Client brought this Subie in to get some protection for the winter. Other than the wheels, the car was quite clean and the paint was in very good condition. No polishing would be needed at this point so it would be a simple wash, clay and two coats of Colli 845. All trim, jambs and motor were cleaned with AG Powermax3 at 4:1 Washed with PB Super Slick n'Suds Inner fenders and tires were cleaned with AG Powermax at 2:1 Wheels were a testbed for products. We used AG Custom Wheel Cleaner, Sonax Full Effect and my test APC. Clayed the car with AE Fine, and then Ultrafine clay using Automagic Bodyshine for lube. RG Pre Wax Pro was used as a pre wax cleanser and to remove light marring from claying LSP was Colli 845 x2 Tires were dressed with Blackfire Tire Gel Total time - approx 6 hours The 09 STi as delivered Seems to have a small brake dust issue. DAMN YOU BREMBO'S! Engine compartment was dusty but not bad at all. Spritzed with AG Powermax and rinsed. Done. And yes, it really was still dark out when I started on this. Cleaning all trim with RG Brushes and AG Powermax Well, this should be fun. After one hit of AG CWC. Some staining on the barrels remained. After one hit of our test APC, some staining remained on the barrels as well. Figured I'd see how clean the wheels were by spraying them down with Sonax and seeing if there was any remaining brake dust residue. After five minutes, the Sonax was still green. The red you see is the reflection of the Jetta parked next to it. Staining still remained even after using Sonax. It would take a hit of a light acid solution to clean the barrels. None of the non acid wheel cleaners we have were able to remove it. Started claying with our fine clay. Was doing a bang up job of removing the contamination but.... was also marring the soft Subie paint. I switched to our Ultrafine clay for the other side and no marring anywhere. To combat the marring on the drivers side we tried a new product from Raceglaze... Prewax Pro. A pre wax paintwork cleanser with diminishing abrasive to remove light marring. Ta Da! Worked well when used with the PC and B&S green pad. More marring. And gone. Seems to do a great job of cleaning the paint. These marks were quite deep and will be dealt with in the spring. Owner wanted this scratch removed as is stood out like crazy against the charcoal paint. First hit was with Megs 105/B&S Yellow/ Flex 3403. Instant sludge. Tried to clean clean it up with Power Finish/B&S Green/ Flex 3403. Still leaving holograms. Cleaned up with Black B&S/Power Finish/PC7424XP Blackfire All Metal Sealant was used to seal the wheels. Removing the Metal Sealant. Why polish the exhaust can? Because its there! Wheels and tires complete. Tires dressed with Blackfire Tire Gel. Tips were tidied up with 0000 steel wool and DG Metal Polish and then sealed with Blackfire All Metal Sealant. LSP was two coats of Collinite 845. Wetness Simply wicked! Thanks for looking.
Simply awesome! Is bf metal sealant your top pick for wheels? How does it compare to pb wheel sealant?
I love it. It looks wetter, is waaaay easier to apply and lasts longer. I haven't driven a car with a smoother clutch/tranny. Pure Bliss.
Great writeup 911Fanatic. Very nice pictures with very good depth in paint! Very interesting considering how many Sonax fans, that a real wheel with real dust actually needs more than Sonax. Thank you for showing real world cleaning situations in your writeup What kind mild acid do you use on the wheels?
Ken, what a bitch'n job man. Subaru's or better yet the STi's ate Damn sick. So much power in a small light car. Vehicle came out great for sure to say the least. What do you use to keep track of your customers and work performed?
I use a daily calendar that you get from an office supply store. Each client has their name, phone number, type of car, what package, what the LSP was and how many coats and price paid recorded. Then every 4-6 months I go back in my calendar and call those people to remind them its time to get it protected again.
Very nice work there Ken Glad you like the Signature Series Pro Cleanse, it was my idea to add abrasives to the Signature cleanse. I think we’ve got two cracking products there. Regards, Roy.
Wow, great job Ken! :applause: I have a few questions though... Other than the "being green and turning red" part, is there any real advantage to using the Sonax compared to the AG Custom Wheel Cleaner? I used the AG for the first time last weekend and loved it, but I'd like to eventually try out Sonax if it's that much better. How did you go about you LSP? (How did you apply it? How long before you removed it? How long did you wait between layers?) I'm curious as to how different your procedure is to mine, if it is at all. Given the longevity of the 845, would it be a good idea to try it out on wheels as a sealant, or at very least use it under another sealant, I.E.: PB Wheel sealant or BF all metal sealant.???
I haven't tried 845 on wheels so can't comment on its durability. I know the BF will last a few months by itself though.
Smart business man. That's really what needs to be done now days. People are so busy that they easily forget things like getting their vehicle detailed. Since your LSP was Collinite 845, have you ever had any issues with it streaking or being some what blochy if that makes sense? I never had that issue on my personal car but on a clients car one time on the hood it looked blochy even though i did apply it to the entire hood.
This is indirectly what I was asking If it was worth paying so much more for the Sonax in 5L than the CWC So, basically the exact same thing as me, except I apply it with a DA. If a pro like you is doing like that, then it works for me Alright, then I will give it a try myself shortly to see the results. Thanks for the answers, much appreciated.