Windows & Wheels Vs. Holograms / Swirled FR-S, Corrected & Opti-Coated

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

A few weeks back i received an email from a fellow detailer, Greg at Reflections Detailing out of Utah, saying that the owner of an FR-S, who belonged to the same forum as he did, had made a post complaining about the holograms/buffer trails and swirls left on his brand new FR-S. Apparently the dealership had messed it up, and then they sent it to a body shop that was a part of the same Autoplex and they tried their hand at it...while i'd seen MUCH worse holograms left, these were still very apparent.

So the owner contacted me, thanks to Greg's recommendation and told me the body shop would be paying for the paint correction and that he would pay for Opti-Coat Pro to be applied after the paint was back into shape.

The body shop didn't bark at our quote (kudos to them, that's not something that happens everyday!) and agreed to pay for the correction. So we set a date to come in and do our thing.


Upon arrival well, she was a bit dirty:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050403_zps104b5476.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050404_zps5eaef2b1.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050405_zps5456d342.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050406_zpscdd17571.jpg


Nothing that was catastrophic but it surely needed attention.

We noticed a couple spots on the clear bra that was slightly lifting, wanted to document this before any work started to show it was there before we did anything:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050408_zps9119ae8b.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050409_zps188abeb3.jpg


So as always, we started out with the tires, rims and wheel wells:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050411_zps649d5518.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050412_zps66df7889.jpg


Swissvax wheel brush works very well in my opinion, i like how the bristles fan out and are very soft.


I am however testing out a new brush, the Atlasta Soft Tip, the bristles are a bit thicker than the SV, but pretty soft. This brush is excellent for stubborn, baked on brake dust as well as for cleaning lug nuts, emblems, handles and rubber stripping.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050413_zpsc43bbf9a.jpg



The brush is built VERY well...i think i could run it over and it would still be ok. Ive also had zero issues with letting it sit in water for hours (did that on purpose just to see if it would hold up) or using it with strong cleaners. The bristles are a bit less flexible so don't work quite as well on larger wheel face sections..

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050414_zps5d2c30ef.jpg

Both brushes definitely have their place and i'll continue to work with and test them both out.

Next of course was cleaning the barrels, there wasn't quite enough clearance for my 3" Wheel Woolie, and i hadn't yet received my 2" one yet, so it was to the trust ole' EZ Detail Wheel brush!

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050415_zps838fb3d4.jpg




It slings some but, it gets the job done:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050416_zps50608b20.jpg


I also had another brush i was trying out from the same makers of the ATLASTA brush, PartsBrush.com. This one, as the website name indicated, was a parts brush, but i wondered how it would work on tires or wheel wells, since often times a brush with stiffer bristles is needed:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050417_zps92fd2b47.jpg


The bristles were a bit too long to use the wide way as shown above, but weren't bad for using when held the other way:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050418_zpsda11772b.jpg



I wouldn't say this is an all around wheel brush, it was a little too difficult to use on the entire wheel, but worked well on lettering and the inside lip of the tire, which often times holds ALL KINDS of gunk, especially if there is old tire dressing thats been layered on.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050420_zpsfb2036b6.jpg


I think if the brush was a bit fatter and had shorter bristles, it would be an excellent tire brush. Doug, the VP of the company, said that they're just getting into making detailing brushes so hopefully with some further testing we can hope for a possible redesigned brush with the same sturdy bristles and handle formatted especially for tires, we'll see!


It DID come in handy for pushing into inset areas of the plastic wheel well covers. Wheels Woolies and fender brushes will usually work pretty well but sometimes don't allow for enough pressure to be applied, or the bristles are difficult to push into the corners, this guy got in the corners pretty easily...the shorter handle made it a LITTLE difficult but, the angled head was very nice to work with:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050423_zpsfc270b26.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050424_zps2f5afd54.jpg


As you can see, the longer handle of the fender brush was a bit easier to get into the well and worked fine for the bigger, flatter areas of the wheel well covers:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050425_zpsb2664fb3.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050426_zpsae6c2e13.jpg



It was a great day for trying out multiple brushes!


Then time to pressure wash clean:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050427_zps88cd87bd.jpg



Cleaning up nicely!

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050428_zpsfbe07dbe.jpg



Then after a thorough rinsing it was time to foam this baby up!

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050430_zpsfeb105f8.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050431_zps7b4b9352.jpg



Then after 2-bucket was, ittttt was time to rinse it down...

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050432_zps65128f03.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050433_zpsbed64bf4.jpg



You can probably guess it was a bit cold that day (to us Arizona desert dwellers who complain at anything under 75 degrees).

Next the owner backed it into the garage and we began inspecting the paint (again):

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050436_zps980a8bb4.jpg



Swirls were not difficult to see at all...the buffer trails/holograms however, took a much more keen eye, ESPECIALLY on a metallic color such as this:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050438_zpse32ac354.jpg


See those 2 lines going across the trunk...those are buffer trails.

Here is a closer look:


http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050439_zps4eb426b6.jpg


The ones on the hood were a bit easier to see:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050443_zps573d87e5.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050444_zps4cc345c7.jpg

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Surely not pretty but, nothing we couldn't handle. We'd seen MUCH worse than that...a bit more of an extreme version was on this GMC Sierra we'd done a few months prior...still havent gotten up the nerve to do the write up on that bad boy but, sometime soon:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Carls%20GMC%20Sierra/P1040743_zps31963b6c.jpg



And so, the polishing began. Megs D300 and Microfiber Cutting Discs on a Griots DA, followed by Dani with her PC, Buff n' Shine Green pad and 205:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050445_zps262381df.jpg



And yes, she was still bundled up and cold lol:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050446_zps4d31b80e.jpg


*Singin'* Who's that lady? (Whos that lady) - Polishing lady (Whos that lady)


Ok back to the write up...


