Long Journey But Worth It: An Newbie PC Experience

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Csmit176

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I recently purchased a 2008 Acura TL-s (after my SRT-10 Ram blew up on 95, long story short) off a business man in Georgia after he gave me a deal I couldn't refuse. I live Florida and flew to pick up the car. When I got there I noticed why he gave me such a sweet deal. The paint was bad.....real bad. It had a good amount of overpray, oxidation, heavy swirls, the works. But after some heavy debating almost $8,000 off retail was something I couldn't pass up.

Let me start off by saying I have absolutely zero detailing experience (before today). It extends to washing my vehicles every so often and maybe some spray wax, that's it. I had hesitations to even buy products (didn't think the paint was even correctable) but decided to make some purchases here on Autogeek.net to try and repair the paint damage after reading some of your wild success stories here on the forum.

I just have to say.....WOW. I used the PC 7424XP with the Megs Twins and it exceeding my expectations. It took out almost everything. The paint? Glossy and reflective. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to share the 3 key factors from my experience to other beginners who "want to take the plunge" into true paint repair.

1. Go SLOW! If your trying to rush this, don't bother. This is a LONG process. My acura sedan took me around 7 hours just to prep, wash, tape and do the scratch treatment. I haven't even got the chance to put on the sig series II! (I've heard of people pulling this off with the wax in 6 hours?!?! Must go something like this::buffing:)

2. Taping is key!: This might be as important as the cleaning products themselves. If you don't tape correctly, your cleaning for hours after. Make sure you take you tape everything.

3. Mark your buffing pad with a sharpie: Know when your pad is spinning or not. Because if its not, your not really doing anything.

I also want to say thanks to everyone at Autogeek.net and everyone on this forum for helping turn this skeptic into a believer........
 
Awesome story and some great tips for begginners.

After my first detail(paint correction) I remember telling myself that I wont let the condition of a vehicles paint scare me away from buying it.

Sounds like your research and money spent to buy the correct equipment ended up saving you thousands!
 
Man I should have flown to Georgia. I picked up a car in God knows where North of Atlanta. 18 hour(s) of driving and 1000 miles and I bought my car.

Any before and after pics?
 
Glad to see you took care of it the right way! Are there any before and after pics? Would love to see!
 
Csmit176 said:
I recently purchased a 2008 Acura TL-s (after my SRT-10 Ram blew up on 95, long story short) off a business man in Georgia after he gave me a deal I couldn't refuse. I live Florida and flew to pick up the car. When I got there I noticed why he gave me such a sweet deal. The paint was bad.....real bad. It had a good amount of overpray, oxidation, heavy swirls, the works. But after some heavy debating almost $8,000 off retail was something I couldn't pass up.

Let me start off by saying I have absolutely zero detailing experience (before today). It extends to washing my vehicles every so often and maybe some spray wax, that's it. I had hesitations to even buy products (didn't think the paint was even correctable) but decided to make some purchases here on Autogeek.net to try and repair the paint damage after reading some of your wild success stories here on the forum.

I just have to say.....WOW. I used the PC 7424XP with the Megs Twins and it exceeding my expectations. It took out almost everything. The paint? Glossy and reflective. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to share the 3 key factors from my experience to other beginners who "want to take the plunge" into true paint repair.

1. Go SLOW! If your trying to rush this, don't bother. This is a LONG process. My acura sedan took me around 7 hours just to prep, wash, tape and do the scratch treatment. I haven't even got the chance to put on the sig series II! (I've heard of people pulling this off with the wax in 6 hours?!?! Must go something like this::buffing:)

2. Taping is key!: This might be as important as the cleaning products themselves. If you don't tape correctly, your cleaning for hours after. Make sure you take you tape everything.

3. Mark your buffing pad with a sharpie: Know when your pad is spinning or not. Because if its not, your not really doing anything.

I also want to say thanks to everyone at Autogeek.net and everyone on this forum for helping turn this skeptic into a believer........
Click to expand...

Pics would be great !!! We love to share here !!
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Here are some pics. (Sorry, the quality sucks, it was getting late and I only had my iphone.)

Wish I had taken some before pictures too......bummer.
 
