How To Achieve That "Clean" Look

Going to a car meet these days, some of you will see a parking lot full of cars with wide 3-piece wheels that are worth more than the car that they’re on. You may notice a giant rear wing, or perhaps an overcompensating large turbo under the hood. You may see different customized wrap jobs and neon under glow lights. Now don’t get us wrong, these are all great things to look at to preoccupy our sensory stimulation. After all, it’s what keeps us going to car meets, and it’s what drives us to do more to our cars while keeping the scene alive. But you know what stands out in the crowd of cars with riveted wide body kits and vision-blocking windshield banners? That would be a simply clean-looking vehicle. Because the devil is in the details, and yes, the author is a jaded middle-aged man.

So, what defines clean then? It applies to both stock and modified cars.

‘Clean’, is subjective. It is a term thrown around a lot in the car scene and if an individual sees a Subaru that has a build that resonates with their taste, then they are certainly entitled to think that the car is clen to them. However, outside of having an entire catalog of aftermarket modifications done to the exterior, you can also reach a level of clean appreciation that enthusiasts will always respect. Afterall, a clean bone-stock bugeye WRX, blob eye STI, and even the hawk eye examples are classic status now. Stock examples or units that have not been overly modified are appreciating in value simply because in today’s modern car world, they just don’t make them the same anymore.

With that being said, if you have a Subaru, or any enthusiast type vehicle for that matter, and you want to achieve that respectable clean look without having to do drastic mods to the exterior, these are some methods that you can do.

 

PAINT CORRECTION  

This is a good place to start. Now paint correction can cost a fortune if you pay the right person to do it. Key word, right person. The right person has the best in tooling, uses the best polishes, compounds, pads. They should have a paint thickness meter, and they will use an established ceramic coating that will protect the paint for 5-7 years. Most importantly, you are paying for the situational awareness that a good paint corrector will have. Meaning that they aren’t going to drag electrical cords over the paint. They won’t get waxes and polishes slung into crevices of your body because the right areas will be taped off. Real professionals know the limits of a rotary buffer and will know that it can burn through the paint if used in inexperienced hands.

Now if you have the curiosity, and especially the patience, you can perform paint correction yourself as there are countless videos on how to do so on YouTube. Most importantly it can be done with a dual-action polisher which is oscillating. This means that it vibrates back and forth at a high speed instead of going in a rotating motion. You will not burn through the paint, and they are safe to use. You guys know that we sell CLEANING TOOLS, and well as WAXES AND POLISHES brought to you by Chemical Guys. In this video, they show you how to use their TORQX Polisher, as well as a list of compounds and polishes that we proudly carry to get the job done.

 

 

 

Once you have your paint properly corrected, you can lock and add an extra layer of protection by using a ceramic coating. This is where you need to be extra careful as many ceramic coatings will cure into a thin layer of glass silica. So, if you miss a spot, you will be able to see it in the light. However, when finished, wiped off, and cured, your paint will have a very deep gloss and shine that repels the sun’s UV rays, bird droppings, and the water will repel much faster whether at a car wash, or if you’re caught in the rain.

 

PAY ATTENTION TO THE LITTLE DETAILS

Getting the paint cleaned up is just the beginning. You have rock chips to touch-up, but there are other things that can easily be overlooked, yet they will only stick out like a sore thumb once your paint is fresh. The best example is faded window trim and moldings. For older Subaru models, the outer door trim at the base of your windows can easily get sun baked. These should be able to be ordered or purchased at your local dealership. And there are many Subaru aftermarket chrome delete options that provide a cleaner look:

Another great item to renew if your units are sun-faded, are the windshield wiper arms. If yours are indeed sun-faded, then you can either replace them with new units, or go to your local auto parts store and get a satin black high-temp paint used for engine components, that apply a light coat to your windshield wiper arms fore a cleaner look. Again, all these little items really clean up the overall appearance.

 

CLEAN UP YOUR GLASS – INVEST IN A DECENT TINT

Another great way to clean up the look of your vehicle is by getting proper tint done. Tint can get scratched, bubble during heat, or it can peel. Tint can really make or break the look of your car, and it certainly can look terrible when it’s aged. Polishing your glass on the outside, while having a nice tint on the inside can really clean up the appearance of your vehicle. And having a nice windshield with no cracks and no banners with a cheesy saying that a 7^th grader came up with is a solid move as well.

 

POLISH YOUR HEADLIGHTS AND TAILLIGHTS – OR GET NEW UNITS

Your paint is freshly corrected, the trim around the exterior is looking good, and your glass is polished. What’s the next step? Make sure that your headlights and taillights are polished. At this point if you know how to paint correct, the same methods apply to your lights. The point is to remove oxidation so you can wet sand, then polish your headlights with a heavy cutting compound and a heavy cutting pad.

