Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Saturday March 30, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
NASIOC
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC General > Car Care & Detailing

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-29-2011, 12:52 PM   #1
Cannibal
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 133023
Join Date: Nov 2006
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Detroit
Vehicle:
2005 WRX STi
Silver

Default Getting Deep Shine Back

I need some help getting the deep shine back on my Silver STi. I'm talking about the shine where you can see yourself in the car from 10 feet away as it seems like every picture of a detailed car on this forum you can do. I can clean the car all I want and it looks good close up, but when I walk about 10-20 feet away the paint almost looks dull. Any ideas on this? The last time I waxed the car these are the steps that I took:

1. Iron X
2. Wash
3. Clay bar using detailer spray
4. Hand wax using Mothers Cleaner Wax.

I did not wash between clay bar and wax.

I don't have a machine polisher/orbital so everything I can do has to be by hand. What can I do and use to get that deep shine back to the finish and do it all by hand?

I have done a lot of searching but everything seems to talk about using a machine to wax.

Thanks.
Cannibal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-29-2011, 01:29 PM   #2
Claymra
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 83167
Join Date: Mar 2005
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: Columbia, SC
Vehicle:
2002 Wrx
MBP

Default

I used meguires scratch-x followedby nxt. It did pretty goos- took a while to wax the car twice by hand though
Claymra is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-29-2011, 02:00 PM   #3
blue-sun
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 15934
Join Date: Mar 2002
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Yorkville, IL
Vehicle:
2021 GTI
Cornflower Blue

Default

I'll be up in Detroit in Late Sep/Oct to do some detailing. If you'd like, I can let you know when I finalize the plans. Do you know mykrrrr? I'll be crashing at his place while I'm up there.
blue-sun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2011, 04:35 AM   #4
xCONWRATHx
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 175840
Join Date: Mar 2008
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Madison, WI
Vehicle:
2005 LGT Wagon
1999 Sentra SE-L

Default

A picture is always appreciated.

You're fighting an uphill battle. Light colors are conducive to looking shiny and clean, unfortunately not so much for producing excellent reflections. There are basically three things that would be preventing good reflections,

1) Clusters of super-fine scratches (AKA swirl marks or spider webbing) that are breaking up and refracting the light as it bounces off your paint.

2) Oxidation of the clear coat that would create a dull hazy appearance. Now, this is not a common occurance on modern clear coats, especially one from 2005. But it is certainly not unheard of, and is a definite possibility.

3) An unevenness in the texture of the paint. This is a by-product of modern OEM paint finishing methods, and the lack thereof. Most cars come delivered with what I consider to be less than acceptable levels of orange peel, and unfortunately factory paint is too thin to allow much to be done about it.

Since you will be working by hand your results will be fairly limited, but I'm sure significant improvements can be made! Problems #1 and #2 can most likely be fixed by compounding and polishing the paint. Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish (the successor to Scratch-X) are a very popular option for those who work by hand. Just wash the car as you normally would, skip the Iron X and claybar (no need to do that again so soon), and begin to rub the paint down using Ultimate Compound followed by Ultimate Polish. Once done it is a good idea to wash the car again to clean off any residual polishing oils before waxing, this will leave you with a truer finish and a longer lasting wax.
xCONWRATHx is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-07-2011, 12:36 PM   #5
Cannibal
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 133023
Join Date: Nov 2006
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Detroit
Vehicle:
2005 WRX STi
Silver

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by xCONWRATHx View Post
A picture is always appreciated.

You're fighting an uphill battle. Light colors are conducive to looking shiny and clean, unfortunately not so much for producing excellent reflections. There are basically three things that would be preventing good reflections,

1) Clusters of super-fine scratches (AKA swirl marks or spider webbing) that are breaking up and refracting the light as it bounces off your paint.

2) Oxidation of the clear coat that would create a dull hazy appearance. Now, this is not a common occurance on modern clear coats, especially one from 2005. But it is certainly not unheard of, and is a definite possibility.

3) An unevenness in the texture of the paint. This is a by-product of modern OEM paint finishing methods, and the lack thereof. Most cars come delivered with what I consider to be less than acceptable levels of orange peel, and unfortunately factory paint is too thin to allow much to be done about it.

