Hey everyone, back again for an in-depth look into a Swissvax detail we carried out on a 2019 Subaru WRX. This rally-tuned daily driver was in need of a mild refresh to get the soft, finicky paintwork back looking its best.
The paint was riddled with swirl marks and some heavy scratches located around a few bird-dropping stains. The client asked that we make an improvement to the paint without making a large investment in time. This was the perfect job for Rupes UNO Protect. This AIO (All in One Polish) has mild abrasives and a sealant built-in. It can seriously improve gloss and slickness while making a sizable dent in defect removal. Remember, the softer the clear coat the greater improvement a mild polish like an AIO can make.
This detail was all about making the biggest impact on the exterior surfaces in a reasonable amount of time. Not everyone can sink 3-4 days into correcting their car. I wanted to show, that with the right tools and products a massive difference can be made to your vehicle's appearance.
Let’s get to it!
Lots of dirt and grime were built upon the lower panels and wheel wells.
The client had tried removing some bird-dropping stains and inadvertently put in some heavy scratches. Not to worry we can take care of those!
Like with every detail, it all starts off with the wheels. The wheels were cleaned with Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus, Sonax Multi-Star APC, and a combination of the EZ Detail Brush and a Boars Hair Brush.
I then gave the body a pre-wash foam treatment courtesy of Gyeon Foam shampoo. This starts to break down the dirt on the surface making a friction wash safer.
After a traditional wash, I clayed the paint with Clay Magic Fine Grade Clay Bar. The contamination coming off was intense. Think of a clay bar treatment in the same way as you would a skin exfoliation scrub. Both remove embedded impurities that a wash or face cleanser might not remove on their own.
Now, to get the most out of the polishing procedure, I paired Rupes UNO Protect with a Meguiars Microfiber Finishing Disc on the Rupes Mark lll polisher. This combination gave UNO a lot of extra cutting power to remove some defects typically only addressed during a full paint correction detail. Remember, you don’t always need to switch your polish out in order to get more cut or a higher percentage of defect removal. By swapping out different pads and adjusting variables like machine speed, pressure, and arm speed, you can make significant changes to your final result.
Remember those nasty bird-dropping scratches? I treated those areas a bit differently. I grabbed a Meguiars Microfiber Cutting Disc and a few drops of Meguiars M100 Compound and leveled the heavy scratches after a few passes. I finished down the remaining compounding haze with the same combination of UNO and a Microfiber Finishing Disc.
Not perfect, but a huge difference.
This is what is achievable with an AIO polish ®®like UNO and a little adjustment of arm speed and pressure. As I moved from panel to panel I always kept the pad clean by continually blowing it out. This ensures you get consistent results across all panels. 50/50 shots just never get old!!!
Exhaust tips were cleaned up with ultra-fine steel wool and swissvax metal polish.
After the polishing was complete, I started what we call, the tar-go-through. During this step, I took my favorite foam detailing swabs and Stoners Tarmintaor and went through all the body seams and intricate areas. This removes additional embedded dirt and any polishing residue that might have forced its way in.
And now the fun part. Once the paint had been polished, I grabbed one of my favorite waxes, Swissvax® Endurance. This PTFE infused wax can last up to 8-12 months on the paint if properly maintained along the way. It is a wax made specifically for daily driven vehicles.
I applied 2 coats, allowing the wax to sit on the paint for 2 hours before wiping off. I always like to remove wax with a Rag Company Edgeless 300 microfiber towel and a Scangrip SunMatch light to illuminate any leftover wax.
The wheels received a few coats of Swissvax® Autobahn wheel wax. This particular wax has a high-temperature rating making it more durable for daily driven wheel finishes. In the end, the metallic black paintwork absolutely popped outside in the sun.
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