Polished Bliss vs Impreza P1 - 20 hours work!

[PolishedBliss]

When I booked this car in and the owner said he wanted the wettest look possible whilst still allowing the flake to pop in the sun, I knew I had an ideal opportunity to test out the new Blackfire range, and in particular the newly formulated Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection sealant. The following detail was one of the most challenging I’ve done to date, and I have to thank the owner for giving me the freedom to try out some new techniques, such as wetsanding! Well, it was either that or a trip to the bodyshop anyway (to fix a couple of very deep scratches), so the owner figured there was no harm in me trying first. When the car turned up it looked dull and jaded, and the paint felt like fine sandpaper. A quick burst of 3W Luxeon lighting revealed heavy swirling, plus some marring from previous polishing/claying attempts. I had originally planned on the job taking 12 hours, but in the end I put in 20 hours to get it the way I wanted it. Worth it though, as the final finish blew me away ”“ I’ve not come across another sealant that looks so wet, whilst still allowing the flake to pop so much in the sun. The glazing step also added significantly to the wetness to the finish, and added a richness to the paint that is often missing from sealant finishes. Here’s the process…

Wash

Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
Alloys spot tested then treated with Meguiars Wheel Brightener cut 4:1, left 60 secs and rinsed with open ended hose
Whole car foamed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds (4:1 mix in foam gun) and left to dwell for 5 mins
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
All trims and inside the arches treated with Meguiars Safe Degreaser cut 10:1
Whole car washed with Blackfire Gloss Shampoo using lambswool (bodywork) and microfibre (wheels and inside arches) mitts, and the two bucket method
Whole car rinsed with an open-ended hose
Whole car dried with waffle weave towels

Clay

Blackfire Clay (very aggressive ”“ no point wasting time, but it did inflict further marring)
Blackfire Clay Lubricant
Excess lubricant mopped up with waffle weave towels

Scratch Repair

Scratches cleaned out with P21S Total Auto Wash, rinsed and dried
Scratches filled with 3 thin coats of pigment, followed by 3 coats of lacquer
Once dry, new paint flattened with Meguiars Unigrit 3000, previously left to soak overnight in a bucket of suds
Affected panels then rewashed and rinsed and dried as per wash section above
Wetsanding haze then polished out with PC using Menzerna Power Gloss and 4”� Lake Country orange light cut pads

Polish

Whole car taped with 3434, then machine polished with PC, using Menzerna Intensive Polish and Lake Country orange light cut pads. The first go with the Intensive Polish removed some cobwebbing and heavy marring from the claying step, but hardly seemed to touch the deeper swirls and didn’t do much to numerous minor scratches. So much for the rumour that Subaru paint is soft! Two more goes with the Intensive Polish applying heavy pressure shifted 95 % of the defects in all panels, and of those that were left, most looked too severe (definite nail catchers) for full correction anyway, so I decided to leave them. I then followed up with Menzerna Final Polish II using Lake Country white polishing pads, as the finish left by the Intensive Polish was good but not perfect.

I also took time out to try polishing some panels by hand, as I’ve had a lot of enquiries lately asking if Intensive Polish can be used by hand. When I first tried it last year I noticed that the abrasives did not break down very well by hand, and I therefore wrote the site description recommending machine use only. However, now I’ve got more experience with it, I thought it wise to try again. Ten minutes of very hard work per panel using a Meguiars foam pad worked wonders ”“ about 90 % swirl removal! I could see the abrasives starting to break down after 8-9 minutes of work, so the definitive answer is it can be used successfully by hand, but it is extremely hard work. On softer paint I dare say it will give superb results if worked slightly longer, but on harder paint it will always leave some defects, although the overall finish can be dramatically improved, as the pictures below show. On this occasion I did the panels again by machine, as I wanted the best possible finish for the Blackfire products.

The final polishing step was the application of Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish. This product has no cut, and is essentially a really rich, creamy glaze. I noticed a distinct wetting of the paint when it was applied using a Meguiars foam pad, and this helped to make the paint look much richer. All residues were buffed with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush towels.

Protect

All bodywork protected with Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection, applied using foam pads and buffed using Poorboy's’ Mega Plush towels. I found it goes on and off much like Menzerna FMJ, and leaves an even slicker finish
All exterior trims treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant, applied using a microfibre pad and buffed after 5 mins with waffle weave towels
Exhaust tip polished with Autosol and protected with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polysh, both applied using Poorboy’s Work Towels
Tyres dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel

And here’s the pics…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza1.jpg

Tired, dull and jaded…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza2.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza3.jpg

A couple of deep gouges (above) and a deep scratch (below)…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza4.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza5.jpg

Swirl city…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza6.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza7.jpg

During the wetsanding process (above) and after Power Gloss (below)…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza8.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza9.jpg

The results of using Intensive Polish by hand ”“ before (above) and after (below)…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza10.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza11.jpg

A couple of arty shots…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza12.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza13.jpg

[PolishedBliss]

Finished, just waiting for the sun to properly come out…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza14.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza15.jpg

Deep scratch now filled and hard to spot (above), same story for the gouges (below)…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza16.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza17.jpg

I love these wheels ”“ perfect on this car…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza18.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza19.jpg

Finally, the sun comes out. Sunglasses on…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/p10306/impreza20.jpg

What I learnt during this detail ”“ (i) Subaru paint is harder than Seat and Skoda paint, and about the same as Audi paint in my experience (ii) filling and wetsanding is fairly straightforward, although getting the balance right between the amount of pigment and lacquer to add will take a lot more practice (iii) Power Gloss takes out 3000 grit haze no problem (iv) Intensive Polish is great to use by hand, as long as you work it long and hard (v) Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection is a bit special!

:)

[landy]

how much did it cost him

[barrett]

Stunning work Rich.

Its looking very wet indeed!

btw welcome to the forum:clapping:

[Chris]

WOW.... that looks a stunning job.... where abouts are you based and how much does it cost to get you to do something like that?

Chris :)

[saunders]

that looks wicked....but yea how much did it cost?

[tgazvtr]

amazing job mate the work is just outstanding.

[Graeme]

wow how nice is that scooby

must say your work is spot on matey

[jclaydon]

Looks stunning mate, would be good to know a price as it looks super, 20 hours work (cant find a shocked smiley).

[dannyjay]

:shock: :fcuk: :shocked:

Shocked smileys? :oops:

And I remember him saying that he charges 20£ an hour, and then traveling cost for jobs 100 miles+.

[Dan]

Awesome!!!!!;)

[PolishedBliss]

Cheers folks, I was pleased with the finish on this one. I only charged 12 hours for this one, and I did it at my place - the other 8 hours were spent wetsanding, and as this was the first time I'd tried it I felt I shouldn't charge for it (nothing like practicing new techniques on a 30 grand car!). :D:

[ets2k9]

P1's are around 16K onwards they were the fastest UK Impreza you could buy at one stage. Insurance compainies will rape your arse due to their exclusivity.

It has to have an engine rebuild at regular intervals so not really a daily drive.

I'm suprised the owner replaced the prodrive wheels although the new ones do look nice.

I'd so love one especially if someone was to clean it aswell as you have. :)


I just decided love that car so much I'm going to set it as my wallpaper!

[luisax]

That's an amazing job, top work Rich!!

[al_VTR]

that is truly amazing, can't believe the difference between the before & after shots

[mark16v]

Alot of hard work, car paintwork looks amazing in the last few pics.:cool: :star: :star: :star: :star: :star: