Shockingly Good Results Spray Painting My Subaru WRX STI Flares

[@seva.luchianov]

$2400 for painting flairs is crazy! They look a million times better in WRB now 👌

[@Smeedia]

Right?! Part of me thinks it was their go away price but I also don’t know much much goes into blending everything so could be justified?

[@nauggy3250]

That’s nuts!! Maaco does paint jobs for like 750-1500 and I heard they’re not too bad these days. Just a thought if you wanna do the whole car. I’m gonna get my wrx painted there and let you know

[@electroevolution5777]

​​@@nauggy3250 I had my old miata fully painted from red to black for 2k by maaco 5 years ago! @Smeedia $2400 is 100% the "go away" price. Thats absurd pricing for FLAIRS. I wouldnt pay more than $500 for flairs to be color matched.

[@Kalb959]

That was definitely a go away price! send em’ my way and I’ll spray them for ya paint matched whatever variant of WRB you want 😂

[@cww-tv3267]

Looks good way better

[@Hakiri27]

they looked cool in white for about 5 minutes, soooo good matched

[@Smeedia]

The paint matched set up is just wayyy cleaner 🔥

[@reversc508]

@@Smeediaspray paint did u use? Brand???

[@STIStuff]

That’s great getting Mel involved on the cars, will be fun watching her learn

[@Smeedia]

She’s going to be doing her intake in the GTI this week so that’ll be fun 😅

[@imoffendedthatyouareoffended]

⁠@@Smeedialmao that’s just were it starts. That’s where it almost always starts. “Just an intake” “just an exhaust” “just a turbo” hahah :D

[@DeniceK-kv8rt]

Painted wrb flares look way better in my opinion and 100% worth saving all that coin! Man that mirror breaking on you close to your face brought back some recent scary shit that almost took out my eye. I was doing a water pump on a truck and a screwdriver broke in two and the metal piece hit me right in my eyeball. Luckily it was a graze and I didn’t loose my eye or any vision. I bought small impact goggles I’ll be wearing anytime I’m wrenching from now on. Be careful bud and love the progress! 🤙

[@Smeedia]

Oh hot damn! Glad to hear your alright. It’s always the thing we would never expect that’ll get us 🙃 how did the screw driver snap?!

[@mrchilled]

That is absolutely gorgeous now. I'm surprised at how much difference that has now made painting the flares. It now looks absolutely mint. I wouldn't be worried at all by the slight mismatch in colour, $2,400 to paint match a few flares is ridiculous. Awesome work, car looks just fantastic now.

[@Smeedia]

Thank you 🙌🔥 definitely gave the car a more complete look with getting everything all painted up 🥳

[@jakegackle7398]

As far as spray paint is concerned, temperature and humidity both greatly affect the drying time and the coverage. I have a small space heater that I use to warm my cans up if it's too cool and I'll even point them at whatever I painted to speed up drying and get rid of some of the humidity.

[@Smeedia]

That makes sense, it got pretty cold pretty quick when we were painting 🥶

[@jacobmayoral7614]

This channel and the subaru community in general make me so happy I bought the car I did. I love the GD content!

[@Smeedia]

The GD is the way 🔥🙌

[@ThatWasherNerd]

6:05 thank you for including that in the video

[@Smeedia]

Had to leave it in 😂

[@pharmztko]

I’ve been doing autoglass for 20 years I was waiting for it lol

[@dalereed2626]

Nice job Tanner looks great . The whole car looks Fantastic the way it sits the white wheels and carbon hood . PERFECT Love it !!!!

[@Smeedia]

I think I’ll leave the hood carbon, kinda digging the full carbon look now 🥳

[@omialmanza1900]

Love paint matching. The end results are satisfying. Tho the reality is the waiting between the coats, and resprays. You guys did a great job keeping this video interesting and wholesome for this build 👍🏼👍🏼

[@Smeedia]

We were shooting for 12-15 min between coats, for the most part we stayed between that time frame 😅 super happy with the outcome for what we did 🥳

[@evo_dann]

shoulda used spraymax 2k clear, its a game changer

[@Smeedia]

Heard great stuff about the 2K clear. 🔥🔥 I was just using what I already had 😅

[@ChanoWilliams]

Okay now that you painted them I've come around to liking them. Looks good! You actually inspired me to tackle my own DIY fender flare paint job! Thanks bro!

