1999 Honda Civic EX - dirty & dead - the journal

[CaveRacing]

*We deleted the original thread titled "Back from the Dead - 1999 Honda Civic EX" due to the location of the photo links. My photos needed to be moved, so I've started over with a new thread. I apologize for losing the responses that were posted so far.*

My buddy was given this car, a 1999 Honda Civic EX, by his cousin. She was the original owner and it currently has 206,000 miles. Aside from a toasted gearbox (the reason the car was dead when my buddy got it) and a few regular maintenance items that needed attention, the cosmetics left much to be desired.

I’ve been friends with this family, and more specifically, my buddy, for over 25 years. As you can imagine, I am eager to lend a hand on this car. Secretly, I’m very excited about it! Ok, so it isn’t really a secret. They all know how enthusiastic I am to get started on this car. The satisfaction that I expect from completing the various tasks in order to bring this car back to life is huge!! I know that the car has never been garaged and the number of car washes that it has seen in the last 15 years can likely be counted on one hand. I know… horrible.

I have always been interested in the type of car care we all share in this forum, but this car encouraged me to read, read, and read some more. I’ve learned an enormous amount of information over the last couple of weeks. Thank you to everyone on this forum for sharing their knowledge, tips, advice, and encouragement.

This will be a thread/journal that tracks and shares the progress of this vehicle as I tackle the many projects of neglect, in no particular order at this time:

• Headlight restoration
• Engine compartment cleaning and detail
• Exterior cleaning and correction, including OPT Ferrex, Pinnacle XMT #3, XMT 360, plastic trim restoration, and much more
• Interior cleaning and detail
• Wheel cover estoration
• MORE TO COME, I’m sure…

Here are the pictures of the car as it stands today.

Here you can see the little cracks in the clearcoat.

The plastic trim is in dire need of restoration.

Disgusting!

For a 15 year old car, the interior isn't really that bad!

See below for the completion of the first item – Project Headlight Restoration!

 

[CaveRacing]

I completed the headlight restoration as the first project on the Civic. I used the 3M kit, #39045. This is the full kit as it contained:

• Backing plate for the dril
• 500 grit
• 800 grit
• 3000 grit
• Compound
• Synthetic wax

I must say, this kit is fantastic. I followed the directions and I got excellent results. I do think there should be one more polish step to better finish where the 3M Rubbing Compound leaves off, but I’ll handle that when I do the paint correction on the car.

On to the photos!

Before

Prepped!

Sanded with 500 grit.

Sanded with 800 grit.

Wet sanded with 3000 grit.

Polished with 3M Rubbing Compound.

Hand polished with Meguiar's Clear Coat Safe Polishing Compound.

Applied 3M Synthetic Wax and done!!

 

[CaveRacing]

UDPATE!! 2-12-2015

Finally, I was able to grab the car for a couple of evenings after work. These aren't terribly exciting updates, but every little project is making a significant improvement to the overall appearance.

For this update, I cleaned the windows, interior door panels, dash, center console, floor mats, and door jambs. I also removed the 15 year old pinstripe, which was looking NASTY.



Products used:

• Chemical Guys Nonsense 10:1
• Chemical Guys Fabric Clean 20:1
• Chemical Guys Medium carpet brush drill attachment
• Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine 16:1
• 2.5hp/2.5 gallon shopvac with Bissell extractor tool attachment
• Lots of microfibers
• 2000 lumen Snap-On LED work light (this is awesome! $30 from Costco)

These are the microfibers after cleaning just the windows and interior bits. The fabric on the seats hasn't even been touched yet.

These microfibers looked like this on both sides of each rag! This is what years of dirt, dust, and neglect will get you.

Next, I moved on to the floor mats. These are the befores. They weren't horrible as they've always been covered, mostly, by rubber mats.

I used the Chemical Guys Medium carpet brush for the drill. It worked pretty well, although I found it difficult to control. It kept wanting to jump away from me. I also used a standard upholstery brush found in many stores. This probably worked just as well. My chemical of choice was Chemical Guys Fabric Clean, diluted at 20:1. My extractor is a 2.5hp/2.5 gallon shopvac with the bissell extractor tool attached. I also sprayed with hot water prior to scrubbing and prior to extraction.

Next, I took care of the door jambs.

Before:

After using Chemical Guys Nonsense, followed by ONR W&S:

Finally, I removed the pinstripe. I didn't take many pics of this, but you get the idea.

I'm not sure what's next. I may shampoo/extract the seats. I also need to restore the black plastic trim on the rockers as well as the front grill.

The floor mats may get another go, too. They're improved, for sure, but not as good as I would like.

Feel free to offer up and any comments/suggestions.

More to come!

 

[Angus]

Nice work! I think you've inspired me to clean my 98' Honda Civic's carpets.

 

[Bill1234]

Loving that ryobi drill. Quiet and functional.

 

[CaveRacing]

Nice work! I think you've inspired me to clean my 98' Honda Civic's carpets.

Excellent! It really does make a nice difference. I hope to knock out the seats this weekend. I'll use the Fabric Clean and the shopvac/extractor tool once again!

