Critical Details: Subaru STI Hatchback (Obsidian Black Pearl)- Major Paint Correction

[CriticalDetails]

This 2008 Obsidian Black Pearl Subaru STI Hatchback came in for a multiple day reconditioning detail that included: Rust Bloom Removal, Major Paint Correction, Opti-Coat Application, Opti-Glass Application and Interior Rejuvenation Detail. I have heard how incredibly soft and sticky the OBP Subaru paint is and I thought I had a good idea of what I was going up against. I was mistaken! The stickiness of the paint made wiping away the polish and performing the isopropyl alcohol wipe downs quite challenging. I ended up having to perform a three step paint correction finishing with Menzerna PO85RD on a grey Lake Country buffing pad to achieve the desired level of correction.



The vehicle owner chose to have Opti-Coat applied to the Obsidian Black Pearl paint to help minimize wash induced marring and any hard water spots in the future. The STI has a Cobb SF Intake, Accessport Stage One Tune and a P&L Street Series Cat Back Exhaust.



Products:

CarPro IronX

Detailer’s Pro High Performance Glass Restorer

Detailer’s Pro Rinseless Wash and Gloss

Optimum Car Wash

Optimum Opti-Coat

Optimum Opti-Glass

Optimum Metal Polish

Optimum Power Clean

Optimum Protectant Plus

Menzerna Final Finish

Menzerna Intensive Polish

Menzerna PO85RD

Pinnacle Black Onyx Tire Gel

Ultima Trim and Tire Guard

 

[PhoebeusFenix]

I will concur with crappy Subaru paint...my 12 hatchback came littered with swirl marks & orange peel..I've yet to get the balls to correct it. Amazing job! Too bad you aren't in Kansas!



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[Scottwax]

Nice work, looks amazing!



I dealt with one (same color) on Monday that was absolutely trashed with buffer trails and spider swirls. And nothing worked and going nuts on it would have blown the owner's budget. Optimum Hyper Polish and G-P-S, HD Polish and Speed and 3M Ultrafina all stuck like glue (Ultrafina was the worst), ended up buffing the car with ONR W&W using an Optimum MF polishing pad and my Rupes. Actually was able to remove the rotary swirls, knocked the spider swirls down too. But with a clear bra on the hood and bumper sealing in those swirls, the owner decided to wait until he is ready to replace the clear bra before he makes a decision on doing a full on paint correction.



Subie paint is so hit and miss with what works on it. What works on one doesn't always work on the next, and the last pearl one I did, no problems with that one at all. Go figure. Glad to see you were able to figure it out and had a customer willing to pop for the extra work Subie paint takes. A lot of them know the paint sucks so anything you can do is an improvement but not a lot are prepared to go all out.

 

[CriticalDetails]

I will concur with crappy Subaru paint...my 12 hatchback came littered with swirl marks & orange peel..I've yet to get the balls to correct it. Amazing job! Too bad you aren't in Kansas!



Sent from my Motorola RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk 2

Thank you for watching. I have a 2005 red Subaru Outback 2.5XT and I have previously polished a 2012 black Subaru Outback with no problem. The paint defects corrected relatively easy on this vehicle but removing the polish was quite the task.

Nice work, looks amazing!



I dealt with one (same color) on Monday that was absolutely trashed with buffer trails and spider swirls. And nothing worked and going nuts on it would have blown the owner's budget. Optimum Hyper Polish and G-P-S, HD Polish and Speed and 3M Ultrafina all stuck like glue (Ultrafina was the worst), ended up buffing the car with ONR W&W using an Optimum MF polishing pad and my Rupes. Actually was able to remove the rotary swirls, knocked the spider swirls down too. But with a clear bra on the hood and bumper sealing in those swirls, the owner decided to wait until he is ready to replace the clear bra before he makes a decision on doing a full on paint correction.



Subie paint is so hit and miss with what works on it. What works on one doesn't always work on the next, and the last pearl one I did, no problems with that one at all. Go figure. Glad to see you were able to figure it out and had a customer willing to pop for the extra work Subie paint takes. A lot of them know the paint sucks so anything you can do is an improvement but not a lot are prepared to go all out.

Thank you for the compliment. I had the same problem with the polishes not wanting to wipe off and the microfiber towel folding over on itself. The owner agreed on a two-step correction however after removing all of the Menzerna Final Finish I didn’t feel right applying the Opti-Coat. The Final Finish took a lot of wiping to remove and ended up marring the paint just enough to require further polishing. I ended up working the Menzerna PO85RD until the polish started to dust and the removal was a breeze.



Even when it came time to apply the Opti-Coat the OBP paint didn’t want to play nicely. You applied the ONR W&W to the buffing pad to act as lubrication? That is something that I will have to remember in the future if I ever encounter another OBP Subaru looking for a one step paint correction.