[@Smeedia]

Lemme know how the paint job comes out! Definitely worth the time 🥳

[@liltay8962]

looks soooo good now with everything painted and the rega masters you should be proud!

[@Smeedia]

Things definitely come a long way from its old clapped out super state we picked it up in 😅

[@Telesko]

The first mirror shatters, the second mirror was a succe.. oh never mind 😂 Fares look pretty good and saved a ton of money so big win for a daily

[@Smeedia]

Dude these old mirrors did not want to cooperate 😂

[@FoundAGarage]

FYI the factory undercoat/primer for WR Blue (02C) is a “G6” grey. Your blue here most likely turned out lighter (vs true factory) as a result since it was applied on top of the white. But all good if it matches the existing vehicle color! I learned this while re-spraying the spoiler on my ‘04 wagon last fall.

[@breakandrun70]

I think the WRX-STI looks pretty dang good with the flares painted, Good job Tanner & Mel. The folding mirrors are a blessing in parking lots. Plus you need a sign saying you hit my car, I walk over yours. Track day must be coming soon. That's all I got, See Ya's!

[@andrewharris7868]

So, do you remember that little kids toy that sounds like a cow every time you flip it over? 😂 3:08

[@GetHip]

Oh man the flares look so freaking good.

[@Smeedia]

Wayyyyy better than I thought it would come out 🔥🙌

[@hondaboyz213-cj2og]

Super dope she is out there helping you out to definitely a keeper

[@Smeedia]

She’s down to help whenever and wherever she can. Definitely a keeper to find someone who supports the passion 🔥

[@hondaboyz213-cj2og]

@@Smeedia 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 super luccy I have lost one wife and a fiance over car stuff some females just don't understand it's not just a hobby or something to do cuz we're bored or to waste money like I've been doing all this since I was 11 10 years old with family friends I'm almost 40 so it's like a part of you but you highly luccy when you guys getting married lol 😆😆

[@durvasanramdhani7736]

When you use clear , soak the bottom of the bottle in warm water for at least 20mins before spraying, looks great for a daily!

[@chiiiiiiiiiiix]

The flairs are finally painted 😂 Love em- I'm catching up on what I missed on your channel! The daily is looking good 👍

[@robertsavello4120]

Maybe it's just the camera, or youtube compression, but I can't see a difference in color on the flares. I can see the mirrors being slightly off, but not enough to be bad. the flares look amazing. One of the coolest daily's out there.

[@lilmike1780]

19:24 you definitely made the right choice by doing this yourself, it looks amazing… I painted cars for a lot of years a long time ago and rattle can paint was never easy to spray, and it never looked that good.

[@Smeedia]

Every rattle can job I’ve done has always been meh so I was super stoaked to see how well this came out 🥳

[@jaron95]

My god it's beautiful. All the uncertainty and doubt about the spray paint are completely unfounded. Great job, it looks perfect -- especially on a car that's almost old enough to vote!

[@nexxai]

Man, I know they might not perfectly match if you're up close and looking for it, but for 99% of people who are just seeing you as you drive by, they are not going to have a fucken clue. It looks amazing.

[@Smeedia]

That’s what I’m saying 🙌 it’s not a show car and already doesn’t have the greatest paint. No sense in spending unneeded monies 😅

[@Pittbluewrx]

Turned out great I love the content!

[@Smeedia]

I’m actually surprised at how well they came out 😅🔥

[@spitnshine8492]

Paint looks great! Job done, I wouldn’t worry about the perfect match

[@CrMo4130]

“BRAIN”. 🧠. I geeked out when you said that. 😂

[@Smeedia]

😂😂

[@evodennis75]

You can use your factory ic sprayer button for the windows. I can even tell you how to do it so it's momentary push button to go full close to full open.

