althorium
New member
- Feb 26, 2012
- 3
- 0
Hi everyone,
I bought a used 2002 Acura RSX a few years ago, and I've noticed some paint imperfections on one side of the car. Recently it has been looking worse and I found that it is due to the clear coat peeling and cracking (which is what I suspected). This is on panels that had been repainted, and in general the paint on those doesn't look quite as good as the paint on rest of the car. I know that to make it look perfect the panels would need to be sanded and repainted again, but I'm sure it would take a lot of time and/or money to do that, and I was thinking that I might be able to smooth out the bad areas so it looks half decent.
That's when I began wandering down the rabbit-hole of detailing, and finding out just how deep it goes. What started out as just curiosity about the clear coat failure became a quest to improve the look of the whole car. One thing I was happy to find out was that it's possible to both remove swirls, and prevent them from forming with proper washing technique. And hopefully I'll be able to prevent further clear coat failure by keeping it protected with sealant, and keeping the car in the garage to reduce the amount of Vegas sun exposure (finally got the garage organized). After reading more about clear coat failure I see that it isn't really fixable without repainting, but at least it's not very extensive yet and I should be able to get most of the car looking good. I've ordered a Griot's Garage DA and a bunch of other products to begin the quest. I've been reading articles and watching videos from Mike Phillips, and the Junkman, and reading the great product reviews by Corey (CEE DOG). I'm just beginning to learn but it won't be long before I'm removing scratches and swirls, and making my car look (relatively) new again.
I'm too far down the rabbit-hole to get out now!
-Tyler
I bought a used 2002 Acura RSX a few years ago, and I've noticed some paint imperfections on one side of the car. Recently it has been looking worse and I found that it is due to the clear coat peeling and cracking (which is what I suspected). This is on panels that had been repainted, and in general the paint on those doesn't look quite as good as the paint on rest of the car. I know that to make it look perfect the panels would need to be sanded and repainted again, but I'm sure it would take a lot of time and/or money to do that, and I was thinking that I might be able to smooth out the bad areas so it looks half decent.
That's when I began wandering down the rabbit-hole of detailing, and finding out just how deep it goes. What started out as just curiosity about the clear coat failure became a quest to improve the look of the whole car. One thing I was happy to find out was that it's possible to both remove swirls, and prevent them from forming with proper washing technique. And hopefully I'll be able to prevent further clear coat failure by keeping it protected with sealant, and keeping the car in the garage to reduce the amount of Vegas sun exposure (finally got the garage organized). After reading more about clear coat failure I see that it isn't really fixable without repainting, but at least it's not very extensive yet and I should be able to get most of the car looking good. I've ordered a Griot's Garage DA and a bunch of other products to begin the quest. I've been reading articles and watching videos from Mike Phillips, and the Junkman, and reading the great product reviews by Corey (CEE DOG). I'm just beginning to learn but it won't be long before I'm removing scratches and swirls, and making my car look (relatively) new again.
I'm too far down the rabbit-hole to get out now!
-Tyler
