# CraigQQ vs Subaru Impreza STI Prodrive Style C1 Detail



## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Afternoon ladies and gents.

so about 2 months ago I was pm'd by David (username Pink Floyd) and asked if i'd be willing to sort out his STI after most of it was resprayed,

we've been trying to get together since, but illness/injuries and general schedule problems prevented it until yesterday.
during the time we've been swaying between what needs done, and more so.. the protection.
last week we decided on G1 for the windows and C1 for the paintwork(and a few bits of plastic, and the exhaust)

no arrival pics as it wasn't dirty apart from one area of bird dropping, and a bit of dustiness from the drive from dundee.
no washing/decon pics as i didnt really think of it, and find it a bit boring anyway lol.

so on with the pictures now, the car was snowfoamed with turtle big orange, washed, ironx'd tardis'd and dried with autobrite polar express towels.

taped up with 3m 3434 blue tape and moved round back of house to the polishing bay... (just a slabbed area round back lol)

first pic for calum, as he claims i can't mask circle objects

















































some PTG readings taken.
low readings on the boot
















and higher readings over most of the car as we knew it had seen the body shop 4 months ago.

































Tried to get a few pics of the general swirling.. but i can never get a decent shot of it.

































polishing was done with the DA, and Chemical guys microfibre pads with optical cut v36 and v38


















spoiler was big enough to get the machine in = RESULT lol

while I was polishing the paint, David was polishing the glass with Gtechniq G4(apart from the first window when i handed him the wrong bottle.. and gave him L1 leather guard instead of g4:wall: im an idiot)
then applied one coat of g1 to all the other windows and 3 coats to the windscreen, given 20 minutes between coats to cure, and buffed with IPA/G2 and a swissvax cotton towel.

After polishing David gave the car a thorough IPA wipedown, 
and we both cracked on with the C1 application, being his first time using c1, David's thoughts on it were very positive on the ease of use.. but im sure if he spots this he will give his opinion.

imo c1 is the easiest thing i've used.. much quicker than waxing and less vigorous buffing lol

the plastics were faded so they got a coat of c1 aswell (it might not bond as well as c4 does.. but it still works very well)
heres a 5050 of the plastic on the front bumper behind the numberplate









exhaust polished with autosol and c1 applied(no pics sorry)

the whole day was cloudy and overcast.. but not rain which was perfect for polishing, no direct sunlight, no hot panels, no sun burn and no polish drying to quick.
but for the finished pics wasn't too great.
now for some finished pics.. couple in the drive, then a few at my summer mansion  :lol::lol:


















and the summer mansion.









































































































Thanks for looking,
Hope you made it to the end lol.. and enjoyed it..
comments welcome and appreciated.

Craig


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Very nice...Sir...:thumb:

Try and keep the Kranzle out the shots... show off...:lol:


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## dogtown123 (Feb 7, 2011)

Very nice .... How did you get on with the microfiber system .?


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

james_death said:


> Very nice...Sir...:thumb:
> 
> Try and keep the Kranzle out the shots... show off...:lol:


haha.. thanks james...

i may just have to pm you a few pics of the kranzle


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

dogtown123 said:


> Very nice .... How did you get in with the microfiber system .?


worked very well. but this is only the second car i've used it on.
but even the compounding mf pad and v36 corrected the panels and left no hologramming.
it works a lot quicker than normal foam, and even quicker than rotary i've found so far.. 
we did this whole detail in 6 and a half hours with just me polishing.. probably 3-3 1/2 hours polishing compared to the normal 6 or so polishing with a one stage polish and foam pads.. 
i prefer constant cut polishes in general though. megs 205/Gtechniq p1/CG optical cut ect.


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

looks good mate.... nice job.

:thumb:


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## ChrisJD (Apr 15, 2009)

Very nice. Don't see many of the Prodrive versions around.

Just like my old one...

Chris.


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great job there buddy, looks real tidy now.


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Great job Craig! :thumb:


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Simply stunning...


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Great Job Craig! I need to get snowfoaming mine! Bug splatter on the front!

Looked immense for the show though!