The full front was totally covered with clear bra, but it was nice and swirled up too:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050449_zps1c9e10c9.jpg


We were able to get that back to as close to new as anyone could:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050451_zps668f8ae2.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050452_zps874ad857.jpg


So, the polishing continued for several hours. When we were through we had the owner pull it back out into the sun, with his help we spotted a few more individual scratches (he had VERY good eyes) that were pretty deep in the trunk, but we were able to remove them, as well as a couple on the hood.

After all was in great shape he pulled it back into the garage..we did a Isopropyl Alcohol wipe down and washed with Megs Rinseless to prep the paint for Opti-Coat.


All paint, wheel faces and hard trim were coated, as usual. The clear bra was not, via the owners request. And as always, we told him in a couple of weeks we'd come back to do a follow up wash and to double check for any high spots and touch them up if any were present.

2 weeks later, the good ole 1-2 punch of arizona dust and some rain had dirtied her up pretty good:


http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050543_zps2eacb4a8.jpg



Very tight dirt beads lol:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050544_zps713ec773.jpg



This stuff was back too -_-

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050545_zps6b5afc74.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050547_zps474b16b7.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050548_zps389ceeac.jpg




So we were back doing this again lol:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050549_zps40a0e651.jpg


They were very easy to clean though, and the water beaded up nicely on the rims after rinsing:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050550_zps51b6fa98.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050551_zps0b7625dd.jpg


Then it was time to rinse the dirt off...the majority of it will just rinse right off thanks to Opti-Coat. Dani was able to get some very good beading shots during rinsing:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050552_zps58dc3062.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050553_zps8204328a.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050555_zps5dde491b.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050556_zps5fb65446.jpg



Pretty nice huh? And thats BEFORE the actual wash!

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050558_zps3d3189cb.jpg



LOVED this photo:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050561_zpsc611820b.jpg


Roof beads:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050563_zps325f632a.jpg


Oh, and we also coat the windshield wiper arms, which are known to either fade or get covered in bugs:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050564_zpsec1d1f83.jpg



Check this out:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050565_zpsa4d70b2a.jpg



Then it was foam time again:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050566_zpsbc77ec65.jpg


After a quick (but gentle) hand wash, which is hardly any work at all, you're basically just lightly rubbing the mitt across the surface 1 panel at a time, no HINT of pressure or scrubbing was needed, it was time to rinse:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050568_zpse3985831.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050570_zps714fb076.jpg


Now the beads were REALLY TIGHT!

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050572_zpsdee5ea80.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050573_zpsb7abbac6.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050575_zps9a3e6402.jpg

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Now for what you've all been waiting for, the swirl free, better than new finish :)

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050576_zps1cb4238f.jpg


Note, thats the clear bra line, not a scratch lol.


Beautiful:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050577_zps430dd0b8.jpg


No more swirls, no more holograms:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050578_zps1ea1eabf.jpg

Every inch had been polished:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050579_zpsd196957f.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050582_zpsf765f6d8.jpg


And of course the reflections were awesome:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/P1050583_zps3d1dd5f5.jpg


ANOTHER couple of weeks went by and the owner washed it himself and took a trip up into the mountains, he shot these while he was up there

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/frs1_zpsff2b45cc.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/frs2_zps1c882388.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/frs3_zpse250c91f.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/frs4_zpsf4884cb3.jpg



Check out the cloud reflections rolling across the paint:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/frs5_zps0463c257.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Mo%20FR-S/frs8_zpsa04b54c4.jpg


Not long after this detail was complete, we received another email from the owner of the exact same type of car, in the same color...but its condition made THIS one look like child's play...it will be one of my next write ups, but hope you all enjoyed this one. Beautiful paint with some beautiful scenery and awesome Opti-Coat protection.

Thanks all for reading.

[Wors]

Great work and write up. The Scion looks amazing. Nice photography work too.

[jlax2485]

Beautiful work!

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Great work and write up. The Scion looks amazing. Nice photography work too.

Thank you, thank you andddd, thank you :). Thats a AAA report if ive ever seen one lol! Appreciate you reading


Beautiful work!

Thank you much!

[Ewalk]

Great write up and very nice work! Just bought a GMC Sierra. Interested to see that write up!

[Pinpoint_Precision]

Great write up and pictures. Amazing work as usual. How do you guys find the time to post all these pictures? I love that car and with that color, it makes it shine for sure. Scion did an amazing job and together with Subaru, it made even more special!

[ihaveacamaro]

I always love the story as much as the work. Great job!

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Great write up and very nice work! Just bought a GMC Sierra. Interested to see that write up!

Lol man was it ROUGH, 2 day detail. The truck was re-painted as well so that made it EXTRA fun :-\...thus the holograms all over. I'll try to get to it soon :)


Great write up and pictures. Amazing work as usual. How do you guys find the time to post all these pictures? I love that car and with that color, it makes it shine for sure. Scion did an amazing job and together with Subaru, it made even more special!

It's very time consuming thats for sure! Taking them, loading, editing, watermarking, sizing down, loading online, then inserting into a write up...whew..its a job in itself! I love sharing our work though and i appreciate how much all of you appreciate it...so that helps encourage me too.

Got an email to do a Raven Black one today, hopefully we can book him in soon, but this week is full...opti-coat on a new 4Runner and STI Subaru hatchback...and a correction on another Corvette...along with our regular washes, good times :dblthumb2:


I always love the story as much as the work. Great job!

You guys make it worth it, i know some guys just scan pics but...glad that many of you enjoy the story...im looking forward to trying out these brushes some more!

[camaro2ssblack]

Really impressive detail and write up!

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Really impressive detail and write up!

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it :xyxthumbs: