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02-23-2012, 03:04 PM | #201 | |
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Vehicle:2008 STI Boost Wagon 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid |
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02-23-2012, 04:03 PM | #202 | |
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Cliff notes: Waxing isn't as important as it was 15 years ago. _______________________ Waxing doesn't hurt and it can preserve your car's finish to some degree, but the linear polyurethane clears used by all manufactures now makes waxing practically obsolete. Notice I say "practically." The clearcoat on modern cars is BY FAR the thickest part of the paint job and it is an order of magnitude more durable than old lacquers and enamels. And forget about those horrible water-born clears of the '80s. You've seen them -- the cars that look like they have leprosy and have driven through 100 Sahara sand storms. Of course, the wax manufactures won't tell you this. And, again, wax won't hurt the paint. Some of the premium waxes actually fluoresce under sunlight and artificial light, making them shine brightly. The main benefit of wax on modern finishes is to trap the airborne contaminants such as those the clay bars remove before those contaminants ever reach the paint [clearcoat]. But those contaminants usually hit the car with enough force to weasel past the wax into the paint. After all, the wax coat is all but immeasurably thin. The failure point with modern car finishes is the interface between primer and color coat. The primers are etching primers which bond very well to the sheet metal. The color coats are water-borne and don't stick all that well to other layers. When you get a chip in your paint it is almost never to bare metal, but rather to primer which, thankfully, is still acting as a barrier to rust. One reason why silver and gray are such popular colors is because when the pint gets chipped, exposing primer, the neutral gray primer blends in with the color coat pretty well. The final layer clear coats are gooey and stick to stuff really well. The polyurethane clear is a protective shrink-wrap that ties the whole paint "package" together. Manufacturers count every penny on each car built and you know they use the absolute least amount of expensive paint that they can get away with. The painting is done by robots and the patterns are optimized to use as little as possible consistent with protecting the car and making it look great. The color coat is the thinnest layer and in places like the underbody and behind interior door panels you can sometimes see areas that are barely colored at all or even skipped. The clear coat is the thickest and most resilient to harm including debris, water, grit, etc. Given changes in environmental law, the current paint appearance would not be possible without the polyurethane clears we have. They are closer to powder-coating than they are to enamels. They is very little overspray and very little solvent released to the atmosphere. I consider clear polyurethane as important as the modern ECU in saving us from really crappy cars. I will wax my new car eventually with a hard pure carnauba but I won't cry myself to sleep if I miss a year. And neither should any owner of a car built in the last 10 years. Last edited by somebody else; 02-23-2012 at 04:12 PM. |
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02-23-2012, 04:07 PM | #203 |
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Member#: 134005
Join Date: Dec 2006
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MAIC
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Vehicle:2004 WRX Premium PSM |
I'm on the edge about these... but then again, I was when the '06 came out... and the '08. Each have grown on me.
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02-23-2012, 04:13 PM | #204 |
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Join Date: Sep 2003
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MAIC
Location: Middle River
Vehicle:2014 Audi a6 Daytona Gray |
I noticed the Legacy steering wheels in these. I liked them a lot. I hope they put a lot of the Legacy interior appointments on these cars, they are nice.
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02-23-2012, 04:36 PM | #205 | |
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02-23-2012, 05:04 PM | #206 | |
built to spill
Moderator Member#: 14145
Join Date: Jan 2002
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Puget Sound
Vehicle:02 WRX BLOD |
very nice!
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http://www.amcnetworks.com/release_r...sp?nodeid=6466 |
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02-23-2012, 05:59 PM | #207 | |
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02-23-2012, 06:05 PM | #208 |
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Member#: 309213
Join Date: Feb 2012
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NWIC
Vehicle:2012 Sport Premium Satin White Pearl |
Tinted!
Finally got her tinted! 25% front/18%back
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02-23-2012, 06:58 PM | #209 |
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Member#: 264827
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: WA, USA
Vehicle:2017 Toyota Tundra Black |
Last edited by Geerolla; 02-23-2012 at 07:03 PM. |
02-23-2012, 08:36 PM | #210 | |
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02-23-2012, 08:40 PM | #211 | |
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Join Date: Jul 2002
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Clay doesn't strip old wax, though. If that was your intention, a final step polish would be your best bet. I would go with something like Meguiars Ultra Finishing Polish which is an ultra-fine abrasive compound. Or my standby from the old days, [Meguiars] Mirror Glaze #7, Professional Show Car Glaze. With #7, the paint is actually "squeaky" after your done, with virtually no protection. But it is clean, clean, clean and ready for a protective wax. Of course my worst fears is that the dealership uses some new-fangled miracle "wax" containing silicone. Silicone is very hard to remove completely, short of wiping down with acetone, multiple times, with multiple fresh rags each time. And acetone isn't what you would exactly call "paint-friendly!" _________ I remember we had some of the far left tombstone-shaped bottles in my dad's garage. I think it was left over from his hot rod days on Muroc Lake (now Edwards Airforce Base) and the SCTA (Wally Parks' first org. and forerunner of the NHRA.) So I've been sort of a life-long Meguiars user. Barry Meguiar lives pretty close by and I bump into him every so often around town. I got to talk with him for quite a while during an F1 live viewing which a local club used to have. We'd all arrive at 3:30 in the morning at an Italian restaurant on Balboa Island and the owner would whip out treats for everyone for a flat $10 fee. Barry told me all the details of his '57 Chevy which looks stock but is anything but! |
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02-24-2012, 12:30 PM | #212 | |
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Is that anything like megs ultimate polish? Hot rods are cool. Rat Fink is cooler. |
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02-24-2012, 01:20 PM | #213 |
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Member#: 20612
Join Date: Jun 2002
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NESIC
Location: Punch Her In The Butt!!!!