[@Smeedia]

How you do? 👀 I tried a couple ideas and none were working 😅

[@evodennis75]

@Smeedia 3 options. Dei 528t time delay relay. You'd need 2 of them and the ic sprayer button needs 2 outputs. 1 to open and the other to close, then tune each relay for the travel time. That'll run ya 40 to 50 bucks. Or the cheap way is to use two relays, ic sprayer would trigger each one. Both style of relays need to be wired in a "5 wire method" The 3rd possible option, little more pricey but if it works the way I think it would, would be the best. Dei 535T. It's a window open/close module. It'll apply power till amperage goes up and the logic shuts it down once it reaches end of travel.

[@evodennis75]

@@Smeedia I can whip out some schematics and send em to you tomorrow. I just need to know if they open/close by flipping polarity on two wires

[@asuknow12]

Still upgrading the shop with planning on moving semi soon?

[@Smeedia]

For now, we will take everything with us when we go 🫡

[@juelzsantana211]

they absolutely came on out great man! the car looks sick! I love the classic look of it. although i own a VA STi this chassis is still one of my favorites!

[@Paddy_Badger]

Well done, my guy. I'd say that's a $1000 paint job right there. The mirrors are dope. Motors sound a little tired, though. Still, a total flex. Love the banter with Mel, need more of her. Everything's coming up roses. 💥💥💥

[@joshchaides]

On camera it looks perfect to me. Looks good man 👏. Great job to the both of you 👏

[@ashbidrosa9788]

Cool, I do my own paint projects too. Just painted mine like cartoon/sketch type paint

[@Bunkley99SSM]

So are you going to do the key flob mirror mod?

[@Smeedia]

Wire it to the lock and unlock? 😅

[@Bunkley99SSM]

@@Smeediayes. I think you were planning to do that to 14 at one point.

[@OZBIE]

Paint match looks great in the video, nice!

[@Smeedia]

They came out wayyyy better than I was expecting 😅🔥

[@jefferydupuis6326]

I actually just installed a set of JDM Power Folding Mirrors with the rare side indicators on my GD! Pro tip: The correct switch for the power folding can be had from select Nissan models as well, I ended up with a mirror switch from a Pulsar GTIR in my 02 WRX.

[@jefferydupuis6326]

I also used a harness addon from Aaron's Subie Electronics, highly recommend if you don't want to pin the switches in yourself.

[@C4banchee]

Most paint shop will quote that high because they are putting their reputation out there with every paint job they do. Also spray cans have come a long way from the the cheap stuff. I think it work well for the car, even though its "freshly" painted its not original and it would look off if the flares were perfect with the rest of the car being a little off. I think its good to try something new and I'm glad you post these videos so we can see everything.

[@ianmansfield8885]

Looks great and the light reflects differently on horizontal..vertical, and arching surfaces you know the differences observers wont

[@Smeedia]

Good point, I did not think about how the light changes between the two. Came out way better than I thought it would 😅

[@virus5877]

that looks 10000% better IMO. nicely done!

[@Smeedia]

Thank you 🥳🙌

[@tobiasfrancisco5879]

Looks great to me. I keep hoping to see one of your rides when i drive by FIM. Ill keep my eyes open and my 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

[@honeybadgerwrx]

Tanner, I think the flares came out phenomenal for the money savings! Also not sure if you were aware but it doesn't look like the STI's reverse lights are operational.

[@VoxVirtus86]

Those cloudy spots in the clear coat are probably moisture that got caught in the clear. You can try to use a heat gun on low heat and go over it, without getting it too hot. Should help pull the moisture out. Worst case, some wet sanding will get it.

[@Smeedia]

Heat gun is exactly what I went with 😅 worked great!

[@JohnTaylor-df8wy]

if done right spray paint looks so good, used it for my jdm spats!

[@Smeedia]

This the best I’ve ever had spray paint look 😅

[@raoufosman]

Nice work. Very close in color. Looks great for rattle can job.

[@911CARRILLO]

$2400 ?? they need to start wearing their mask in the paint booth cus they're smoking that shiiiiiiizz brotha 😂😂 ..car looks great man, glad you decided to go for the paint..