Since you will be working by hand your results will be fairly limited, but I'm sure significant improvements can be made! Problems #1 and #2 can most likely be fixed by compounding and polishing the paint. Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish (the successor to Scratch-X) are a very popular option for those who work by hand. Just wash the car as you normally would, skip the Iron X and claybar (no need to do that again so soon), and begin to rub the paint down using Ultimate Compound followed by Ultimate Polish. Once done it is a good idea to wash the car again to clean off any residual polishing oils before waxing, this will leave you with a truer finish and a longer lasting wax.
Thanks for the great reply! I'll try and get a picture up this weekend. I had a feeling that my car being silver didn't really help getting the deep shine just with the nature of the color but comparing to a lot of other silver cars mine just seems to be especially lacking in that respect.
Cannibal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2011, 11:10 AM   #6
smokey07
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 151683
Join Date: Jun 2007
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Default

^^ very well said.


Hand polishing just can't compete with a machine, but M105 does pretty well by hand, followed by a nice polish and sealant.


I really like Meguiars #21 synthetic sealant to finish up.
smokey07 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-07-2011, 12:39 PM   #7
Cannibal
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 133023
Join Date: Nov 2006
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Detroit
Vehicle:
2005 WRX STi
Silver

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by smokey07 View Post
^^ very well said.


Hand polishing just can't compete with a machine, but M105 does pretty well by hand, followed by a nice polish and sealant.


I really like Meguiars #21 synthetic sealant to finish up.
Sorry, I'm a newb at this type of stuff...What is M105 and who makes it?

Just so I understand clearly, you would recommend using the M105, then a polish, and then the Meguiras #21 to seal everything up? What polish do you recommend?
Cannibal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-07-2011, 03:54 PM   #8
Kean
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 25187
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: So. CA
Vehicle:
2020 Forester
2010 Challenger R/T

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cannibal View Post
Sorry, I'm a newb at this type of stuff...What is M105 and who makes it?

Just so I understand clearly, you would recommend using the M105, then a polish, and then the Meguiras #21 to seal everything up? What polish do you recommend?
….personally, I would stick with the Ultimate Compound mentioned earlier and either the Ultimate Polish or Swirl-X if doing this all by hand. Also, I would strongly recommend doing a test panel/section first before tackling the entire vehicle. Get a feel for what products/combination works best before committing yourself to a process you’re not even sure will provide the result you are after. Start with the UP or Swirl-X, assess (under various lighting and/or direct sunlight) and move on from there (getting more aggressive with the UC if needed (followed by the UP or Swirl-X)).

On another note, UP is not actually a successor to Scratch-X 2.0. If anything, it has more in common with Swirl-X but all three are stand-alone products (UP was apparently brought in to better fill the role of a follow up polish for UC). ….a lot has to do with marketing as well as the formulations. What all of these products do have in common though is that they are part of the Meguiars consumer line and therefore formulated to be more “bubba-proof” for the average Joe (to work well by hand or DA). ….they are also derived from the same SMAT technology as there professional polishes (i.e. M105 and M205).

Fyi.... Just be aware that UP is apparently laden with polishing oils (much more so than Swirl-X). These can have the tendency to hide some minor imperfections. This could either be a good or a bad thing depending on your goals. However, if you’re trying to correct blemishes and want to make sure the level of success you are having with this product, you will need to either wash the panel you are testing with a strong soap solution (as mentioned) or use a paint-safe solvent/solution to wipe it down after polishing. ….odorless mineral spirits or a 10% IPA solution (i.e. IPA mixed with distilled water) should do the trick.
Kean is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-07-2011, 12:42 PM   #9
blue-sun
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 15934
Join Date: Mar 2002
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Yorkville, IL
Vehicle:
2021 GTI
Cornflower Blue

Default

blue-sun is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
where to get deep scratches fixed 2.5 Blue Roo Mid Atlantic Impreza Club -- MAIC 16 07-14-2006 10:02 AM
I get my car back...I get my car back! mexicanpizza Bay Area Impreza Club Forum -- BAIC 13 10-10-2002 01:23 AM
Is it possible to get DEEP into the 12's for less than $4k? mark5211 Proven Power Bragging 8 07-15-2002 07:00 PM
Wes...get you deposit back & get this FreeBMW Mid West Subaru Owners Club Forum -- MWSOC 3 05-12-2002 02:49 AM
I'm gonna get my car back...I'm gonna get my car back... MPREZYA Southern California Impreza Club Forum -- SCIC 17 03-23-2001 10:40 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:46 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.