# Ultimate Shine: Subaru WRX MY05 "A Glossy Step by Step"



## Ultimate Shine (Jun 3, 2008)

Well guy's as being a keen supporter of www.sidc.co.uk Subaru Impreza world due to ownership of one and the love of boost.


I thought the first members car I Detailed involved a major write up to let you know them know how Ultimate Shine operates on a day to day basis and to show all what my Detailing service is like.

The car in question is a Subaru WRX 05 with 28k on the clock and TBH was a very level car. I would have been happy with this purchase if it was mine.


































































































































































Onto my first of many foaming procedures this was done with Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner Diluted in my foam lance with the hot washer set at 60oC





























































Next stage is the wheels for this my list includes,
Gloss It wheel gel diluted @ 4:1
Meguiars Super Degreaser @ 4:1
Ultimate wheel face brush, I have about 12 different sizes of these for different wheels
EZ Detail Small Wheel Brush
EZ Detail Large Wheel Brush
Wheel Arch Brush
Small inner wheel brush for stubborn marks
Not show in this picture a Brush for cleaning the sidewalls of tyres

Wheel Before,










Gloss it wheel Gel


















































Wheel now clean onto tyre next,




























































Rear Wheel






























Other Wheel, note all wheels rinsed still @ 60oC but with reduced pressure.




















Next stop engine bay now knowing that Subaru's are all about the flat4 and the driving i made sure i got this mega clean.

Before,






































































Now for this task i used,
Meguiars Super Degreaser 4:1 
*making sure that i only sprayed onto the brush along the edges of the wing due to the nature of the product it can mark paint if not careful*
Selection of Brushes including the Meguiars Triple action brush

So plenty of degreaser sprayed onto the engine components. Trick here is never let it dry or it will stain. **Please note again spraying the engine bay with any chemical or water is unsafe as water ingress into electrical components can cause failure of the parts** However owning one of these i know the weak spots under the engine bay. Also i am heavily insured for engine bay cleaning, machine polishing etc etc.





















Let sit and then start washing with brush,











Now like most jap cars the engine bays take a fair amount of scrubbing and this one was no different so once i had spent 30 mins getting all the small bits done i needed a bigger more efficient tool for the job, bring on the,
Autosmart Tornador Cleaning Tool & 2.5hp 50Lt Compressor
When i first got into car cleaning and was put up against some serious challenges i found this tool and it made my life so much easier. Basically it sprays cleaning solution or air out of nozzle in a circular motion and is a very fine mist but as the cleaning solution is coming out of the pipe the pipe is spinning round in the tube causing a tornado effect in the tube that then sooks all the debris up the tube and it sticks to the inside of the tube this can then be cleaned by spraying in a bucket of clean warm water.

To assist me here i gave a gentle APC foam @ 60oC but don't try this at home.






























Final rinse done with hot water @75oC lower pressure.

After




















Now this is a very important stage in the cleaning process as making sure your rubbers are clean as green tree sap and general grime can build up, this car wasn't too bad but you would be amazed how dirty even the rubber can get.
This was done again with Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner @ 6:1 by brush and trigger bottle 




















Fuel Cap,




















All purpose Cleaner again,










As you see from the next picture you will only be able to go so far with APC then you need to switch back to Super Degreaser for heavy stains










Now clean making sure the rinse off was done quickly as this will stain the paint.










On with the rest and it suddenly dawned on me the tornador i will just use that instead.
Badge to remove old polish










Door handle,
Note the end of the tornador tube is like a brush. I spent 6 months convincing Autosmart UK to import these ends as the standard tube doesn't have the brush end. I got my end for free in the end for all my moaning.




















Door checks done with Super Degreaser and rinsed @ 80oC with very low pressure and with the aid of tornador








































Number plates and mounting brackets removed.




















Now wash time so remembering that i have foamed the car probably 3/4 times with APC and rinsed i need to hand wash with minimal chance of damaging paint with contact.
Now for the washing I usually foam the car up with Meguiars Hyper Wash @ 60oC and then set out my 2BM(2 bucket method) One bucket full off warm water and Meguiars Shampoo Plus and the other bucket filled with Dom Perignon champagne, First for washing and the second for drinking  
No that isn't right the second one is for rinsing the wash mitt out after each panel. The reason for this is to not contaminate the shampoo with dirty water as i will now demonstrate





























Washing,










Notice the colour of the water in the rinse bucket after half the car washed,










Done,










Let the water settle and this is what it is like now i have already pre-foamed and rinsed a total of 5 times minimum.










