Nothing says "Subaru" like Rally Blue & Gold!... 04 STi Exterior Enhancement

**zmcgovern45** · 03-17-2014, 07:39 PM

The owner of this vehicle, was a winner of one of my $50 Facebook giveaways last year. He chose to use it towards a one-stage polishing detail on his STi. This car is clearly enjoyed and driven frequently as its paint and body showed plenty of `love marks`. The paint was dangerously thin in many areas, reading below 70 microns in some spots, therefore the main goal of this detail was to enhance the gloss and color, but not focus on heavy defect removal. The car turned out great - this World Rally Blue & Gold combo suits this car perfectly!

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Process
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Exterior
- Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner & Tire Brush
- Wheels: Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner & Various Brushes/Wheel Woolies
- Pre-Soak: CG Citrus Wash via DI Foam Lance
- Wash: CG Citrus Wash (two bucket method)
- Iron Decontamination: CarPro Iron X
- Dry: DI Waffle Weave Towels and Master Blaster Sidekick
- Decontamination: Nanoskin Fine Grade Mitt with Nanoskin Glide for lubrication
- Tape Trim
- Paint Thickness Readings Taken
- Polish: Meguiar`s M205 w/ Orange Light Cutting Pads via Rupes LHR21ES (5.5" Pads) and Rupes LHR75e (3" Pads)
- Paint Sealant: Sonax Polymer Net Shield
- Trim Prep: IPA Wipedown
- Trim Restoration: Solution Finish
- Glass: Stoner Invisible Glass
- Wheel Sealant: CarPro HydrO2
- Tires: CarPro PERL
- Exhaust Polish & Sealant: CG Metal Polish + Protection
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Interior
- Light vacuum`
- Jams wiped down with ONR
- All vinyl/plastic trim wiped down`
- All vinyl/plastic trim protected with 303 Aerospace
- Glass: Stoner Invisible Glass
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Before
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The car arrived fairly clean. `There was light dirt, but given the condition of the roads lately, it was quite clean.

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Wheels were kept in good shape. Only minor dirt buildup

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Swirls were easy to spot even with the dirty paint

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You can see some odd texture in this area. Clear signs of a repainted panel.

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During
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As usual, I began cleaning the wheels. They cleaned up great! The gold really pops in the sunlight.

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The wheels were then treated with CarPro HydrO2 Silica Sealant to provide some protection and make for easier cleaning. You can see how hydrophobic the sealant is as the water is repelled from the surface and forms tiny beads.

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With the wheels clean, I turned my attention to the paint. I started with a rinse and a foam pre-soak. The car was then hand washed and then blown dry.

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With the paint clean, the defects were easily visible in the sunlight. The swirls and scratches created a lack luster finish.`

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This car is clearly driven and enjoyed... there were plenty of rock chips that were beyond repair. This is a rally car after all!

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Some peeling paint on the hood.

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I began with my test spot on the hood. You can clearly see the defects and the haze in the reflection of the lights.

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The majority of light defects were removed and gloss was enhanced with the one stage polishing process.

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You can see the difference in reflection on the right side that was polished vs. the left side that was not.

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Taking a look at correction in the sunlight. A nice improvement

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Inspecting the corrected area in the sunlight.

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Here`s a quick iPhone video of this same spot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB6IMw2EyPI
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Hood looked great after polishing

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50/50 shot on the door

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There were plenty of deeper defects remaining, however the gloss was noticeably improved and that was the real goal for this detail.

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Fender before polishing.

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Fender after polishing.

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Very glossy!

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Side skirt before polishing... very dull

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Side skirt after polishing... much improved

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Cool reflection shot of the rear door.

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With the paint all cleaned up, the faded trim became much more noticeable so I decided it was a perfect time to try out the bottle of Solution Finish that I had been given a while ago.

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Solution Finish quickly and easily restored the trim to a like new appearance.

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Quite the difference!

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The wiper cowl looked like new after it was treated

**zmcgovern45** · 03-17-2014, 07:39 PM

Mirror trim before restoration

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Mirror trim after restoration

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Tires were dressed, and the dark rubber made the gold wheels pop even more! Absolutely love these wheels.

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The exhaust was in pretty good shape, but it needed a little help.

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After polishing, it looked great.

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The paint was sealed with Sonax Polymer Net Shield. This synthetic polymer sealant will provide several months of good protection. It will help to repel dirt and contamination - notice how water beads up and easily rolls off of the surface.

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After
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The Blue/Gold combo is just so perfect on this car. The wheels and tires looked great!

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The car cleaned up very nicely. The paint looks deep and glossy.

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Reflections were vivid and the paint looked dripping wet.

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My favorite angle of this car... so aggressive!

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The blue really pops now!

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A couple of glamour shots to end on... thanks for reading!

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**fdresq4** · 03-17-2014, 08:10 PM

Great work Zach! What`s the life expectancy of the Solutions Finish, as compared to a GTech product?

**zmcgovern45** · 03-20-2014, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by fdresq4

Great work Zach! What`s the life expectancy of the Solutions Finish, as compared to a GTech product?

To be honest, I`m not sure. `I typically use CQuartz DLUX for trim restoration, but was given a couple of bottles of solution finish to review a while back and since the owner didn`t want to pay for a trim coating (DLUX), I figured I would just go ahead and give the solution finish a shot. `