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

gally said:


> Great Job Craig! I need to get snowfoaming mine! Bug splatter on the front!
> 
> Looked immense for the show though!


lol mine was really splattered.. with doing your car, adams and davids. mine was neglected with work aswell.. so its been 10 days since it was washed.. bug splatter...
then i remembered i had c1 on the front.. grabbed the hose. with just the standard hoze gun on it. on jet.. and it removed the bug splatter 

got any pics from the show?


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

how much tape did you put on that man :lol:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Ninja59 said:


> how much tape did you put on that man :lol:


your not getting a _thanks_ for that comment lol..

i put on the necessary amount to cover window rubbers ect

if you want to see overtaping go to my wet sanding thread of the QQ lol.. every gap and edge was taped


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

CraigQQ said:


> lol mine was really splattered.. with doing your car, adams and davids. mine was neglected with work aswell.. so its been 10 days since it was washed.. bug splatter...
> then i remembered i had c1 on the front.. grabbed the hose. with just the standard hoze gun on it. on jet.. and it removed the bug splatter
> 
> got any pics from the show?


I've still got some to come through mate, heres one...


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## neo8047 (May 5, 2006)

Great job Craig and a fantastic sharp finish. 

I have to attempt to correct my blobeye STI PPP in the next few weeks once my Scholl products arrive. Still trying to decide on what to use as an LSP


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Looking nice and shiny there  If you are struggling to picture swirls, try holding your light source further back from the panel and switch off the camera flash so the camera focusses only on the light source 



gally said:


> I've still got some to come through mate, heres one...


That is looking very smart. How did you get on with the Crystal Mist?


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

FRP is looking cracking Kev :thumb:



neo8047 said:


> Great job Craig and a fantastic sharp finish.
> 
> I have to attempt to correct my blobeye STI PPP in the next few weeks once my Scholl products arrive. Still trying to decide on what to use as an LSP


lsp is quite a personal choice to be honest.
personally i prefer sealants, c1 being the ultimate protection, but not easily available, 
zaino z2 being highly rated, with a lovely finish, 
or c2 being a great alternative to c1 with a stunning finish, easy to use, UV block and months of durability

wax wise.. cg5050, is hard to pass up imo, the price compared to ease of use, finish and durability make it a great wax.

but if i wanted to go special, Swissvax shield is pound for pound the best wax I've ever used in terms of finsh and durability...
swissvax best of show and rg55 edge shield out on the finish, but the oils quickly fade after a few weeks and leave a very comparable finish to me, 
but shield's water behaviour and durability make it the best imo.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Dave KG said:


> Looking nice and shiny there  If you are struggling to picture swirls, try holding your light source further back from the panel and switch off the camera flash so the camera focusses only on the light source
> 
> That is looking very smart. How did you get on with the Crystal Mist?


thanks dave... i got a decent 5050 shot off my phone camera today on dads car, but its part of the farcela review so can't post it yet.

and that was done with the torch further from the car, and taking the auto focus off so i could control it a bit more.


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> haha.. thanks james...
> 
> i may just have to pm you a few pics of the kranzle


Now your just been sick, ill try and get you banned for causing depression....:lol:


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Dave KG said:


> Looking nice and shiny there  If you are struggling to picture swirls, try holding your light source further back from the panel and switch off the camera flash so the camera focusses only on the light source
> 
> That is looking very smart. How did you get on with the Crystal Mist?


Thanks Dave.  It was fantastic tbh, exactly what I needed I had Z8/Z6 with me aswell but decided to stick with the CM it worked so well so definitely want to get a Carnauba spray I think it can add even more to the finish whilst topping up the wax at the same time proloning the life of it.

Really does give that just waxed look. I thought it would have been more viscous due to the Carnauba but it was perfect and obviously zero streaks.

Weekend was fantastic.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

james_death said:


> Now your just been sick, ill try and get you banned for causing depression....:lol:


:lol: awww... you can drive up here and use it if you want :lol:


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> :lol: awww... you can drive up here and use it if you want :lol:


I warned you.... your really rubbing it in now....:lol::lol::lol:
So your a test driver hay... you Farecla....:lol:


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## Pink_Floyd (Nov 11, 2007)

Thanks for all the comments about the car. It is looking great :thumb: Here is a beading shot from today;










The C1 is very easy to use, however I can see why it could go so easily wrong very quickly........


