Performance Parts Zone

by Shelby Cain 

Car detailing Part 2: Paint Care

After you have your car properly washed and clean of all dirt and grime you can move on to the next step, which is your paint care. Depending on the condition of the vehicle and the extent to which the paint is deteriorated will decide what kind of work you will have to put into it. If your vehicle hasn’t been waxed in awhile it may be a good idea to use a “clay bar” to remove any contaminants before you add any extra wax to the finish. If this is you, you will want to use dishwasher soap instead of regular soap to remove the wax on the vehicle then follow the steps in the clay bar process followed by waxing and polishing. But if your car has been waxed lately or if it has a pretty new finish, a regular wax job will bring your luster back.
To do this you will want to buy a good wax. I use Eagle One Nano Wax, it is a wax and polish and it does not only a great job of bringing luster back, but it also fills fine scratches and minor swirls in paint…im sold on this product. Mequires Gold Class is also a good wax and there are many others on the shelves as well. You will also need some terry or micro fiber applicators and around 4 micro fiber towels to do the whole car. I use multiple micro fiber towels so that once one towel becomes caked with wax residue, I can just grab another one to continue the job.
When waxing remember Mr. Miagi was a wacko…you do not want to go in circular motions. Fine abrasives in the wax will cause excess swirls in your paint, and pretty much make your wax job a waste of time. Go in back and forth motions both when applying wax and removing it. You will only need to put a dime size amount of wax on the applicator pad at a time, and you will want to work in small sections as well. Start from top to bottom on the car and make sure you work ina shaded area, working in direct sunlight will cause the wax to haze rather quickly and prevent you from being able to get it off in time to prevent a hazy finish.
A good wax job gives your paint a slick surface that is resistant to sun fading, bird droppings, and “dirty” rain. It will also make future detailing such methods such as “spray detailer” much easier and beneficial. 

As written by Shelby Cain (our first ROTD winner)-

Car Detailing Part 1: Wash and Dry Now that summer time is here, I realized that it was also a good of a time as any to give some good detailing tips and to also address any questions that the “amateur” or “rookie” detailer may have. We will start with the basis of a good car detailing. The Wash and Dry. The first step in washing your vehicle is to buy good wash equipment. You never want to use dish soap when washing your ride, well unless you want to remove all the wax. So you need to make sure you have a good automotive wash. Eagle One (my product of choice- Justin) and Mequires make my two favorite washes…they have additives to promote a spot free dry and are safe for all finishes. After you have the wash you will need a few washrags. I like to use a micro fiber sponge or wash mitt for the painted part of my car and a soft terry mitt for the lower part of the rocker panels and rear bumper. You WILL need two rags because if you’re “good” rag gets contaminated with dirt, gravel or other debris it could result in a scratched car. Also grab a few terry cloth towels or micro fiber towels to wash the fender wells and your wheels with… DO NOT USE THE SAME RAG ON MULTIPLE PARTS OF THE CAR. A bucket that is just used for washing the car is also necessary, unless you go with the bucket free wash. The final product you may need is the Mr. Clean Auto Dry system. Water spots are hard to dodge with a black or red vehicle and from my experience The Mr. Clean auto dry is a good way to keep them to a minimum. The drying products are just as important. I use a chamois and a water blade. Both are available at your local parts or detailing store.

Now that we have the products we need, we can begin to wash. Pull your car into a shaded area if possible and get your bucket filled, and wash rags wet and in the bucket. Make sure that throughout the whole wash your rags do not get dropped. If for some reason they do, then make sure you rinse any debris out of them. The first thing I do is rinse the car very well and spray under the fender wells. I next wash and rinse my wheels, including the backside of the wheels with one of my micro fiber towels. Not the wash mitt for my car. After this I use a 2nd wash rag and scrub the fender wells of the car. Having a clean car but unfinished areas…not cool. After you have the fender wells back rinsed you can start on the paint of the car. I use my soft terry mitt to wash the rocker panels first…this way when I am using my good rag, the excess dirt and grime from the lower region of the car stays off my good rag. After completing this and the lower side of my back bumper I rinse and start on the rest of the car. This is a good time to stress the importance of washing small regions at a time and rinsing thoroughly throughout the whole process. If you are using a Auto dry system you will just want to use the rinse feature for now…save the spot free dry stuff for the end. Okay back to the washing. Grab your “good” rag and pull up the wiper blades to allow for full access to the windshield. Begin to wash from top to bottom on the car. I start on the hood then do the front windshield, roof, rear window, and decklid. Then work down the car in the same direction. Don’t forget areas such as the rear view mirror glass, your grill area, and your headlights and taillights. A good wash is the foundation of a properly detailed car.
Now that you are all washed and rinsed you can start to dry, you will need to dry whether or not you used an auto dry system. I find that the auto dry system is good for keeping filtered water on the car…and to a lot some extra time to dry. When I dry I work from top to bottom on the car. First with a water blade to remove the most of the water, than a chamois to finish.

Okay you are now clean and prepared for the rest of the detail process. Next time we will go over paint care and the proper way to apply wax and detailing sprays. 

Alright, well, it’s not a complete build of the 04 Subaru WRX STi, its more of a lets add higer quality parts, tune the car properly, and put a nice body-kit on the car.  The car was originally built in eastern KY for Fuzion Tire to make their debut at SEMA in 04.  Now, they want to re-vamp some stuff to modernize the car with up to date parts, and they have charged us with the task.  Its going to be a fairly simple build and as much as we’d like to, we are not allowed to change the paint scheme. 