[@isaacescoto7939]

Quick question? Why not wire the mirrors to the lock and unlock with the car security remote? Lock - power fold closing & unlock - power unfolding. 😄 feel like that would be a bigger flex while walking away or walking to the STI.

[@Smeedia]

I debated trying that but I’m. It sure if voltage changes from GND to source when locking and unlocking?

[@isaacescoto7939]

@Smeedia mmm that's a good point, however, you're right at the door panel which means, you would be able to tap onto or test the power mirror function from the door lock motor(s). The door lock motors work in the same fashion, reverse polarity and have a consistent power source. 🤔🤷

[@Vex_Vesper]

@ 4:17. Bruh you rebuilt the engine lol. That's quite the little bit apart. well for a guy like me lol.

[@Smeedia]

lol you right 😅 I just meant for pulling interior stuff apart 😅

[@Villajesse]

It’s like finally scratching an annoying itch. Looks good. Suggestion. Can you ever do a brembo rebuild video ?

[@TangibleExistence]

Whoop-whoop 🙌🙌 There she is!! Great paint work!

[@Smeedia]

Thank you 🥳🥳🥳

[@clay1991]

It looks good. Way better than the white flairs. Cars for driving pleasure are always better than show cars in my opinion since you're not so bothered by the fine details you just actually enjoy taking it wherever you want.

[@joshanderson1122]

Paint looks pretty solid for rattle can. I love the hex lights but god are they expensive if you have a big space

[@Smeedia]

They are a. It spends, I think this kit is $300 or so?

[@palaciosfreddy9189]

Looks great man props, i cant even tell any difference at all.

[@d5racing91]

Looks mint! Well done fam 🔥🔥

[@ChristopherFranz]

Looks amazing, the camera hides some of the colour/shade issues. I'd actually got used to and liked the white flares so it looks a bit weird to me. Still looks the goods though. Well worth saving the cash.

[@Smeedia]

The white grew on me a little bit as time went on but the blue looks so good 🥳

[@xsquatchx2535]

I’m thinking of rattle canning the ol wrx wagon. Not a fan of the blue and it has rust spots on the roof and just rough paint.

[@jeffbeerkens5286]

I hold the trigger and go across it with perfect motion found it works better for me On and off with can will make it orange peel

[@Smeedia]

I started doing this near the end and started getting wayyyy more consistent spray

[@jeffbeerkens5286]

@@Smeediayou are definitely talented get more experience with it and your set my brother!! You helped me and i gotta help back at the same time thanks for your help!!🍻🍻🍻

[@hondaboyz213-cj2og]

JDM FOR LIFE 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 I'M HAPPY TO SEE SOMEONE TAKE THE TIME TO REALLY SOURCE OUT REAl JDM parts and not fake shit

[@Smeedia]

eBay comes in cluuuuutch for that stuff 🔥

[@jesuslombera307]

Do you have stage 2 plus tune for 2017 sti ? I member you said in one of your videos you saved the ots tune off a old ap

[@Smeedia]

I’ll have to check I know I have some for a 14 WRX and 05 STI

[@joekal08]

Great job. Actually, I did love the white flares haha, look like almost sneakers, lol. Awesome paint job! By any chance you have a video coming on wrx/sti mods on Cali? Thank you

[@johnjbateman]

Worth it! 100 agree it’s perfect for a daily

[@Smeedia]

Does not look bad at are for some rattle cans 🔥

[@rileyschultz1406]

2400 is a a little high but correct. I spent 2200 on paint for 3 quarters of my 06. And btw love your content really made me find a deeper love for my car!

[@Smeedia]

Is that with blending as well I’m assuming? 👀 and thank you! The supports always appreciated 🫶

[@rileyschultz1406]

No blending just paint:( the amount of pearl in the paint is crazy

[@tw1st3dw1ll7]

I repainted fenders on a jeep, it was 20/20 paint job, 20 ft away and 20mph driving by, you couldn't tell. I think wrap makes since for the 07, I am still voting a bronze.

[@Smeedia]

Kinda wanna wrap it like a police car lol

[@tw1st3dw1ll7]

@@Smeedia lol, so a different take on the not a taxi.

