper Dressing on tires
Swissvax Wheel Brush for the wheels
EZ Detail brush for the barrels

Wash:
Gilmour Foam Gun
Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Gloss via Foam Gun and 2BM
Meguiar's Microfiber Wash Mitt
Swissvax Brush for Plastic Surfaces / Gas Tank

Clay:
Meguiar's OTC Clay
Meguiar's Last Touch

Paint Correction:
Flex 3401 VRG
Meguiar's G100 / 3.5" and 5" LC Backing Plates
Meguiar's M105 / LC Orange Pads
Meguiar's M205 / LC Black Pads
Craftsman 500W Halogen Lights

LSP:
Menzerna Powerlock / LC Blue Pad

Interior:
Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer

Misc:
Poorboy's Trim Restorer

This car was brought in to have the multi-step detail process. The owner basically wanted the paint to look its best. I was preparing for the worst because I've heard that subaru paint is very soft and sticky. Some people inflict marring by wiping off polish residue and some experience the product gumming up way too quickly. Despite the feedback, I still tackled on the job because the car is just plain COOL! I will let the pictures do the talking.

Before:

Wash:

This is the reason why you should always wax your car. No sheeting at all:

This is from claying 1/4 of the hood. The paint wasn't as contaminated. The rear section was the worst part.

After claying the car, I performed an IPA wipe down to see the true condition of the paint. The paint had a ton of swirls... I first tried using M205 to see how the paint would react but sure enough, it didn't remove all the swirls. I had to step it up to the M105/M205 combo. Here are some 50/50 shots:

Passenger side front door:

Passenger side rear door:

Passenger side rear door lower part:

Driver side front fender:

Driver side front door:

Nasty scratches underneath the gas tank:

Viola! GONE!

All the pictures above are taken after hitting the paint with M105. The before/after picture below is taken after doing the M105/M205 combo. The M205 made the reflections more crisp, clear and deeper but it was hard to capture through the camera.

Nasty scratches under the passenger front door handle:

Crystal clear paint:

Oxidation on the rear wing: It was hard to capture it in camera but I was able to improve it a lot.

I was trying to be artistic here while capturing the swirl free finish of the trunk:

 

[Marc08EX]

Afters:

I was pissed my SLR camera didn't have any battery left. I was using my point and shoot to capture some after shots so please excuse the quality.

I also couldn't get a lot of sun shots because I was pressed for time and the owner had to go somewhere at a specific time.

Approximate time: 18 Hours.

What do you guys think? Opinions, comments and criticisms are welcome!

 

[matwithonet]

Looks great! =)

I'm the owner of this car and can say he did a great job on the paint. The only problem now is that the paint is so sharp that the rock chips stand out more. Oh well...that's the way it goes for a daily driver, I guess.

Thanks again, Marc.

 

[bova80]

Looks great! =)

I'm the owner of this car and can say he did a great job on the paint. The only problem now is that the paint is so sharp that the rock chips stand out more. Oh well...that's the way it goes for a daily driver, I guess.

Thanks again, Marc.

Dr. Colorchip

 

[Mazda.Mark]

Same thing with me and my truck chips stand out...def doing dr color chip!

Love the car!

 

[Marc08EX]

Looks great! =)

I'm the owner of this car and can say he did a great job on the paint. The only problem now is that the paint is so sharp that the rock chips stand out more. Oh well...that's the way it goes for a daily driver, I guess.

Thanks again, Marc.

Welcome Mat! I'm glad you liked the outcome.

Feed back please

 

[JonM]

Looks great, man do I miss my STi's at times.

 

[cobalt9123]

Great job, many people doubt the M105/M205 double punch but it never fails to deliver outstanding resultsrops:

 

[panthercz]

Wow, there is virtually no room to work with in that engine bay, it's filled to the brim!

Good job on the car! :xyxthumbs:

 

[fancyfootwork]

Great job, love STi's aswell. I will be doing my buddies 02 bugeye WRX WRB soon here. It's got a full 07 STi engine and transmission swap.

 

[Marc08EX]

Looks great, man do I miss my STi's at times.

Thanks Jon!

Great job, many people doubt the M105/M205 double punch but it never fails to deliver outstanding resultsrops:

Thanks Cobalt! M105 is a really great product and removes swirls/scratches like it's nobody's business. But I really hate the short working time and the dust it creates. So annoying!

Wow, there is virtually no room to work with in that engine bay, it's filled to the brim!

Good job on the car! :xyxthumbs:

Thank you sir! Yeah the engine bay was pretty much filled up! I only washed the hood and the sides of the engine bay. I was too afraid to spray water on the center portion of the engine. It had too much wires exposed and I didn't want to damage anything.

Great job, love STi's aswell. I will be doing my buddies 02 bugeye WRX WRB soon here. It's got a full 07 STi engine and transmission swap.

Thank you sir!





Thanks everyone for the feedback. I know the pics aren't the best but this is what I have. I will have the SLR charged up next time!

 

[rwright]

Great job overall! The paint turned out great! Nice before and after and 50/50 shots. You asked for comments/suggestions, I only have 2:

1) For engine cleaning I highly recommend a Daytona Speedmaster Brush or EZ Detail Brush. You will be amazed at how well it cleans! Try pairing this with Optimum Power Clean @ 3:1 along with a small bucket of soap and water. After the engine area is dry finish it off with 303 Aerospace Protectant.

2) Not sure if this was addressed later or not, but in the picture below you can see grime build up around the badge. In my experience I've had great success with Optimum Power Clean @ 3:1 and a brush such as Swissvax Detail Brush or something similar.

Once again, great job overall. rops:

 

[Marc08EX]

Great job overall! The paint turned out great! Nice before and after and 50/50 shots. You asked for comments/suggestions, I only have 2:

1) For engine cleaning I highly recommend a Daytona Speedmaster Brush or EZ Detail Brush. You will be amazed at how well it cleans! Try pairing this with Optimum Power Clean @ 3:1 along with a small bucket of soap and water. After the engine area is dry finish it off with 303 Aerospace Protectant.

2) Not sure if this was addressed later or not, but in the picture below you can see grime build up around the badge. In my experience I've had great success with Optimum Power Clean @ 3:1 and a brush such as Swissvax Detail Brush or something similar.

Once again, great job overall. rops:

Thanks for the compliments and in-depth and constructive feedback! :hungry:

I will try to use the EZ detail brush when I clean an engine bay next time. I just have the mini right now so I hope I won't have more difficulty or something. I usually don't clean engine bays because of liability issues but this engine bay was just dddiiiirrrrrrttttttyyyyy. Is Optimum power clean really better than a standard APC like Meguiar's?

I didn't get to take care of the grime build up around the badge. I was soo tired the day of the detail that I forgot to clean this up with a cotton bud. It seems like the Optumum power clean fixes everything! Wouldn't the swissvax brush scratch up the paint? I'm afraid for the bristles to make contact with the paint.

Again, thanks for your feedback!

 

[STI4Life06]

Nice job man! Suabru's have a wicked soft clearcoat which is a little annoying to work with but, I got use to it considering I own an STI . It just makes it easier when I do someone else's car.

Edit: and yes the engine bay SUCK'S to detail