Vehicle:2012 Impreza Sedan Black |
Picked mine up on Wednesday. Already I have a few gripes, but I should have expected that coming from a WRX Premium, to a Base Impreza.
Loves - Gas milage, quiet, rides really well for a "cheap" car. Gripes - No aux in... really Subaru? An aux in is an option?? Catches gusts really easily on highway. And it could really use the 6 speed from the Legacy. Highway cruising at 80 gets me 3500rpms. From this: 2008 WRX Premium WRB 2012 OBP Impreza Base 5mt No options. Literally told the dealer to give me the cheapest Subaru they had... I'll be taking some photos of this guy soon. It's leased (as was the WRX) but am thinking of buying it out and making it the girl's car at some point during the lease. Maybe a mellow drop, wheels and tint? May try to rig up the Hella's as well. |
02-24-2012, 01:33 PM | #214 | |
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I think Meguiars Ultra Finishing Polish is close to the old #7 sealer/resealer (which you can still get.) It states clearly that it is not protective wax, but the penultimate step before your protection. The #7 leaves the paint so clean and free of anything that it squeaks when you rub it. Visually, it's more dramatic on darker colors. I think it's a little odd how Meguiars uses made-up science to describe some products as "feeding" your paint and adding "nutrients"! Still love it though.
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Technically, my dad only owned one rod -- a 27 T which he stuffed a flathead V8 into. In Don Montgomery's book Hot Rods in the Forties there is a picture of my dad in his rod lining up against a more famous person. When the book first came out he showed me the book and said, "Look. This is exactly what I was into in high school!" So I am idly thumbing through it and I stop and say, "Hey look! Here's a picture of you!" He was like, "Are you sure that's me?..." and my mom -- looking over our shoulders -- just smiles and says, "Oh yeah." |
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02-24-2012, 03:22 PM | #215 |
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02-24-2012, 03:44 PM | #216 | |
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Location: Ankeny, Iowa
Vehicle:2004 STi WRBro 15 Forester Touring |
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02-24-2012, 08:45 PM | #217 |
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Member#: 20612
Join Date: Jun 2002
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Location: Punch Her In The Butt!!!!
Vehicle:2012 Impreza Sedan Black |
Yea, but come on. It's 2012. My sister's $13k Kia came with an aux in...
The decision to go base instead of premium was based on timing and availability. I actually wanted a hatch, but there were only 5 in New England with the 5mt. So they offered up the Sedan, which I took since I really needed to get out from under the WRX. Jobs change and the payments on the WRX were just too much with my $1000 a month student loan payments, especially with the desire to buy a house in the next few years creeping in. |
02-24-2012, 09:12 PM | #218 | |
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Vehicle:2008 STI Boost Wagon 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid |
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02-24-2012, 09:29 PM | #219 |
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02-24-2012, 10:17 PM | #220 |
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BAIC
Location: California
Vehicle:2013 WRX Limited SWP |
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02-24-2012, 10:33 PM | #221 | |
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Member#: 20612
Join Date: Jun 2002
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Location: Punch Her In The Butt!!!!
Vehicle:2012 Impreza Sedan Black |
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The USB isn't even an issue. I don't didn't expect that. I'm not trying to give you a hard time either. But the exclusion of a part that cost's Subaru $3 to manufacture? It's standard on a Hyundai Elantra and a Kia Forte... Whatever. Lesson learned I guess. I used to think that too. To be honest, it's not a bad driving car. And the 100,000 mile warranty blows Subaru's base warranty out of the water. |
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02-24-2012, 10:52 PM | #222 | |
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Tri-State
Location: Buffalo, NY
Vehicle:2012 Impreza 2.0i Pr Dark Grey Metallic CVT |
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& a Subaru will far outlast a Kia. I'd take that over Kia's warranty. I pre-ordered & got an extended warranty as a gift from Subaru so I lucked out. |
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02-24-2012, 11:09 PM | #223 | |
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Location: MD
Vehicle:2008 STI Boost Wagon 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid |
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ANYWAYS, we all probably have some gripes about the car. The bottom line is enjoy it! Pretty sharp looking car with good utility that we can all be proud of. |
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02-25-2012, 12:54 AM | #224 | |
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Vehicle:2013 WRX Limited SWP |
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So even if kia does have a warranty that blows subaru out of the water, id take the company that can actually stand by its products even with a shorter warranty. |
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02-25-2012, 01:41 AM | #225 | |
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Location: Upper Midwest
Vehicle:2012 Impreza Sport Ltd |
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