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## badman1972 (Jun 24, 2010)

Nice work mate, a worthy motor to spend time on and some decent masking if I may say so :thumb:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

james_death said:


> I warned you.... your really rubbing it in now....:lol::lol::lol:
> So your a test driver hay... you Farecla....:lol:


lol yeah.. 
and nothing wrong with farcela lol.. not today anyway...was tested on dads car.. which is abused!! lol. 
its the test car... some have a test panel.. i have a test car lol.



Pink_Floyd said:


> Thanks for all the comments about the car. It is looking great :thumb: Here is a beading shot from today;
> 
> The C1 is very easy to use, however I can see why it could go so easily wrong very quickly........


beading looks great David, know what you mean about the c1.



badman1972 said:


> Nice work mate, a worthy motor to spend time on and some decent masking if I may say so :thumb:


why thank you lol.. calum says i can't mask


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

CraigQQ said:


> your not getting a _thanks_ for that comment lol..
> 
> i put on the necessary amount to cover window rubbers ect
> 
> if you want to see overtaping go to my wet sanding thread of the QQ lol.. every gap and edge was taped


:doublesho your harsh.


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## gtechrob (Sep 11, 2006)

nice c1 application there craig - we've c1'd a fair few pro drive scooby doos in our time - the ones driven by solberg and atkinson


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

gtechrob said:


> nice c1 application there craig - we've c1'd a fair few pro drive scooby doos in our time - the ones driven by solberg and atkinson


ooooh would love to hear more about them rob.. i remember seeing something about the wieght saving for the rally cars, but can't find the info anymore.


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Very nice Craig, trust that Ninja to have a go:lol:

Nice level of correction, C1 will be very handy on that soft paint:thumb:


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Craig we all know you cannot mask! It's a like a blind person with a roll of 3M!:lol:


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

Looking nice Craig! You've been a busy lad recently! :thumb:

Shame you don't live nearer me :lol:


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Car looks well Craig. Just wondering on the contours and side skirts. How did you get on with those and the Mf system.

I am personally surprised that you found short setting the Cg optical range of polish beneficial also. As they are not constant cut polishes as you said. But diminishing abrasiveness. So short setting would serve no purpose and leave micro marring in the finish. Even with the right technique and very long work times V34 will finish down LSP ready. Although I would not be happy at finishing a car that way and would follow it up with V38.

Not having a dig on the polishes. Just do not wish others to be misinformed about there make up and working.



CraigQQ said:


> worked very well. but this is only the second car i've used it on.
> but even the compounding mf pad and v36 corrected the panels and left no hologramming.
> it works a lot quicker than normal foam, and even quicker than rotary i've found so far..
> we did this whole detail in 6 and a half hours with just me polishing.. probably 3-3 1/2 hours polishing compared to the normal 6 or so polishing with a one stage polish and foam pads..
> i prefer constant cut polishes in general though. megs 205/Gtechniq p1/CG optical cut ect.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

caledonia said:


> Car looks well Craig. Just wondering on the contours and side skirts. How did you get on with those and the Mf system.
> 
> I am personally surprised that you found short setting the Cg optical range of polish beneficial also. As they are not constant cut polishes as you said. But diminishing abrasiveness. So short setting would serve no purpose and leave micro marring in the finish. Even with the right technique and very long work times V34 will finish down LSP ready. Although I would not be happy at finishing a car that way and would follow it up with V38.
> 
> Not having a dig on the polishes. Just do not wish others to be misinformed about there make up and working.


i was using a mirka interface(the one made for the sanding discs) it allows the disc to bend more for the contours.

someone told me they were constant cut.. 
but after ipa wipedowns there was no micro marring.. which is strange for diminishing abrasives.. kev seen the same thing with the puma, but the work times were longer on his, as it was foam pads not mf.. and rotary work.

used it twice with short sets and not found it.. will need to test that out.. maybe it was the paint hardness?


