Black 2006 Acura Detailing Help Needed

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Tderby

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Hello everyone, this is my first post, I have been a long time lurker of these threads. Everything I have learned from your posts has allowed me to have a top notch clean and detailed car interior.

First off I want to say hello and thank you for all the good advice and products I have purchased from this site!!!

I have a very intimidating problem that I need help with….I just recently purchased a 2006 Black Acura RL whose body is in need of some desperate TLC. This is where I need all the advice and help I can get, I have no idea where to start…..
It seems like the car has had some severe road rash and hail damage. There are some bare metal gashes, and some less than picture perfect paint chip repairs. I also have noticed some peeling of the chrome trim.
IMG_01622.jpg

I attached some pictures of the problem areas.
I am totally new to detailing the outside of cars, however, I picked up some products, and this is my initial plan.
I bought the car from CarMax, which did a horrific job of cleaning and detailing it.
IMG_01634.jpg

Here are some quick details:
Vehicle purpose : daily driver, I work in real estate, so I am having buyers constantly coming in and out of my car, and driving all over the place.
Vehicle location: parked in garage overnight, however, I do live in Wisconsin, so the car is going to have to be able to keep up with our harsh salted Wisconsin winters.
Vehicle goal: keep the black looking as good as possible. I also need a finish that can tollerat a mild salt splatter before I can get to clean it off. I need something that can protect the paint until this summer where I can attempt to do some more serious paint correction work.
All done in a heated garage: All by Hand
1. Wash wheels – Daytona speed brush and DP wheel cleaner
2. Clay tires – Pinnacle Clay plus Pinnalce clay lube
3. Treat Tires – Ultima Trim and tire treatment
4. Treat Wheels – DP wheel glaze
5. Waterless wash car – DP waterless wash
6. Wash windshield – Stoners Invisible Glass
7. Clay windshield – Pinnacle clay & Stoners Glass cleaner as lube????
8. Clay car – Pinnacle clay plus pinnacle clay lube
9. **Do I need to tape??**
10. Pre-wax Cleanse car – Dodo juice prime prewax cleanse
11. Paint sealent – Black Fire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Sealer
12. Wax – Collinite liquid wax 845
13. Final detail – DP final gloss detailer

How does this sequence sound?
Also the paint has numerous swirls and scratches, so what should I plan on doing about those?
I do not have a porter or a DA, but I would consider getting one, if you all feel like it would be worth it.
1. What can be done about the peeling chrome strip?
2. Does the paint sealant and wax worth well with the chrome strips? Or should I get a separate product for that?
3. I did buy Wolfgang total swirl and finishing glaze, can I use this by hand on the vehicle to correct some of the minor imperfections in the car?
4. Do I need to keep particular care sealing and waxing over the previously done paint chip repairs?
5. When I am ready, can I better correct CarMax’s paint chip repairs?
6. And does anyone have some good recommendations of anyone who has a quality detail shop around the Milwaukee Wisconsin area, that I could possible take my car into to get some professional TLC?
I am not against buying a machine, DA polisher or Porter cable, I would just need much more direction and education before I attempt.
I listed all the products I have purchased below; I am also willing to purchase anything else that would of help.
Ultima Interior Guard Plus
Stoner Invisible Glass
1z Cockpit Premium
Lexol Leather Cleaner
Leatherique Pristine Clean
Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil
Wolfgang Carpet and Upholstery Restorer
Leather Care Interior – Leather Vital
DP Wheel Glaze
DP Wheel Cleaner
Ultima Tire and Trim Guard Plus
DP Waterless Auto Wash
Dodo Juice Lime Prime pre-wax Cleans
Black Fire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Sealer
DP Final Gloss Quick Detailer
Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay
Pinnacle Clay Lubricant
Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0
Wolfgang Finishing Glaze 3.0
Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax 845
Dr. Paintchip’s paint repair kit
P21-s Windshield booster
CCS Euro foam hand applicators: Orange, White, Red, Gold
20 X 40 Supreme Guzzler WW
Cobra Flex Foam Tire Dressing Applicators
Cobra Deluxe jr. 600 microfiber
Eurow 16X16 Microfiber Towels
Daytona Speed master Wheel Brush
Any and All help would be very much appreciated!!! Thanks!!!!
 
you've said a mouthful above and bought some nice products. Here is some immediate guidance. May not touch on all your questions but it's a start:

- windshield can be clayed using same clay and clay lube though I'd keep your paint clay and glass clay separated for future use on those surfaces only

- TSR and finishing glaze work ok by hand but to get the finishes you see posted here you will need a machine. I'd get a Griots or a Megs unit and 5.5 inch 7/8 in thick LC flat or hydrotech pads. If you want to see how hard it is to get swirls out by hand, then put down a tapeline and use your CCS applicator with some TSR and work a small section about a foot square on the trunk lid. Remove the tape then wipe it down with some waterless wash and check with proper lighting. You will be surprised how much effort it takes, even on softer Acura paint. You actually need more skill to do it by hand than by machine.