[@WrexyJoe]

Looks amazing! If I saw you in real life driving I wouldn’t look twice/notice the color difference.. I think your perfectionist is showing bro. 😂

[@ACR6KILLER]

From my understanding in just window shopping paint correction pens along with bumpers in the past, didn’t Subaru slight change the WRB color between the gc/gd chassis and the gr/gv chassis? If they didn’t I am completely wrong and apologize. I was just thinking maybe they repainted the car previously with the newer wrb color

[@Smeedia]

Your right, the color did change between generations 🫡

[@IlovemySubaru]

Tanner are you going to put a grill in front of the front mount

[@Smeedia]

I am not 👀

[@briansexton713]

I had installed the power fold mirrors on my 02 wrx quite a while back. I think I had found a diagram to wire them to work automatically. Or maybe just figured out a way... Perhaps running wire to the DRL relay might work?

[@matthewwain9958]

Reading around it is cold/humid air that causes the cloudiness

[@Smeedia]

That’s what we figured, it got cold really quick when we were painting

[@swoosh8474]

Looks good, are you gonna paint part of the hood? In my own opinion it would look really good with black wheels and like half the hood world rally blue.

[@Smeedia]

I debated painting the hood but now I kinda like it full carbon 😅

[@swoosh8474]

@@Smeedia In that case it could look good with a black wrapped roof and something black on the trunk/rear wing. I'm just throwing ideas out there. lol

[@beofflxne7014]

So those are Jdm mirors right ? That’s crazy I love it

[@Smeedia]

Yes they are the JDM ones 🫡

[@t1bmxfbm]

flares look dope, whats I find weird is when I went to order some of the world rally blue from grimmspeed, they were out of stock..... hmmmmm 🤔

[@Smeedia]

They were out?! I’ve had this paint for like a year now 😅

[@davey_tones]

That cloudiness in the paint is called Blush. It happens when moisture gets caught in the coat, usually when its too humid outside. You can get something called Blush Retarder to reflash the paint and lets the moisture escape.

[@twentyonenix8386]

definitely doing this for my hood scoop

[@sonnyrico]

I painted a fiew gas tanks for my chopper with rattle can, youd be suprised how good you can make them with practice

[@RichardLangis]

That is a fantastic looking rattlecan job. Flares are looking minty.

[@Smeedia]

Rattle can worked way better than I thought it would 🙌

[@dre14k5]

not bad at all ! i think side skirt extensions next ?

[@Smeedia]

Ordering a set 🫡

[@scottmerz272]

Looks pretty damn good ! All that matters is if you like it

[@valrandir]

Annddd it is Painted !!! good job

[@Smeedia]

Thank you 🥳🥳🥳

[@lilmike1780]

8:54 $2400 for flares only? Or was that with them blending into the fenders and quarter panels? Either way it seems excessive on the price, but if they blending the fenders and quarters to match I can see it getting pricey.

[@Smeedia]

That’s blending and painting, I don’t know how much work goes into blending. But $2400 was more than I was willing to spend 😅

[@tommanning7337]

Dude they look great!!! The hazy could be weather, temp, humidity? Not sure I’m not a paint guy but Hey!!!! Let’s wrap that Porsche, sure it’s probably gonna be a PIA but when did that ever stop you! C’mon let’s go let’s go!!! 😎👍🏻👍🏻

[@Smeedia]

TOM!!! I’m guessing it was temp shock it got cooooold super quick when we were painting

[@thedailyproject4569]

I wanted to have my grill color matched on my truck and the shop wanted $1600. Needless to say it’s not paint matched but after seeing your rattle can job I’m down to DIY

[@Smeedia]

Never hurts to try the DIY route 🔥🙌 $1600 is wild!

[@stefanvanbraam4378]

Love the hex lights. Just saved $. $2400 . Paint looks great.

[@weebwhacker-p7n]

I wasnt a big fan when the flares were unpainted but i get it now 🔥

[@ineedanasprin3172]

you came through for us tanner, you absolutely killed the flares.