You can also invest in new headlights or taillights that still provide a clean look without looking out of place.

 

CLICK HERE FOR HEADLIGHTS

 

CLICK HERE FOR TAILLIGHTS

 

 

LET’S TALK ABOUT WHEELS

We’re not going to talk about overly wide wheels where you are stretching a 215 across an 11-inch-wide wheel with 100 psi of pressure because you think that it’s sick. Again, the author is a middle-aged man, and he wants you to get off his lawn with those expensive multi-piece wheels sitting on the cheapest tires you can possibly find. OR, what if you had a 05 STI and decided to get any rash, nicks, or scratches fixed on your wheels, and got them re-powder coated? That would be sick. But it would also be expensive and time consuming. But achieving that clean look is not easy, but this would also fall under the category of restoration. A nice clean set of OEM wheels sitting on a good tire such as a Michelin Pilot is super clean.

 

But if you had to go with an aftermarket wheel, a well-executed fitment will always be clean as well. This means that you can find an aggressive wheel that you can run lowered on COILOVERS without rubbing on your fenders with a decent tire such as a 255/35/18 would also knock it out of the park.

 

But fitment is everything. Think about what you are using your vehicle for. If you have a daily driver, then you would want a wheel that will properly fit with a proper tire size so that you can get a good alignment done, and that you aren’t chewing through tires every 6 months. No matter what generation of Subaru that you drive or any car for that matter, do the proper research to determine the correct size and offset that will work safely with your car. It doesn’t matter if you spend the thousands on TE-37s like below, or if you choose a more reasonably priced set of Enkeis. The most important aspect is a proper fitment, with a proper tire size.

CLICK HERE FOR WHEELS

 

TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER WITH YOUR BRAKES

Your rotors naturally get rusty because of the pad residue and the iron material. Plus, they are a wear-and-tear item that will need to be replaced eventually. But its what’s behind the wheel that can really clean things up. You can get new rotors, and you can take extra steps by having your calipers powder-coated to renew the appearance. For those of you with larger 18” wheels with larger spokes, you could do something super custom by getting a big brake kit. Now a big brake kit is required for dedicated race cars because heat is the biggest enemy for brakes. You can run into brake fade issues. Larger calipers and rotors associated in big brake kits do a better job of managing the heat. The larger surface area between the pad and rotor improves the stopping power so they are needed in race cars. But for those of you who want the cleanest car at the meet, a BBK sitting behind a set of Volks is a power move. Some people try posting a pic of an old Rolex while they’re holding a cigar behind the wheel of their Porsche Boxster, but you have that Brembo BBK.

CLICK HERE FOR BIG BRAKE KITS

 

CLICK HERE FOR BRAKE ROTORS

 

 

SIMPLIFY YOUR EXTERIOR MODS

Now if you’ve got fresh paint correction, you’ve got clean tint, a nice set of wheels and tires on the exterior. Simplify your exterior mods. For example, if you renewed the window trim, and other black components such as the windshield wiper arms, you could do something clean yet subtle such as an STI-style front lip. Something such as an APR front wind splitter would be a little too aggressive as we are more focused on a stock body, but a nice STI front lip will really tie everything together. Hit up the search function to see if we have an option for your Subaru. This example is for an 06-07 WRX/STI:

STI V-Limited Front Lip 2006-2007 Subaru STI

 

 

KEEP YOUR CAR REGULARLY CLEANED AND WIPED DOWN TO MAINTAIN THE LOOK

Chemical Guys Quick Detailer Spray

During the winter season which we are neck-deep in at the time of this article, you can do things to maintain the cleanliness of your car. Run it through a touchless car wash to wash all of the salt and road impediments off. Always remember that the community car wash brush will scratch your paint because it is filled with tiny rocks and pebbles used to scrub off mud from those lifted trucks. And if you wash it by hand at the car wash, soak the car down with soap to help break apart the salt and dirt impediments from the road then spray it off. Keep some fresh microfibers in the trunk with some detail spray to wipe off any excess dirt that the car wash was not strong enough to get to. Use a metal polish on the exhaust tips every now and then and wipe off any excess dust during the summer in between washes as polishes and ceramic coats attract dust.

Yes, having a cleaner car does take more effort, but that is the whole point of keeping your Subaru, or whatever you drive in the best condition it can be during your ownership whether if you keep the car for long-term, or if you plan on selling the car in the future. Having a clean car naturally commands respect for those of you want to keep things original in a world of larger rear wings, erratic exterior mods, and daily drivers made to look like race cars. Enjoy your car in comfort, and in its original skin.