[Smoke]

This detail was about as short notice as you can get. Jay gave me a call yesterday morning and asked if I could do the STi that same day. I had no other details planned so I said no problem... about 2 hours later I had this beauty in my driveway

This was an exterior only job btw.



This STi was done very tastefully!

I began right away with the wheels.









I decided to go with a safe bet using P21s gel after a thorough pressure wash.



While I let that dwell I went to work on the wells using the black wheel shmitt and super degreaser, the tires were scrubbed with safe degreaser 3:1.



After the wheels were finished I moved onto an ONR wash w/ a pair of shmitts, followed by claying with sonus. I was really shocked to find how smooth the paint was prior to claying. I figured the super unaggressive sonus would do fine seeing as the car was clearly taken care properly.

Not to many bonded contaminants




After the wash and clay...





Next I pulled the car in for some light polishing. The car had a few fine swirls so I went with 3M Ultrafina and a white ccs, no serious correction work was done, I just jeweled the finish. I decided to use the Flex 3401 instead of the Makita this time, lately the Flex has been designated to glaze and sealant application so I figured I'd do some polishing instead.



Post polishing



The LSP of choice was something very special. Its made by Gloss It and its called Signature Gloss. Its a polymer based sealant that has outstanding clarity and gloss, more so than Gloss Finish which is Gloss It's leading synthetic sealant. You can't buy Signature Gloss from Gloss It like any of their other products, its something that only certified Gloss It detailers are able to use, its still being beta tested and I was sent a sample from Rich Light, the founder of the company. The idea behind this super sealant is to have something which will keep customers comming back to Gloss It detailers instead of just buying a sealant for themselves to use. The real beauty of Signature Gloss is its durability...12-14 months durability:yikes: And no im not joking.

I applied only 1 coat of Signature Gloss to the STi and it looked really great! I used the flex with a blue finessing pad to apply it. After letting it cure for about 15mins it buffed off super smooth and then I wiped the car down with Gloss enhancer QD.

Some shots in the garage...



















I applied wheel wax and let it cure for about 10minutes



More shots





The sun was going away so I did the best with the outside shots

















Signature gave it that extra bit of gloss and wetness. Now when I poured some water on the rear quarter I was amazed at how fast the water sheeted off.

It was really great meeting Jay, its weird to meet someone in person after talking with them only on a forum.

[STiSubyMan]

wow great job!
what kind of polisher/buffer you use? you use one at all?

[Smoke]

Originally Posted by STiSubyMan

wow great job!
what kind of polisher/buffer you use? you use one at all?

I use mainly a Makita rotary and on this one I used the flex 3401 random orbital.

[JZeezSTi]

Thanks again Dave! I washed the car again today just so it can be fresh for tomorrows meet and the Gloss It stuff seems to be real nice.

[STiSubyMan]

Originally Posted by Smoke

I use mainly a Makita rotary and on this one I used the flex 3401 random orbital.

Those are nice. I have to get a new buffer now

[Peleg]

Nice work, very clean.

[Smoke]

Originally Posted by JZeezSTi

Thanks again Dave! I washed the car again today just so it can be fresh for tomorrows meet and the Gloss It stuff seems to be real nice.

How did the beading look Jay, im curious to know? Will you be taking any pictures at the meet btw?

[chaos311clarity]

looks great smoke.

CGM is an interesting color to work with simply because you can get some really nice flake and at the same time you can make it shine like a non metallic paint.


What did you use on the exhaust? any pix of it?

[JZeezSTi]

I only got a chance to take a couple of pics at the meet cuz I was kinda busy on the Grill for a while and then it was so fun talking to and meeting new people. I kinda lost track of time.

As for the beading. It was AWESOME! Definitely a step above the rest.

[Smoke]

some more pics of that STi I found on my memory stick:

[JZeezSTi]

OMG! Thank you for those great pics. I just got a new Wallpaper!

[Smoke]

Originally Posted by JZeezSTi

OMG! Thank you for those great pics. I just got a new Wallpaper!

Hehe, the top pic is my wallpaper

[starxidiam]

hey man, can you get a close up of your tint strip on your windshield?

[mgsm666]

wow...car looks great! Jay clearly takes good care of it considering how the claybar looked.


Jesse


p.s. Jay - track pictures look sick...definitely regretting missing that

[JZeezSTi]

Thanks Jessie! How did the Suspension work out?