[@Smeedia]

Thank you 🥳 for some rattle cans they not bad 🔥

[@styxbloodpaw]

Getting it paint matched to the body color would've probably been as smart as slapping a huge rotated turbo on a stock 200k mile engine. Rattlecan was def the smarter move. It looks great on video, so most people would be none the wiser 😅

[@Smeedia]

Rotated set up on a 200K mile engine sounds like a good time though 😂😅

[@jacobmayoral7614]

What happened with the hazing is this - Spray cans are mixtures of paints and solvents. You spray the mix and the solvent evaporates leaving a painted surface. When you do coats too quick back to back or go too heavy with the clear, you can re-disolve previous coats and bring them forward in the paint resulting in a weird finish that looks like soup and dries like peanut brittle lol. I like to shoot coats 20 minutes apart, let it completely dry for several hours or preferably over night and then use spray max 2 part clear which is a special can with a hardner and clear coat rather than a solvent so it will never mess up your paint. Lay that shit on heavvvvvvvy, wet-sand with 3000 grit, cut and buff. My dad did auto body for 20 years and absolutely hates how I can get booth quality work done in my garage. He says I need to learn the hard way like they had to in the 90's.

[@Smeedia]

I’ll definitely give the longer set time a try, we were going every 12-15 min between coats. The temp also dropped suuuuuuper quickly as we were painting. Not sure if that has a massive effect on it though 😅

[@apexjdmimports]

I think they look great

[@Smeedia]

Came out way better than I thought it would 🎉

[@mikalarrington8112]

Yes it is good job I can't tell

[@Christosan88]

How can I send you the jdm button?

[@marcspence1905]

Damn, what money over sprayed mirrors? That is one of the most easiest parts to tape and enjoyable.

[@670cars8]

Making me wanna repaint my hood and spats, how many cans did you use?

[@FADWC]

Im not a very "picky" person just my nature i dont pick things apart and on the video if i didnt know i wouldnt be able to tell they arent the same color. Smart choice 🤙

[@Smeedia]

Thank you 🙌 came out better than I thought 😅

[@SUBI_PaT]

Looks killer man $2,400 is higher than a giraffe especially for flares great job tanner looks awesome buddy.

[@accgamez]

What brand did you go with and what was theb pricing per can? Wodnering if i should switch brands

[@Smeedia]

It is GRIMMSPEED’s WRB paint 🫡 I’ve had it sitting for like. Year. Wanna say it’s like $25 a can?

[@woodzy575]

Car looks great. The painters just want to do a good job. But you don't want to be worried about scratches and stuff on your $2400 paint. Just have fun hooning around. Colour match is good because they are at a different angle and pick up the light different. Looks great to me

[@Smeedia]

Very true, I’m hyped with how well the spray paint came out. Normally whenever I use. Rattle can they come out meh 😅

[@woodzy575]

@@Smeedia I changed my mind about the painters. I worked for a paint installing lights and they had to colour match bumpers to fenders all the time. He would test spray, adjust and try again. They are either trying to scam or don't want the work.

[@Nick_Cortez]

How many cans did you need to use? Im going to be rattle canning my rear bumper cover soon. So far i have 5 cans but im guessing i might need some more.

[@Smeedia]

Took 1.5 cans of paint and 1 can of clear 🫡

[@Nick_Cortez]

@@Smeedia Oh nice I might be right on!

[@andrewb7057]

Flares look fine i feel like it needed raddle can paint cuz dailys need to be not perfect so you actually drive it should consider a paint gun can improve the small jobs like this if you have one

[@Smeedia]

I have a harbor freight paint gun but that thing is so inconstant with spraying. I’ve debated buying a quality paint gun to have on hand 👀

[@sanlot17ken]

Just send it!! Wise choice 👌

[@Smeedia]

🫡🫡🫡

[@benwoolf7871]

Have a look at Australian Wreckers, STI heaven might have the OEM button

[@clayzonn]

how many cans did you end up using? ive been looking into the grimmspeed cans to paint match my wing and hood scoop

[@Smeedia]

1.5 cans of paint and 1 can of clear 🫡