Loving that ryobi drill. Quiet and functional.

It really is great. I have the drill and the 1/2" impact wrench. Love them both!

 

[Charleston]

Lets see an engine cleaning!

 

[CaveRacing]

I actually did a quick cleaning of the engine. The valve cover is badly stained and I'm not sure what to use yet. My buddy wasn't real hip on cleaning the engine, so I made it quick and simple.

Perhaps we will revisit it at a later date.

 

[Tato]

Very good improvement, impressive to say the least.

If you are open for a tip, I'd suggest you trying to use now a polish (any of your preference) by hand on a MF applicator to finish door jambs. From where you stopped, they will look brand new.

Just $0.0002, consider your results are already the best one can get.

Thanks for sharing,

Kind Regards.

 

[rms64]

Incredible turnaround - very well done! Love the improvement on the floormats / interior - just awesome. :xyxthumbs:

(Tato, your advice is worth a lot more than $.0002 :cheers: )

 

[CaveRacing]

Very good improvement, impressive to say the least.

If you are open for a tip, I'd suggest you trying to use now a polish (any of your preference) by hand on a MF applicator to finish door jambs. From where you stopped, they will look brand new.

Thanks for the tip! I will absolutely do that. I still have the entire exterior to correct, so I think I'll wait until I do that. I have a couple of options, though. I could use the AIO on the jambs or I could use a very mild polish, such as Mothers Pure Polish. It probably won't matter. I think I'll use the AIO.

Incredible turnaround - very well done! Love the improvement on the floormats / interior - just awesome. :xyxthumbs:

Thank you!!

 

[Tato]

Welcome mate, glad you enjoyed. I do it all the time (I'm a door jamb maniac hahahah).

To illustrate,

Driver's door before (a section)

The part had been degreased using a tar remover (same you did using APC) before I started polishing.

Tip now is to spread the polish FIRST on 'flat' parts you may find in the jamb design, start working it then go to 'tricky parts' when polish starts 'turning transparent'. This I do to avoid getting excess polish into difficult to clean areas (and to avoid calling me bad names for telling you to polish the jambs!!).

Back and...

Forth,

at speed of light! hahah

There it is,

Passegenger's side (section) before

After:

Hope that help encouraging you since door jamb polishing is a work-intensive task.

**I have a note what I used on this one but I can't remember right now. Fact is, any polish intended for paint can be used and an AIO can also be a good idea. However, my favorites are generally compounds / heavy polishes just because they do the work faster, be it FG400, SHC300, PF2500 (I believe this is what I used there), any from Meguiars (M100, M101, D300, etc)... I'll probably grab any of those (the one that's closer to me or in excess at inventory).

After polishing I've coated the Jambs using Pinnacle Black Label Coating.


Be brave, and keep sharing your amazing work!

Kind Regards.

 

[CaveRacing]

Now THAT is a clean door jamb.

 

[CaveRacing]

UPDATE 2-16-2015

I have made progress!!

Today, I cleaned the interior. This included shampoo/extraction of the seats and carpet, another window cleaning, and some detail work on the dash and controls. I think the results are good and I am satisfied. Considering there was 15 years of dirt and neglect, I wasn’t expecting a miracle. All in all, not bad.

Here are some before and after shots.

Before:

Take a look at gear shift area. Ugh.

All of the climate control knobs, as well as the radio knob and buttons, had years of dirt and schmutz caked on. Nonsense, diluted 20:1, along with a detail brush took care of it. Same thing goes for the gear shifter area in the following pic.

Driver's side floor had a few stains and some discoloration. I'm not sure if this area by the tear is a stain or what.

After:

This is MUCH better.

As much as I tried, I was not able to get the stain/discoloration out of the carpet where you see the tear. The entire area is much improved, though.

I was even able to get the seat belt receptacles clean. This took Nonsense 20:1, and a toothbrush.

I took a couple of videos, too. Here is the extraction from the passenger seat. I should've filmed the driver's seat instead. Still, this is fun for brief entertainment value.

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAzhhTeUeLI[/video]

And here is the water that was extracted from the entire interior:

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9nSPyuONd8[/video]

Send along any comments or suggestions. This was my first really dirty interior. I know I've seen worse on the forum, but luckily I haven't had to deal with this bad...until now.

 

[builthatch]

PS - the hood latch thing always breaks on 6th gen Civics lol

 

[CaveRacing]

PS - the hood latch thing always breaks on 6th gen Civics lol

Yep. There are a couple of fixes for it, aside from replacing it. I'm not sure what my buddy is going to do. Right now, he keeps a pair of pliers in the center console as a means to pull the cable to release the latch.

 

[builthatch]

Yep. There are a couple of fixes for it, aside from replacing it. I'm not sure what my buddy is going to do. Right now, he keeps a pair of pliers in the center console as a means to pull the cable to release the latch.

i had a '97 for almost ten years. i had so many iterations of built engines, engine problems...all kinds of crap, so just from overuse the damn thing broke in like 2000. i did what your friend does until eventually it got so jagged and grippy i could use my fingers lol.

 

[Sicoupe]

Nice fix CAVE!