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2012 Kia Optima


SYMAWD

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Not a whole lot of before pics because white never looks dirty, but a lot of during and afters.  Enjoy.

 

First I started with the wheels using Deep Wheel Cleaner.

This is months of brake dust, it just doesn't dust a whole lot.

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Wheels sprayed with DWC.

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Boar's hair brush for the face

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Medium Wheel Woolie

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I love this for the back of the spokes (it bends and is made in the USA)

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Wheel rinsed:

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APC on the tires.  

No agitation yet:

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Scrubbed with tire brush:

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Fenders were done with APC and fender brush.

Strip wash (APC and car shampoo mixture)

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Foamed down:

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Next was decon with non Adam's product.  The whole car was like this or worse:

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The rest was then clayed to remove tar, bugs, etc.

 

Engine was surprisingly clean after 14,000 miles.  Just Waterless Wash and dressing.

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Car was then sealed with quick sealant, then got brilliant glaze, and a competitor's wax named after an extinct bird.  Everything also got SVRT.

Afters:

 

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Glass roof:

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Kia wasn't kidding when they called it Snow White Pearl.  In person it looks like someone dumped a bottle of glitter on the car.

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Freshly dressed interior (see my TID review)

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I love the roof in the car.

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Kia's been stepping it up lately.  I absolutely love the car.

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One more:

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Edited by SYMAWD
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Nice, crazy amount of metallic flake in that paint, and the dual roofs are sweet.

 

You should try DWC as a decon product, I used it on my G8 with amazing results.

It actually is DWC just on the Optima badge.  I tried it and it works, well.  Just to expensive to use on the whole car.

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where did you buy that stick for the back of the wheels? i would like to get it one. not talking about the wheel woolies.

 

also does that sprayer from walmart actually work? does it have enough foam coming out of it? was thinking of getting this also.

Edited by Stenguyen1
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where did you buy that stick for the back of the wheels? i would like to get it one. not talking about the wheel woolies.

 

also does that sprayer from walmart actually work? does it have enough foam coming out of it? was thinking of getting this also.

There is a pic of the car foamed up there.  It doesn't foam as well as a real foam gun, but it is a very nice alternative to evenly coat the car in soap or in this case strip the car and provides some extra suds for washing.  The pressure from it is also pretty good.

Edited by SYMAWD
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  • 4 months later...

2012 Optima EX Owner & it may be identical to yours...  Mine is SWP with Tan Leather Interior & Wood Grainish accents...  I absolutely love the car!!!

I plan on picking up the Perfect Interior Kit this week to keep the interior of my Optima spotless!! 

Edited by jtrade
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2012 Optima EX Owner & it may be identical to yours...  Mine is SWP with Tan Leather Interior & Wood Grainish accents...  I absolutely love the car!!!

 

I plan on picking up the Perfect Interior Kit this week to keep the interior of my Optima spotless!! 

Mine is actually a gray interior.  The interior is pretty easy to maintain.  Just the door jambs collect a ton of dirt and water during the rain and if you have any of the clear appliques on the trunk or rocker panels, they suck to clean, but I love the car.

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Mine is actually a gray interior.  The interior is pretty easy to maintain.  Just the door jambs collect a ton of dirt and water during the rain and if you have any of the clear appliques on the trunk or rocker panels, they suck to clean, but I love the car.

 

Oh cool they are a little different then...  I can see yours is gray now that I looked at the other thread you made about interior detailing...  The door jams on ours and by the rocker panels collect all kinds of crud like you said also under the truck lid where the tail lights are get filthy!! 

 

We dont have any clear appliques, so thank goodness for that! 

Edited by jtrade
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It's crazy it looks pink. I've been considering replacing my Camry with one of these, but them the SRT gods tell me I need 400+ power again. Also, what's the attachment on your hose with the shampoo?? PM me if you want

It's just an attachment from Wal-Mart.  It foams a little as you can see in the picture, but I just like it for two reasons.  I can get product covering the whole car quickly and the trigger has an auto hold.

 

As for the car, I can't say anything bad about it.  You can get 35MPG on the highway if you are careful, it's very comfortable and roomy, the amount of features in it is amazing for the price, and it has been very reliable.

 

The only "issues" are it had a transmission temp sensor go bad (somewhat common) and only 19 MPG in pure city driving. 

 

The pink is somewhat a trick of the camera, but you can actually see the individual colors of the pearl even a few feet from the car if it is sunny.  

 

I only have the 2.4 (200 hp) Optima, but the power is more than adequate.  While stepping up to the turbo (274 hp) is no SRT, it is more than enough to have fun.

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The Optima is a fantastic car IMO for the price tag.  We have had out 2012 for about 1.5 months now and love it.  So far we average 28MPG and that is with 50/50 city/highway driving.

We have done a few things to ours and removed the KIA badges...  People rubber neck like crazy even some in more expensive Audi/BMW/Mercedes. 

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