2012 Subaru New Decon/Polish & Opti Coat w/A very special guest

[JSFM35X]

I need to start by saying this is not entirely my work. I cannot accept more than about 5% (or less) of the credit for the spectacular results. I had a very, very special mentor for the day. I have been trying to up my detailing game and progress as a detailer. I only care for my own vehicles and on occasion help a friend out with minor issues. I have tried to make it to one of David and Phil`s local Polishing classes but the timing just never seemed to work into my schedule.

Over the past few years David, of Street Dreams Detail and I have been speaking and he has been generous with his advice and expertise. There is no arguing that his correction posts are awesome in both discription, and photo documentation. He is an amazing businessman, friend, person and detailer. When he offered to help/teach me to polish and apply opticoat on my new car I was delighted and jumped at the offer. It`s kind of like having Derek Jeter come over to show you how to play shortstop in your garage!

David`s detailing rig is like a detailing supply warehouse on wheels. He has everything you can imagine or ever need. It is all stored neatly in wall mounted tool boxes, bins and wall racks. He knows where everything is instantly.

Product used:
Poor Boys Super Slick and Suds
Washed with 2BM w/ grit guards
Wheel Woolies-set of 3
5 gall wheel wash bucket w/grit guards
Sheep Skin wash mitt & MF wash mitt for lower panels
P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner
P21S TAW
Stoners Tarminator
ONR as Nanoskin Lube
Nanoskin 6" pad
Wheel well brush, tire brush, SV brush
Griots DA w/ uber Mint Green pads
M105/M205 and some M101
303 Aerospace protectant for the engine
Uber Pink Glass Towels
Stoners invisible glass cleaner (pump Spray)
IPA
Opticoat 2.0
1Z cockpit Premium
1Z plastic cleaner
1Z Anti Insect
SV Pneu for the tires
Lots of GP and Paint Safe MF towels


A few pictures of the car at dealer pick up:




Adhesive after plastic removal quickly removed with Tarminator


Condition of wheels upon arival home from the dealer (dealer was told not to wash anything!)


I started the wash process early Sunday morning and got the car all cleaned up just as David was arriving at 8:45 AM. I had taken delivery of the car with the plastic intact and cleaned up the larger mess a few weeks ago. I had never met David in person but I feel like I have know him for longer than I actually do. He is a very genuine and sincerely nice guy who knows his way around paint. He literally spent 9 1/2 hours showing me and helping me do my car. We did take a lunch break and went to lunch at a great local place where we got to talk about detailing, life and literally everything under the sun. It was a great day for me.

After the wash, I pulled the car into the garage and David showed me the Nano Scrub pad, how it worked and how fast it allows you to remove bonded contaminants compared to clay. He allowed me to run the Nanoskin on the glass first to break in the pad and then on the paint. He demonstrated how much pressure was required to be effective yet not inflict any micro marring onto the paint whatsoever. The whole car was nano skinned (if that is a word) in less than 15 Minutes if you take out the time he stopped to allow me to practice on a few panels. We used ONR as the Nanoskin lube and then proceeded to dry the car. We split the hood and tried several combo`s of polish and determined that we could 1 step the fairly swirl free paint after seeing no real gain from a finer step. He pointed out the things I should look for when polishing, hand speed, pad speed and angle of attack for the DA as well as the advantages of varying amounts of pressure at different phases of polishing. He also showed me how much product to apply to the pad and when to add more. David and I worked our way around the car until the polishing was complete. It is amazing how easy and smooth he makes polishing look, and then when I take the machines in my hand how awkward and jerky it feels.

Next we wiped the car down with a solution of IPA. we checked the car with a super bright LED light and corrected a few spot defects we located with the brightest of lights. After wiping those spots with IPA we began the opti-coating.

Applying the Opticoat 2.0 was the part I was extremely concerned about getting right since it is a PITA to fix a botched permanent coating of any kind! I was happy to have David there to show me the application process. We wiped it on in a methodic and consistent pattern to ensure 100% coverage. We watch the Opticoat flash off and clarify as it melted into the paint. Then after several minutes we buffed the panel with a paint safe MF to level the high spots. The opti coat is not hard to apply once you know and are confident in what you are doing. It is just time consuming and un-nerving because if you wait too long to level the high spots you might have to polish them flat. After we applied 2 coats of Opti coat on the paint, we moved onto the lenses, wheels and exhaust pipe and interior faux wood trim.

By the time we were done I was toast-this is not easy work and I have a whole new respect for the guys who bust out several cars a week on their own! What`s so funny about this is David did a lot (read MOST) of the volume of work. I plan on polishing and opti coating the door jams/under side of the hood/trunk jambs and SS sill plates in the future.

At the end I offered to take David to dinner but he already had plans. I will always be extremely grateful for his instruction and the guidance and tips he gave me on this past Sunday. I got a great result, met a great guy and made a good friend. I feel like I now have enough knowledge to practice and improve to the point where I can get to the next level in detailing.
Here are some shots of the car in the finishing stages. I did not take any WIP pictures as it would have slowed down and extended the process.

