This is my 2013 PB GSR that I picked up over the summer, my 5th Evo total and my second Evo X (RR 08 GSR before).

Completely bone stock, 13k miles, Aero SSS leather Navi

So I own a detail business that specializes in new car protection using ceramic clear coatings, XPEL Clear bra, window tinting, full vehicle vinyl wrapping, ect..

So I picked up this car from a local dealership, it was a 1 owner car all the way from New York and honestly I don't think it was even washed. When the dealer took it into their inventory they did a sloppy interior detail and just did a simple 1 step wax using a rotary machine and left the paint in pretty rough shape with lots of holograms and remaining scratches

First things first before I started to modify the hell out of the car I brought it to my shop to get a ceramic coating put on. For those of you who aren't familiar there are a few different coatings out on the market now and essentially they all offer similar benefits with slight differences. They are about 100x as thick as your factory clear, they are chemically resistant so bird poop and sap and things like that won't etch through the clear over time, they are harder than the factory clear so it is technically harder to scratch, they are very wet and glossy looking, they are permanent but last as long as you maintain them...most warrantied for years, and they are all hydrophobic and bead the water well and almost have a self cleaning effect to them. So long story short the benefit to having something like this on your vehicle is extreme gloss and instead of having your car detailed every few months or so you do the 1 time investment in these coatings and instead of detailing your vehicle you can just do a nice hand wash and it'll look like it was just detailed

So I had 3 different options at my shop. Opti-Coat Pro+, CQuartz Finest, and Modesta. Ideally I would have done Modesta given the fact that I'm in this industry and it's the top of the line option here but I went with CQuartz Finest for it's extreme gloss and hydrophobicity and given the fact that it requires a little more maintenance but I have the business, tools, and place to take care of it anyway.

So first things first the car is thoroughly decontaminated of all existing contaminates such as road tar, grime, ect...
The vehicle is then clay'd and dried

Step 1 is the inspection of the paint to see what we're working with, shortly after that we start the correction process until the paint is perfect because we will obviously be sealing whatever defects are still present in the paint below the coating we make sure it's 99.9999999% flawless.

After the paint is perfected the coating process begins and then it is cured using an IR heat lamp and then we move to final inspection and delivery

I won't go extremely in depth with the process but if any of you guys have any questions about the value of these coatings or finding the best authorized installer in your area please feel free to PM me and I can get you set up with the right person and shop

Feel free to check out my shop, we have 2 locations both right outside Chicago.

Chicago Auto Pros Detailing
www.chicagoautopros.com
Facebook, instagram, Yelp, ect

My name is Dave and I run our Glen Ellyn location, if anyone is local to either one of my shops just use my name and say you're from Evolutionm and you will get the special Evo Fam price

Okay, enough rambling just look at the pictures!


By the way my car is no longer stock, I've done:
-ETS open dump downpipe
-ETS Test pipe
-Invidia N1 single exit exhaust
-ETS intake
-AMS UICP
-ETS Gold 4" FMIC
-ETS LICP
-Grimspeed EBCS
-AEM 340lph pump
-Synapse DV
-Cobb Accessport protune

Coils and wheels ordered on black friday, can't wait!

Thanks for reading guys

Take care,

Dave

 

Wow! Love the color when it's clean. It's been cold and rainy for the past 3 weeks which turns the PB into a ashey charcoal grey.

 

Yeah, I really wanted the Cosmic Blue but I couldn't pass up this car when I saw it. In the sun it almost looks brown at some points haha

 

Amazing work!!
Wish you were closer me..

 

I'm into detailing but just as a hobby. I'm curious, what cutting and polishing products did you use?

Damn this shot of the hood is amazing!

 

wish u were in ny. my car needs this treatment.

 

haha thanks man, I have a friend up there but he doesn't have a shop like me. Ever heard of Larry from AmmoNYC?


Hey we use Menzerna FG400 with a Meguiars MF cutting pad and to polish we use black foam LC pads and Optimum Hyper Polish. All Rupes machines.


Maybe some day I'll have a shop up there, never even been to visit yet though!

 

I'll have to look into those Megs MF pads as I hear a lot of people are using them. I've so far stuck with the LC Orange and/or Tangerine pads for cutting and can never seem to get all swirls out.

This looks like a Porter Cable to me.

 

haha yeah that's a PC we use those too, usually our PC's have the 3" pads on them. We used to use the Megs MF polishing pads but we switched over to the black foam for a better finish.

 

I've thought about getting some CQuartz to protect my octane blue evo. How hard is it to use this product? Do you have to use UV lighting to cure or does that just speed up curing time?

 

With CQuartz Finest and Modesta we use the IR lamps to cure the coating, they also help to add some extra gloss by baking the coating itself. With the Opti-Coat Pro+ we simply cure in the atmosphere with no lamps needed.

The coatings we use are professional versions that you have to be an authorized installer to even order.

What I would recommend for a do-it-yourself'r would be CQuartz UK or Opti-Gloss coat. Both products are about 2 years of protection and can be purchased by the general public and applied without any expensive equipment or extensive training.

 

cleannnnnnnn

 

That's what I figured about the pro stuff :|

I'll have to check into the the other products though. Any one of them easier to apply than the other? I would want something with the highest gloss possible.

Just curious, would you consider the evo paint soft or hard?

Thanks for the info and again, amazing work!

 

CQuartz UK is definitely harder to work with than the Gloss Coat. Both offer similar protection and shine though.

The Evo paint is definitely soft, not as bad as Subaru paint but generally speaking and usually Japanese car paints are pretty soft. Absolutely nothing comes close to Tesla paint though, it is the softest stuff in the world

Thanks! Not to sound like I'm soliciting for likes like a girl on Instagram but check out our facebook page and toss it a like. Goes a long way in helping us get the name out there.

Thanks,

Dave

 

BUt overall it's not that hard to apply? I mean, watching videos of it being applied makes it look real easy but I don't know the quirks with this stuff as I have never used it before.

Thanks for the info. I always thought the paint was soft but wasn't 100% sure. You are the first detailer I have come across that has worked on the evo and has done such a killer job on it hence all the questions :P

For sure I'll check you guys out on Fabook and give you a like

I've worked in Chicago for a bit a number of years back but plan to come back for a holiday with the gf. When I do I'll hit you guys up!

Edit: Gad you have been able to deal with so many nice cars! *drools*