It's obvious that most of us are enthusiasts, and enjoy our cars, no matter what make, model, year and so on. However, there comes a time in our vehicle's lives that they begin to look tired, or maybe even aged and just not the same anymore. Some just trade in and get something new, some put it in the back of the garage and drive their other toys and some revive them to bring back that new look to their prized posessions. I had the priviledge to do just that with this 2007 Subaru STi, with 44k miles on it, it wasn't in the worst shape in the world however it could definitely look worlds better. Over the course of the week, we were able to bring this car, in the owners words, "looks better than when I bought it with only 500 miles on it"

Nothing was un done on this car, as with most of my details, however we went the extra step everywhere with this car. The wheels came off, the control arms were even polished up, the wing and the hood scoop came off, even the foglight surrounds. With one goal, make it flawless. It's our goal with every car, but we usually don't have the time to truly document every step of it, so we change that for this thread to really give you all an in depth look at what exactly goes into a complete renovation detail. Some may see it as over the top, some may see it as not enough, as long as the owner leaves with a smile and that geniunely thrilled look it's all worthwhile.

On to the thread itself: The process was as follows:

Front end Clear bra removed due to severe oxidation and aging
Passenger fender and door dents removed, due to car wash damage
Full degrease using Total Auto Wash, in two applications
All jambs and creases sprayed down with TAW
Three bucket method, with grit guards using Citrus Auto wash
Clay bar using Clay Magic aggressive and Mild clay
MF Waffle weave dry, all jambs dried with MF towels
Removal of rear wing, front hood scoop, BBS wheels, windshield sprayers and fog surrounds
Degrease and wash using TAW/Citrus wash with Swissvax brushes and Colgate toothbrush :thumbup:
Once cleaned, treated using Adams Undercarriage spray, Brake calipers sealed with Rejex
Wheels cleaned using Meguiars Wheel Brightener, P21S Wheel gel, clayed and sealed with Rejex
Reinstall wheels, lowered car, taped off all trim and edges

Paint correction peformed using:
Porter Cable 7424XP
Meguiars G110
Hitachi Rotary
Menzerna PowerGloss: Yellow LC pads
Menzerna 203: Orange LC pads
Menzerna 85RD: Green LC pads
Menzerna 106FF: White LC pads
P21S Paint Cleanser
BlackFire Wet Diamond Paint Sealant: Black LC pads
Pinnacle Souvreign Wax

Trim treated with Poorboys Natural look
Tires treated using Poorboys Bold and Bright
Windows cleaned inside and out

Onto the pictures!

Exhaust before and after
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/M3116.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB063.jpg

Silicone spray in the door jambs that was removed
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/M3119.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/M3120.jpg

Wheel photos, starting with the before:
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/M3125.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB054.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2034.jpg

The clear bra before removal:

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB017.jpg

Wing removed, hood scoop removed, fog surrounds removed in the followin pics!

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB029.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB030.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB034.jpg

The car itself in the air:

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB046.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB053.jpg

Rear wheel well before/after

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB037.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB051.jpg

Front wheel well before/after:

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB043.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB049.jpg

Paint photos after the full prep, definitely a lot to tackle here! Starting off with a complimentary car wash scratch:

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB019.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB001.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB002.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB003.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB008.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB012.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB021.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB106.jpg

Paint photos under the same spot lights after, BEFORE any sealant/wax:

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB129.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB128.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB130.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB131.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB132.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB133.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB142.jpg

The paint under direct sunlight:

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2014.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2013.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2015.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2021.jpg

Now for the final results, the reflection photos and then the over all profile photos:

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB114.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB118.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB123.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB136.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB145.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB140.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB152.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB158.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2031.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2024.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2040.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2060.jpg

Profile photos of the car outside:

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2001.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2002.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2003.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2004.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2005.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2006.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2007.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2008.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2009.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2010.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2012.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2018.jpg
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/STi/STIB2020.jpg

Feedback is appreciated! Hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

-Oakes

Great work! That car came a long way.

Job well done

je...zuss.... christ...

Oakes my friend, you've got a sickness. And the only cure is more detailing.

seriously though do you have OCD? my brain cannot comprehend the amount of work you put into detailing these cars, probly cuz im a recovering lazy bastard, but god damn man! you are a god.

I love it. :thumbup:

a subie on evo m ahhhh ban ban ban lol joking wrx is a nice car and it looks like it cleaned up nice.

Ummm WOW! That's a hell of a difference. Awesome work as usual.

Kris

Thanks a lot guys! I appreciate it!

Oh and not to worry, I have Evo's come through here as well :)

Great work as always. Reflection shots are like a mirror!

You always deliver excellent results! Props!!!

Thanks guys! This is the first STi I did of four this past week, more write ups to follow.

Your attention to detail is amazing! What product did you use to clean the wheel wells?

Thank you!

I used P21S TAW to clean them, with swissvax brushes, then Adam's Undercarriage spray as well as Rejex sealant.

You do amazing work.

I'd love to have this as a side job.....as I love making cars look great. Where can I learn this craft?

Aside from clinics/tutorials run by detailers that know this stuff, I'd spend some time on Autopia.org as it's a pretty good site for knowledge on proper detailing, thanks!

when are you gonna detail a GTR?

Wow that is amazing work. That car looked worse for wear, and now looks brand new.

so with this kind of high end detail treatment, what will happen to those rock chips....gone or still there when your look up close?

If we have touch up paint provided, we fill, wet sand and buff them. Smaller ones are made invisible via correction. They will come back if more rocks hit the car, obviously and unfortunately.

A GTR is most likely down the line, we have an NSX in here as well as an EVO X that just left tonight.

Awesome work.

Thats awesome. How much do you charge to do that? I wish I had someone around here to do that to mine!

Thank you!

I used P21S TAW to clean them, with swissvax brushes, then Adam's Undercarriage spray as well as Rejex sealant.

With a cleaner such as P21S TAW, do you dilute it or use it full strength most of the time?

Typically you dilute it, both to save product and it's usually just as effective. On tougher jobs, straight product is used.

great job as usual oakes!

Thanks DsB! Hope your Evo is still looking good!

Wow, that clear bra was torn up. I don't think people realize that you have to take care of the clear bra like you take care of your car. It does require maintenance.

Exactly right, it can't take the same polishes and such as paint for the most part but it does require upkeep to last a long time.