Right now the car features a Turbo XS FMIC and Turbo-Back Exhaust system, Chargespeed Lip Kit, and Gauges and seats from Ractive.  One feature about the car we would really like to see function properly is the Praxis Suspension system.  Unfortuneately, the system was never made for this car but was modified (read- “hacked”) to work on the STi.  The System has so many gremlins and fitment issues we have chosen to replace the entire air system with a set of coilovers. By doing this the car will not only have the proper suspension under the car, it will clear up some room in the trunk for a mild stereo and some other goodies we are going to be installing. 

Other aspects of the build include a new Chargespeed Body Kit, not the lip kit, Sparco Racing Seats, Sparco Harness’, Tein Coilovers, HPD wheels, Stoptech Brake Upgrade, and a good dyno tune. We are also removing the Ractive gauges and replacing them with Defi Gauges to properly monitor the cars performance.  Basically, we are taking out all of the out-dated, dare i say, lower quality parts, and replacing them with good stuff.  This isn’t a huge project, but it’s big enough that with the short amount of time we have to do it, it will keep us busy. 

Here are a few pictures of the car before we got it and ill post pics of the car after were are done with it and all the changes.  I think you will be pleasantly suprised.

So, here it is, Labor Day weekend, 3 whole days of relaxing while doing absolutely nothing. Yeah right.   While Injected Performance may be closed, it doesnt mean we wont be here.  Nopi is in two weeks and we have 3 cars to finish.  Normally we put the finishing touches on the cars right as we run out of time, but this year, we have to be done 2 days early, so essentially we have 1 1/2 weeks left.  This is where it gets fun.  The M3 is getting painted tonight and with some luck, we can have the interior in the car and the new paint buffed by monday morning.  The Sti (ill write about it later) needs a lot of work, but we are still waiting on parts.  If we are lucky, we maybe able to mount the Defi Gauges in it this weekend.  The body kit for our 350Z was supposed to be here today, it wasn’t.  So now we probalby wont get anything more then the stereo done in it this weekend. 

So, we’ve got a busy weekend ahead and hopefully ill have some pics for you all monday as well as an update on all the progress we are going to make.  Have a fun and safe weekend.

Valvoline has asked us to asist in the build up of an 03 BMW M3 and we were happy to help.  The car will be displayed in Valvolines Booth at the SEMA show in Las Vegas this fall. 

Heres a list of what we did and are in the process of finishing up.

Sparco Milano Seats

14″ Big Brake Kit

Carbon Fiber Replacement Roof

Carbon Fiber Hood and Trunk lid

Carbon Fiber/Fiberglass Front Bumper

Fresh Paint.

The car also has the Activeautowerks supercharger and alcohol injection system on it.

We’ve got plenty of small details left  to attend to, but the roof is on.  Talk about a scary project, we had to take a cutting wheel to a M3 and cut the old roof out of the car.  Thankfully, we have two body men with nerves of steel that  were unfazed by the carnage they were about to put the car through.  The roof is on and looks great and ill have some pics up in the near future.

Exterior modifications include WALD Z33 Lip Kit and a full color change over to the Lamborghini Verde Ithica Mica found on the Murcielago.  A full carbon fiber Seibon hatch and Seibon Oem hood complement the Mastergrade full carbon fiber pillars and roof.  Craftsquare carbon fiber mirrors finish off exterior of the 430z.  With the rear strut bar being an eye sore when looking into the hatch, we removed and welded in structural plates and a custom strut bar to keep the car stable and rigid.  A full list of Audio/Video components include 3 Rockford Fosgate PUNCH amplifiers, 3 PUNCH P3 Subwoofers, an Eclipse 8454 CD Receiver, 7” monitor, and DV3101 DVD Receiver.  All this is enclosed in a in house custom built fiberglass enclosure.  Other interior amenities include Sparco Torino Seats, X Fast Shift Knob, Lap5 steering wheel, NRG Quick Release hub, Custom Carbon Leather Armrests, Headliner, and Shift Boot.  Defi BF Series Boost, Fuel Pressure, and Oil Temp make sure the engine runs perfect.  We didn’t stop just on the interior as the undercarriage of the car is completely polished and chromed for a mirror finish. 

Welcome to Injected Performance. Our online catalog of over 4000 parts and growing is easy to use, easy to search, and all around user friendly.

We offer everything you need to get the most performance and style out of your vehicle. Everything from big brake kits to turbo kits, custom wheels to body kits, and everything in between. If its performance oriented, we have it. If you dont see it, ask for it.

Unlike most of our competitors, we strive to stock a great deal of inventory with over $750,000 in stock at all times. Place your order online today or call and talk to one of our friendly and knowledgeable sales staff.

Injected Performance is proud to announce the release of the APS C6 Twin Turbo Kit. The APS C6 Twin Turbo Kits are on the way and will be ready to ship by the end of May, they wont last long, place your order today.

Injected Performance and ARP have teamed up to bring you the latest in parts development for the Nissan 350Z/Infiniti G35. Introducing the Nissan 350Z ARP L19 Head Stud Upgrade. If you want to maximize the power of your VQ with any type of forced induction, these head studs are a must. Available Now.

We are the offical sponsor of 350Zforums.com.