It was a super hot day in NY and these are the after shots taken as we were loosing the bright sun:







Everyone, Thanks for looking and David Thanks for everything!

[tropicsteve]

that was great of david to mentor you like that. you`re right, the results are spectacular!

[mjlinane]

That`s great!! My next new car will coated right out of the chute, too.

[Todd@RUPES]

I met David at the last SEMA. He is a very nice guy. His work obviously speaks volume about his talent as a detailer but there are lots of great detailers. It is his genuine personality that sets him apart.

[bmw5541]

Hi Jeff,

It`s been a while since I posted. I have a whole lot of crap going on. I saw your post and had to reply. The car looks great, and you got a very valuable session from a MASTER!!!

Keep it up my friend!

[Gurge]

wait a minute... you got a new subaru... with opti coat... and its not a BRZ? seen so many of those recently

looks like top notch work and you also walked away with a lot of knowledge. pretty cool.

[JSFM35X]

that was great of david to mentor you like that. you`re right, the results are spectacular!

Let me tell you, it was an experience i will not soon forget. It was like a Masters Class in not only hands on detailing but the philosophy behind it. Keep in mind that this is my vehicle and David went on to correct things I said were fine! The man is funny as anything, a professional, a perfectionist and he sees things that I never would have in a million years. One of my neighbors can by to see wehat all the racket was with the buffer running and he was busting our chops for spending so much time polishing "A Car". David gave it right back to him and put him ever so nicely in his place. My neighbors think I am weird washing the cars all the time you can imagine when we stated crankiung up the polishers for 5-6 hours!

He is almost as great a detailer and he is a person.......think about that for a second becasue it is a supreme compliment.

[JSFM35X]

That`s great!! My next new car will coated right out of the chute, too.

Well I have not washed it yet. It spent the last week in the garage curing. I know it can get wet after several hours but I want to get some opti coat in jambs and another on the wheels and I do not want to have to decon the car again. It is so clean, I just can bring myself to leave it outside overnight!

I am however in therapy and we are making slow progress......

[JSFM35X]

Hi Jeff,

It`s been a while since I posted. I have a whole lot of crap going on. I saw your post and had to reply. The car looks great, and you got a very valuable session from a MASTER!!!

Keep it up my friend!

WOW-good to hear from you buddy. I am happy to see you surface and I am honored that I got you to post. I hope to see you around more often. David was a gentleman and spent alot of time teching me what I needed to learn. it was a great day for me.

Jeff

[JSFM35X]

I met David at the last SEMA. He is a very nice guy. His work obviously speaks volume about his talent as a detailer but there are lots of great detailers. It is his genuine personality that sets him apart.

David is a good guy and a great detailer. As are you my friend. You guys along with a short list of others have really set yourselves apart in this industry which has alot of talented detailers, but there are a few who rise above the rest.

I thought I was a detailer until I stumbled across TID. My cars always looked the best, or close to the best (read Clean) where ever I went. My main reason for seeking out the forum originally was to get control of the finish on my Black M35X in 2008.

After Posting my issues with sun shots, David (Who I had never met before) wrote me a PM which amounted to a Rx for the issue at hand. The Rx consisted of SIP, 85RD, Tangerine pads, White Pads. He suggested I use my buffer pressed against a bathroom scale to measure 15 lbs of pressure and start with 5 passed North to South and 5 passed East to West. I placed an order with Angelo for those items and a Flex DA and so began my journey to a swirl free finish.

People on my block who see me looking at my cars at all angles, with the 1000 W lights blazing and brinkman think I am crazy. maybe I am but it is a health hobby that I enjoy. In late 2007, If you ever told me I would purchase a tool some day to clean the barrels of my wheels I would have told you that you were crazy. And today when someone shows up and tells me they just detailed their car, it is the first thing I look at.

Thanks to David for spending the day and everyone for their help along the way.

[JSFM35X]

wait a minute... you got a new subaru... with opti coat... and its not a BRZ? seen so many of those recently

looks like top notch work and you also walked away with a lot of knowledge. pretty cool.

You know that is funny becasue I was thinking, what are the BRZ`s and FRS`s shipped with a sticker that says must apply Opti Coat or else?

I learned a lot from David and the real test will be when I try it on my own. David is an awesome detailer and a great guy. He answered all my questions and showed me what I have been missing or doing incorrectly.

The decision to use OptiCoat was to make maintenance easier. I have several vehicles we share in the house and as the number grows I am looking to reduce the amount of work in maintaining the cars. I really enjoy washing, but the polishing and LSP just kills the better part of a day so I am looking to extend the time between tear down and recoating. I tried Opti Coat on this one, and have enough left to do my wifes MDX provided the first wash yeilds good results. After the Opti Coat is used up I think I will give EXO and maybe Cquarts a try on other vehicles. I am a sucker for a new product that yeilds great performance and decreased the amount of work I need to do! LOL.

Thanks-

[polisher]

any interior shots?

[JSFM35X]

any interior shots?

I will take some pictures of the interior and post them up most likely this weekend.