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

CraigQQ said:


> i was using a mirka interface(the one made for the sanding discs) it allows the disc to bend more for the contours.
> 
> someone told me they were constant cut..
> but after ipa wipedowns there was no micro marring.. which is strange for diminishing abrasives.. kev seen the same thing with the puma, but the work times were longer on his, as it was foam pads not mf.. and rotary work.
> ...


 By the addition of an interface layer you have essentially added to the absorption of the vibrations and oscillations so in turn cutting down on correction and breaking down the compound. Since you also carried out correction as you would a Smat abrasive polish. This would point even more to the reason i mentioned micro marring of the finish. Although C1 would mask these defects by the distortion of light.

As I can see why you carried out an IPA wipe down. As you wished to apply C1. And have a clean surface. But again since Cg polishes are also water based this could have been carried out much easier. I would also be interested in hearing how you carried out this wipe down, including dwell time and product strength. This might also be the reason why you did not notice any marring present on the surfaces of the car.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

caledonia said:


> By the addition of an interface layer you have essentially added to the absorption of the vibrations and oscillations so in turn cutting down on correction and breaking down the compound. Since you also carried out correction as you would a Smat abrasive polish. This would point even more to the reason i mentioned micro marring of the finish. Although C1 would mask these defects by the distortion of light.
> 
> As I can see why you carried out an IPA wipe down. As you wished to apply C1. And have a clean surface. But again since Cg polishes are also water based this could have been carried out much easier. I would also be interested in hearing how you carried out this wipe down, including dwell time and product strength. This might also be the reason why you did not notice any marring present on the surfaces of the car.


sorry gordon, bit confused at the first bit.. so the compound would break down slower with the interface mate?

how about i give you a phone in a couple days when i have some spare time and we can go over it?
you obviously know more than me on this, would like to hear your thoughts.


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## Boss7 (Jul 27, 2011)

seen these picks on Scottishscoobies.net this morning - some great work.


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## spiros (Mar 30, 2010)

HEY Graig wonderful jop.How did you cleaned the pads you had a compressor ?


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

used a pad brush, and washed it out during the correction.. it doesn't work as well as the compressor but it works.


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## spiros (Mar 30, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> used a pad brush, and washed it out during the correction.. it doesn't work as well as the compressor but it works.


Another question:lol:

Did you find that compination agrresive .?did you use them with foam pads or straight to mf pads?How you compared them(polishes) with m 105 or merzena powergloss


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

i havent used m105 or powergloss sorry, so cant compare.. but i was using the finishing polish on the finishing pad for the light swirling on the resprayed panels and the finishing polish with the compound mf pad for the non sprayed areas that were more swirled.. only one panel required the v36 compound.

i used them with foam pads on the rotary, and found them not very aggressive on kev's puma,
they worked better with the hex pads for correction levels that the 3m i found(both used on rotary).. maybe thats my technique.
it required 2 long work time sets with a yellow hex and v36(with very little pressure) to go clear, and remove the sanding haze from 4000 mirka discs.
then refined with white hex and menz 106FA


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## spiros (Mar 30, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> i havent used m105 or powergloss sorry, so cant compare.. but i was using the finishing polish on the finishing pad for the light swirling on the resprayed panels and the finishing polish with the compound mf pad for the non sprayed areas that were more swirled.. only one panel required the v36 compound.
> 
> i used them with foam pads on the rotary, and found them not very aggressive on kev's puma,
> they worked better with the hex pads for correction levels that the 3m i found(both used on rotary).. maybe thats my technique.
> ...


My brother had a mercedes with terrible paint and iam thinking to buy the v 36(orange pad hex) and refined with merzena 85 re


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

i haven't used the v36 and v38 polishes enough(and haven't tried v34 yet) to recommend for certain cars (maybe pm gordon, or post up, and hope him or davekg answer) but menzerna, on mercedes paint,, gauging its hard(can't tell until you start ofcourse so would be a guess of hard) 106FA would be a better choice than 85RE imo


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## Bowler (Jan 23, 2011)

Nice job Craig, You packed in the cooking now mate?