Car was given a rinse again.
Next step is to remove as much of the surface tar and contamination using a great Tar and Glue remover. This is sprayed all over the car and left to soak,

B4




















The T&G working





























Car then rinsed again and taken inside for drying. This done with my black baron vehicle dryer and various super plush drying towels.
The drying machine is great for drying out wheel's, rubbers, badges and panels. You know when you have spent ages on your car polishing etc and you take it for a drive and you get those nasty water runs from under your mirrors etc. This stops that and also reduces the brakes from rusting . 




















Now the next stage was to Clay the car and i am afraid that battery had run out.
I used Meg's mild clay with water and once done car taken back outside again to be rinsed down and dried. The reason we use clay is due to surface contamination embedding its self on the surface. If the contamination is bad i will opt for more aggressive clay that will in turn mark the surface slightly but the machine polishing would remove that.
Next was the job of taking paint depth readings. This is a stage that i do to get a feel for how deep the paint is and also how much i have to play with. I can do it by eye usually but this is a must just to make sure.
This is the deepest reading,










The minimum reading,










Now here is a demonstration to show how thick paint is on a car. I first put my depth gauge on the paint at the corner of the blue tape and take a reading.










Reading,


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## Ultimate Shine (Jun 3, 2008)

Now i will place a sheet of A4 paper in-between the gauge and the paint so whatever the thickness of the paper will be on top of 111um reading before, Now this reading includes primer, base colour and lacquer.










Now the reading, 










So the paint is just thicker in total than the A4 paper,










Paper side on










Now some defects,






































































For correction today i decided to take the Gloss It correction products. These products are slightly different from others as the way they work requires a different procedure, so Gloss It evolution cut. My tool choice is Festool Shinex Rotary using a 3m backing plate and a selection of Gloss It pads,

Defect before,










During,










Gloss Enhancing Detail spray,










Defects,
Before,










After,










Before,










After,










Scratch on the back bumper,
Before,










Machined and not enough to mask the mark so wet sand route i think,










Wet sand,










After,










The great thing about machine polishing is the way the lights polish up,
Before,




















After,










Before,










After,










Driver's door before, the customer had already tried to take some tar marks off with some polish and a cloth,




















After the first pass,










Done to a level where i can refine the rest on my final pass.










Now one thing about detailing is that you will not always get all marks completely out as you may risk striking through the clear coat or even making the paint colour look different from the whole car so this is the defect left,










Defect,
Before,










After,










Before,










Before,










After,










After,










After,










Headlights,
Before,










Before,










Before,










After,










After,










Before,










After,








,

Before,










The exhaust needed some treatment,




















Car washed again and then dried to make sure all the compound was removed as it did get pretty bad at points. To this stage there was 12 hours work,










Now no pictures of refining but i used again my festool rotary machine and my Gloss it backing plate due to the softer foam and a mixture of the Gloss It Green Pad and the Gloss It Blue pad.
Then a nice final wipe down with a super plush towel and some Gloss It Gloss Enhancer detailing spray,
Now the finishing touches were to apply LSP (Last Stage Product) so the choice had to be,










First base coat to the sealant
Gloss It Finish applied with Meguiars G220 DA with a Gloss It Finishing Red pad @ speed 4
Then topped with,
Gloss It Concorso applied with again the G220 with a different Gloss It Red pad @ speed 3
This is a Show Car finish with not the greatest durability but is ideal as a maintenance product for my customers as it always brings bling to the party.
What you have to understand about LSP products are they all give a slightly different look. Carnauba Wax makes the car look wet but will dull down the flake slightly and the lines of the car will not be as defined.
Sealants depending on make will give flake pop and will give major gloss look like this Gloss It product or sharp defined lines like Jeff Werkstatt. There are lots of others but there is better looks than others. I like durability but i love the Ultimate Shine look. 
I am currently testing all of the G-Techniq Nano based stuff and this stuff has crazy water beading and durability and i mean crazy and it will withstand a lot. I am just about to coat Ice-Dog's wheels with this stuff before they get fitted and i have no doubt that it will last for months and months.
Tyre Dressing,
Gloss It Signature Tyre Dressing & Gloss It cortex applicator sponge. X 3 Coats










Detailing Spray,Gloss It Gloss Enhancer and Poorboys Deluxe mega towel.










