A Little Subaru Update

 

I was pretty happy when we finally got a cluster of warm dry days so I could spend some time outdoors soaking up some sunshine and doing my favorite thing ever – working on projects!  As many of you know I recently acquired a 2011 Subaru Outback back in January of this year.  I have been enjoying the heck out of that little car, especially as I knew when I bought it that there would be a few things for me to work on.  Not the least of which was a pair of dents, one on each front fender compliments of the previous owner.  The front bumper also had a nice paint scrape and from what I can tell each of these happened on three separate occasions.  Nonetheless, I was up for the challenge to make it better.

 

Before

After

Over a period of a couple of weeks I went out with my tools and supplies and patiently worked to pop out the dents.  I wasn’t going for perfection, I was only going for better.  At this time I don’t want to do any Bondo and paint work, just work out the dents so they are far less noticeable.  Once I’d achieved that on the driver’s side a little bit of rubbing compound and some wax and I was pretty happy with how that turned out.  With the passenger side I got it most of the way out until I ran out of time and good weather.  It is still a work in progress.

 

Before

After - still a work in progress

At the same time I also managed to get the oil changed, the fluids all topped up and the engine cleaned.  It was super dirty under the hood but once I’d worked my magic it looked like new.  I also noticed the wiper fluid container had lost its attachment point and was flopping around inside the engine bay.  No worries.  Nothing a bolt and a wing nut from my can of miscellaneous screws couldn’t take care of.

 

Before

During

After

Another issue was that the headlights were really yellowed and fogged over.  They were a little far gone, but I was able to sand them and clear coat them and make them much, much clearer.  Are they perfect?  Not even a little bit, but they are a whole lot better and should be fine until I can budget for replacement headlights.

 

Drivers side headlight

One very dirty engine bay

A new Interstate battery is on the list

The front bumper on the passenger side had a good sized paint scuff on it.  I used acetone on a Q-tip and carefully removed the white paint from the silver bumper.  You have to be careful not to go crazy and remove the car’s clear coat or its paint so patience and care are important here.  Once I had removed all the white paint scuffs I went over it with rubbing compound and then followed it with some wax and it looks a whole lot better.

 

Plenty of nature

And after!

So very satisfying 😎

I am still waiting for much warmer weather before I go inside with the carpet cleaner and give the carpet and upholstery a good cleaning.  I can hardly wait until I can finally get that done.  It will make the interior smell so much better.  In the meantime I will continue to work on what I can, weather permitting and continue to be happy with the progress I have made so far.