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

CraigQQ said:


> sorry gordon, bit confused at the first bit.. so the compound would break down slower with the interface mate?
> 
> how about i give you a phone in a couple days when i have some spare time and we can go over it?
> you obviously know more than me on this, would like to hear your thoughts.


No problem Craig more than welcome as is anyone on the forum. There is a review on the benefits of the MF system when compared to pads that I wrote up a few weeks ago if this helps.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=222728



CraigQQ said:


> i havent used m105 or powergloss sorry, so cant compare.. but i was using the finishing polish on the finishing pad for the light swirling on the resprayed panels and the finishing polish with the compound mf pad for the non sprayed areas that were more swirled.. only one panel required the v36 compound.
> 
> i used them with foam pads on the rotary, and found them not very aggressive on kev's puma,
> they worked better with the hex pads for correction levels that the 3m i found(both used on rotary).. maybe thats my technique.
> ...


V38 Has a cut around 106fa
v38 cuts around 203s
v34 has a slightly higher cut that po85rd 3.02. But no where near S100
All the polishes are water based with extremely long work times.
I have also got v34 to finish down. with no marring and a very extended work time. Although I would not recommend this.



CraigQQ said:


> i haven't used the v36 and v38 polishes enough(and haven't tried v34 yet) to recommend for certain cars (maybe pm gordon, or post up, and hope him or davekg answer) but menzerna, on mercedes paint,, gauging its hard(can't tell until you start ofcourse so would be a guess of hard) 106FA would be a better choice than 85RE imo


Dave conducted a few more tests at the weekend and I think he was to include V36 in a comparison video against intensive polish.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=227428

He also videoed V34 I think. So watch out for the review.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Bowler said:


> Nice job Craig, You packed in the cooking now mate?


no still working full time (put in 65 hours this week), this was just a favour for another member.

cheers mate



caledonia said:


> No problem Craig more than welcome as is anyone on the forum. There is a review on the benefits of the MF system when compared to pads that I wrote up a few weeks ago if this helps.
> 
> http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=222728
> 
> ...


thanks gordon,
i'll have a watch/read of both those, and keep an eye out for daves v34 test..

i didn't think they were very aggressive.. (certainly dont think they remove the sanding haze claimed (36 claims 3000 grit marks.. but 34 with a long work time required 2 hits on a yellow hex.. maybe be one hit with a long work time on the mf pads)

im working all week, after i read the reviews above, if i have any more questions or need anything else explained more, i'll give you a phone on friday(unless your working in the unit friday.. i could maybe pop through for a chat)


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Yup, I've been playing around with V36 and V34 over the weekend in addition to my Scholl S17+ and Megs Microfibre system testing so I have a few writeups to do, and will get round to them shortly  

Personally, I was finding the work times of the V-series to be very long and this has benefits in terms of flexibility of the products. They finish down very well, V36 around the Menz 203S mark as Gordon says above, and V34 around the Menz 85RD3.02 mark. Which is good, but still leaves me wondering where the heavier cutting compound is to rival the likes of Power Gloss and Fast Cut Plus...


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## MAXI-MILAN (Oct 26, 2008)

Great work Craig :thumb:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Dave KG said:


> Yup, I've been playing around with V36 and V34 over the weekend in addition to my Scholl S17+ and Megs Microfibre system testing so I have a few writeups to do, and will get round to them shortly
> 
> Personally, I was finding the work times of the V-series to be very long and this has benefits in terms of flexibility of the products. They finish down very well, V36 around the Menz 203S mark as Gordon says above, and V34 around the Menz 85RD3.02 mark. Which is good, but still leaves me wondering where the heavier cutting compound is to rival the likes of Power Gloss and Fast Cut Plus...


thanks dave.

i was expecting v34 to be pretty heavy cut aswell.. something like fast cut..

with the planned v40 release, im guessing it will be something around the 85re level of the current menz series.

no heavy hitters then.
to be honest.. you probably don't need them on most details.. but it would complete the range.


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## rig-pig (Dec 12, 2009)

very nice m8, i will see this in the flesh the next time i bump into pink


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