Csmit176 said:
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Here are some pics. (Sorry, the quality sucks, it was getting late and I only had my iphone.)

Wish I had taken some before pictures too......bummer.
Click to expand...

Beautiful car, is it a 6-speed? That generation TL is the best looking vehicle Honda/Acura has ever come out with. It had a very loyal following and when Acura redesigned the TL in 2009 they lost many of their repeat customers.

Good work. :buffing:
 
Nick@Autogeek said:
Beautiful car, is it a 6-speed? That generation TL is the best looking vehicle Honda/Acura has ever come out with. It had a very loyal following and when Acura redesigned the TL in 2009 they lost many of their repeat customers.

Good work. :buffing:
Click to expand...

Thanks Nick! Yes, it is a six speed. I would settle for nothing less!
 
Isn't it amazing how much better a car looks with a little paint correction?

What aways sticks in my mind is how satisfied most of us were with a simple wash and wax!

Nice work and story! :props:
 
Great story and nice save of a fine automobile. I owned a 2002 CL Type-S (Nighthawk black) and thought it was one of the best styles Honda/Acura ever produced (not arguing with Nick though :p). I was dissapointed that Acura (Honda) decided to end coupes based on the TL frame.

Is yours the Nighthawk Black as well? Between the monitor at work and the pics I can't tell.

Your hints were right on target for us newbies.

Enjoy that beautiful ride :xyxthumbs:.

 
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mdb917 said:
Great story and nice save of a fine automobile. I owned a 2002 CL Type-S (Nighthawk black) and thought it was one of the best styles Honda/Acura ever produced (not arguing with Nick though :p). I was dissapointed that Acura (Honda) decided to end coupes based on the TL frame.

Is yours the Nighthawk Black as well? Between the monitor at work and the pics I can't tell.

Your hints were right on target for us newbies.

Enjoy that beautiful ride :xyxthumbs:.

Click to expand...

Don't be too disappointed, a new Accord coupe with the V6 pumps out more power than your CL-S and can still be had with Honda's sweet 6-speed manual. Although it doesn't quite have the panache of the Acura nameplate, the new Accord coupe when equipped with the 6-speed is still a very fine vehicle. :props:
 
Csmit176 said:
Let me start off by saying I have absolutely zero detailing experience (before today). It extends to washing my vehicles every so often and maybe some spray wax, that's it. I had hesitations to even buy products (didn't think the paint was even correctable) but decided to make some purchases here on Autogeek.net to try and repair the paint damage after reading some of your wild success stories here on the forum.

I just have to say.....WOW.

I also want to say thanks to everyone at Autogeek.net and everyone on this forum for helping turn this skeptic into a believer........
Click to expand...


Thanks for sharing your success story... our basic goal is to help others to be successful in their garage and we really appreciate it when our members share the kind of story you posted...


:dblthumb2:
 
Nick@Autogeek said:
Don't be too disappointed, a new Accord coupe with the V6 pumps out more power than your CL-S and can still be had with Honda's sweet 6-speed manual. Although it doesn't quite have the panache of the Acura nameplate, the new Accord coupe when equipped with the 6-speed is still a very fine vehicle. :props:
Click to expand...

The Accord coupe is a beautiful car, no doubt about it. I like the size of the former CL-S over the Accords. The power on the new Accords is sweet, having driven one they are really nice and like you say, the Honda/Acura 6MT is one of the best. That will open the door for all kinds of comments so I'm probably digging a hole :dig:.
 
mdb917 said:
Great story and nice save of a fine automobile. I owned a 2002 CL Type-S (Nighthawk black) and thought it was one of the best styles Honda/Acura ever produced (not arguing with Nick though :p). I was dissapointed that Acura (Honda) decided to end coupes based on the TL frame.

Is yours the Nighthawk Black as well? Between the monitor at work and the pics I can't tell.

Your hints were right on target for us newbies.

Enjoy that beautiful ride :xyxthumbs:.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliments. And yes, it is nighthawk black. :xyxthumbs:
 
Great work!!! Personal satisfaction on a job well done with better than expected results is a feeling that can't be matched!! Thanks for sharing your experience!!!! :props:
 
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