Wheels done with,
Optiseal and Meguiars even coat applicator.










Inner arches and mud flaps,
Gloss It TRV and Gloss It applicator










Glass,
Brilliant Glass cleaner and Glass Cloths and G-Techniq C2 liquid crystal,










Under the bonnet done with,
303 Aerospace protectant on black rubber hoses and plastics
G-Techniq C2 liquid crystal on the underside of bonnet and the inner arches.

Well after 22 hours and a lot of hard work here she is. The customer was delighted and to me that is everything as i don't look at my business as money making scheme i do it for my love of detailing cars (But need to cover my costs lol...)







































































































































































































































Well if you made it this far thanks for reading and comments are always welcome,

Paul - Ultimate Shine


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

nice work Paul and a very thorough, descriptive write-up :thumb:


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## T25DOC (Jan 11, 2010)

very good.....very good indeed sir.....


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## m4rkie23 (May 19, 2009)

very impressed!! nice work


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## chappo (Jan 7, 2010)

that is one serious detail going on there mate,

top quality work and results.


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Impressive work. The car looked very abused and lack lustre before and now looks like a cherished garage queen. Great stuff :thumb:


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## Phil23 (Nov 29, 2008)

Great job, and a very detailed write up. I've got next week off, and am need of topping up a my product cupboard (maybe even a BB!). So I may pop round some time during the week and introduce myself if thats ok with you, (probably ask a load of questions too!). :lol:


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

very nice work


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Cant see the pics mate, Tried both Safari and Firefox thats the 3rd post from you that i cant see pcis


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Very good thorough write up - and a superb finish too. Top work!


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## TCD (Jan 27, 2009)

Top work mate. The interview is amazing!


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## Racer (Oct 27, 2005)

Its a true step by step detail, just plain amazing job :thumb:


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## Jorge (Oct 12, 2009)

what a GREAT report! :doublesho

Top job! :thumb:


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## ALANSHR (Jun 29, 2007)

Very nice job, lots of attention to the little bits that make all the difference to the finished job, well done.


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## wrxmania (Apr 15, 2007)

Very nice 

Brian.


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## wrxmania (Apr 15, 2007)

Grizzle said:


> Cant see the pics mate, Tried both Safari and Firefox thats the 3rd post from you that i cant see pcis


Working fine for me in both Chrome and IE...


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

its like being back on 56k modem looking at your pics :wall::lol:


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## Waxamomo (Jun 18, 2008)

Very informative write-up and great work. I bet the write up took as long as actually detailing the car :thumb:


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

very nice, and the paper thing is, er, different


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Fantastic in depth look at what goes into a 'full' detail. Great words and pictures describing the process - thanks for taking the extended time for putting that together :thumb:

Nice job on the engine bay, shame all the bolts/nuts are shot to pieces because that really does spoil the after results, may the owner will hopefully replace/paint them to take it to that next level .


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## vxlfan (Oct 6, 2009)

Another top detail, Paul !

I reckon Autosmart should put you on commission or a consultancy role - well done for persevering...the Tornador with brush looks a brilliant piece of kit, esp. on the engine bay.

Enjoying reading your write-ups, as always.

Keep 'em coming, bud!:thumb:


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## evenflow (Apr 2, 2008)

I do like those WRXs, especially in that grey colour. Looks like you did a really thorough job and the car now looks A1.


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

Fantastic writeup :thumb:


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## The Sheriff (Jul 15, 2008)

Great write up, thanks for taking up a lot of your time doing this:thumb:

Some good tips there too.


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## paranoid73 (Aug 5, 2009)

Another great write up and great tips :thumb:


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Great detail and very informative write-up, with great photo's too!:thumb:


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## Ultimate Shine (Jun 3, 2008)

Waxamomo said:


> Very informative write-up and great work. I bet the write up took as long as actually detailing the car :thumb:


It usually takes about 6 hours to do a write up


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

:thumb:

Great work and a great write up


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