- on a daily driver, chips are going to happen, Dr. C works but it's not going to be perfect. It does work better for darker colours so you're good there. You don't need to be careful with chips unless they are freshly fixed in which case, be careful with any solvents (including IPA) around them.
 
:iagree:

First, welcome to the forum.

Second, Tim has given you some really good advice. I have experience with an 08 Accord and a 2010 Acura TSX. Both cars had soft paint. Acura seems to have even softer paint. IMO a DA is worth its weight in gold when it comes to paint correction. My advice to you is to get one of the DA's that AG has to offer-look into the Flex 3401. Its alittle bit more money, but its a DA and will be safe for you.
 
Thank you for your fast responses!!

Would I use the DA to apply the Wolfgang Total Swirl, and Glaze? Or would I use it to apply the Dodo, Black Diamond, and 845 too?

Also, do you have any advice on how I can repair the tear in the chrome trim? Or prevent it from getting worse?

Should I use a specific product when finishing and sealing the chrome trim? Or will the products I plan to use do the trick?
 
You would use the DA to apply both the Total Swirl Remover and the Finishing glaze. As a matter of fact thats exactly what I used for my winter detail on my TSX. It came out great. I also applied Collinite 915 with my DA (Porter Cable 7424XP). Working with a machine is the way to go these days. Just make sure to get you a nice variety of pads. I used the Lake Country Hydrotech Pads but after my experience with them I wouldn't get them again. Others have had better experience with them, but I'd go with some LC Flat pads.

As far as the trim goes I am not sure...I've never done something like that before. Maybe there is chrome touch up paint you can get? Maybe even out the chip and then fill it in with paint. Hopefully others will chime in on the trim issue.
 
DA would be used for it all!

TSR (white or orange LC Flat; cyan or tangerine hydrotech)

finishing glaze (white or black LC flat; tangerine or crimson hydrotech)

wipedown the car with waterless or wash it

Dodo lime prime (white or tangerine) but maybe not necessary since you've already cleaned the paint with the abrasive polishes

BD (black or crimson)

845 (black or crimson - after allowing proper cure time for the BD)

not sure what to tell you about the chrome. Maybe score and cut off the tiny piece that's coming up, then seal all the edges with some clear from a dealer touchup pen or maybe they sell chrome stickers you can cut a patch out of to stick over the section that's peeled off.
 
Thanks for all this great information!! I am looking at maybe the Griots Garage 6 inch Random Orbital Polisher, it seems to be in my current price range. Would the LC 6.5 pads fit on the stock back plate? Or should I purchase a different back plate?

Also what type of pad cleaner do you recommend?

I have also seen some info on using a quick detailer to "prime" the pad, is this correct?

I am assuming you only use one pad per product, and you don't clean and cross-product use your pads. Is this correct?

Thanks again for all your help.
 
I'll try to answer your question to the best of my ability since I have not used the GG polisher. Alot of people have been picking up that polisher lately. Since its a 6" polisher that comes with a 6" backing plate, the 6.5" pads will be perfect. I generally like to work with 5.5" pads. You'd have to definitely get a different backing plate for smaller pads.

I use these methods...

Mike's on the fly technique:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...hen-using-porter-cable-style-da-polisher.html

I also use the XMT Pad Cleaner and Conditioner:

XMT Pad Care Combo <font size=2><i>by Pinnacle</i></font>

After completely done with the pad, I'll add some pad cleaner to a bucket of fresh hot water and let them soak. I use an upholstry brush to clean the face of the pad.

DP Polishing Pad Rejuvenator was created to provide detailers with a fast and effective way to clean pads without soapy residue or foamy degreasers.

I use a certain pad for a certain polish. I never mix them up. Invest in a variety of pads.
 
Hey Travis, that's a lot of question to answer at once but I''l do my best.

1. I'm assuming you talking about the chrome strip on the side door moldings/bumper covers as I believe the trim around the doors/windows is stainless (uncoated). Regardless, if it's peeling it will need to be replaced

2. You can get a dedicated metal polish if you like but traditional waxes and sealants should offer some protection.

3. I found the paint on my wife's RL (prior to repaint) to be harder than the typical Honda/Acura and working by hand would be likely difficult, and the Wolfgang stuff you have would not be the ideal product for hand use IMO. (See M105 or Ultimate Compound)

4. Treat the repaired chips as you would the rest of the cars paint.

5. Don't let CarMax’s ever touch the car again! The chip repair probably looks poor because of color match and the fact the the metallic/pearl in the paint doesn't lay down the same when it's brushed on vs. sprayed like the original paint.

6. You can always drive to the twin cities and have me do your car. :)


I do suggest purchasing a DA like the Griots Garage GG6....it's pretty safe and there is tons of how-to info on the forums about it.

My wife also has the same exact car, though hers is an '05. There is not a ton of taping to do on the car but I would suggest picking some of the 3/4" Meguiar's tape for certain areas.

Here is the work I did on the wife's RL after a full repaint. ;)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...f-05-nbp-acura-rl-rasky-s-auto-detailing.html


Hope this helps,
Rasky
 
You have some great words from forum members here. I got my car from CarMax as well. Holograms, compound residue, stained trim, the list goes on.
 
I know, I am getting some great advice!

Yes, the soggy cheeto I found under a floor mat told me that CarMax did not really do too much to the interior thank heavens. I looked at an MDX before I bought this car from a different dealership, the dash was so armor all'd up, I had to put sunglasses on to drive it....

So I ordered a DA and a whole slew of pads and the DP pad cleaner, thought I could use that to wash my microfibers as well.

With the products I have mentioned earlier, what areas of the car am I going to have to be super careful and tape up? Is the TSR an aggresive product that I need to worry about getting on the windows or tires?

Also, after I wash and clay the car down, should I do another wash to get rid of the residual clay lube?

Thanks again for all the info!
 
ooo whaja get?

the only place I would tape up is the edges of any clear film and any places that would be hard to get residue out of at a later point (like the fingernail width of space around the side mirror lenses)

to save time, I generally clay the car while it is wet and use a rinseless wash at clay lube dilution (you can dilute your waterless wash to clay lube dilution) so when I finish claying each panel, the car is mostly dry (I'll also use my metro sidekick to blow out the crevices etc) and ready to be taped and polished.
 
Tderby said:
Clay tires – Pinnacle Clay plus Pinnalce clay lube
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if that was a typo but don't ever "clay" your tires, it will do nothing but ruin your clay.
 
Yeah, that was a typo, I meant clay the rims.

So I would tape where there is a slight gap of where the hood meets the nose of the car too?
 
I got the 6 inch Griot's Garage Polisher, it looked to be pretty good from the reviews, and in my current price range.

I think you guys were right, this is going to save me a ton of time working on my car, instead of doing it by hand.

I also got 1 orange, 3 white, and 2 Crimson LC Flat pads...well I think the crimson's were Hyrdo-Tech pads.

Anyone ever hear of priming the pads with instant detailer? Is that a good idea?
 
Tderby said:
Yeah, that was a typo, I meant clay the rims.

So I would tape where there is a slight gap of where the hood meets the nose of the car too?
Click to expand...

Just pop the hood and shove an old beach towel under the latch so the hood edges are away from the other panels even when you add pressure to the polisher. This also works well for other areas like the trunk lid...

I use my clay lube (rinseless) to moisten the pad before I prime it

some also use it before the cleaning on the fly technique.

I have a GG6 too. Nice machine. Did you get a separate 5 inch bp for it?
 
No, I did not order a seperate back plate, is that something I should of done?

Also, it seems like people tape the rubber weather stripping that is inbetween the door and the body, is that something the TSR could eat through?

For the detailing process, after washing and claying, do I want to use the Dodo pre-wax first? or do the TSR first?
 
since I don't know all the specs of the car you are polishing, tape/cover anything that you would hate removing tiny specs of polish from. This will likely happen to you if you use too much product or lift the pad off the paint before it stops spinning etc. You just have to do it once, then you'll know what I mean. It won't hurt anything but it will save you hours of scrubbing specs off your trim.

I haven't used TSR so I don't know how much it dusts if at all. For products that don't dust or are fairly oily (menz/optimum) I don't usually tape much.

I don't think you need the lime prime if you are using tsr and fg. Save it for when you don't intend to polish like before switching lsp's or before your winter prep
 
What do you think about using the Ultima Tire and Trim Guard Plus on the rubber weather stripping and the rubber frame that goes around the sunroof?
 
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