- Messages
- 59
Hi guys. So Andy over at VTEC Direct has an NSX that he is selling for someone and it needed quite a tidy to get it in a presentable condition. The first time I saw it (and I think a fair few of you guys have seen it too) it had light reflective decals from top to bottom all down the sides from tail to nose. Andy and Alison spent an awful lot of time removing these by hand and because of the nature of the decals adhesive it was very tough to get them off. So much so that removing them also caused a few chips and scratches that will be sorted at a later date. I obviously don't like to do so many pics but the job warranted it and I thought with it being Honda you guys might want more than usual.
The condition of the car itself wasn't the best, it has been resprayed (not brilliantly) and came with lots of stone chips, scratches and blemishes as the previous owner didn't care for the car at all. So far it is the worst condition paint I have worked on. Some of the scratches and blemishes are too deep to be removed by any other method except respraying. However....it is still an NSX and as much as I began to hate it (because of the work involved in sorting it) I also became quite attached to it. Anyway without further ado prepare yourself for lots of pictures (all from my phone, sorry) and a few words too.
_____________________________________________________________
DAY 1 ~ 7.5 hours
So on arrival I had a ggod look around the car and took paint readings, there was a mish-mash of depths all around the car but still enough paint to work with later on. Remember, the pics are from my phone and don't show the paint defects (or indeed the results) as much as I'd like.
Scratches, swirls, blemishes and adhesive from the decals.
Scratches
Adhesive residue
Bad swirls and untreated sap/water marks that stained the paint
Paint cracked on the roof
General uncared for condition
Swirls were present on every single inch of the car
Severe holograming from previous polishing
Decals were left on the skirts but you can still see where they were on the doors and wings
Upper bonnet section
Front lip is covered in chips, scratches, swirls and nastyness
_____________________________________________________________
So first step she was dragged outside kicking and screaming and jet washed to get rid of klingons and then washed with my shampoo concoction.
Then wheeled back inside after claying and drying.
The defects were still there, the magic shampoo fairy couldn't help with this one too much.
_____________________________________________________________
Then the first step in polishing began. After a little testing Meguiars Ultimate Compound was used on a mix of Meguiars and Menzerna pads. The next pic is a 50/50 after the right side had it's first set of passes with Ultimate Compound.
The polished side under the lights
The untouched side under the lights, you can see we're starting to make some headway...kinda.
Easier to see the difference now.
The clarity is starting to appear in reflection shots.
The combination was working so the rest of the car was hit with it.
It was the end of day 1 and I got a tad tired...
Day 2 ~ 6 hours
The second stage of polishing and again after a few tests I decided to keep it old-skool and go with Meguiars, this time #205 using Lake Country and Menzerna pads. It's bloody freezing in that unit no matter how much I found myself dancing to Andys Smooth FM tunes.
So after a hearty McDonalds breakfast with Andy and a few good coffees I started....
Yep it's working, let's stick with that.
Under the lights after #205 50/50
Uh huh, working, check the depth of colour and shine coming through.
This area was badly swirled but the two polishes are finally ridding the car of it's curse.
Nice reflection, getting better each time. Note the curve of the wheel arch has given me a "Mini-me".
_____________________________________________________________
Stage 2 of polishing completed.
_____________________________________________________________
With day 2 coming to an end the correction was taken as far as requested and so the shine was further enhanced. I wanted to glaze the car and decided that Meguiars was doing ok up to now so decided to stick with it by using Meguiars Show Car Glaze #7. #7 is often overlooked in favour of new-skool brands but if used correctly it can give great results, spread thinly and remove before it dries.
This was then used all round the car. It offers no protection and would simply rinse off in the rain so needed to be sealed in ASAP. Enough time for a couple more silly reflection pics though.
_____________________________________________________________
Time now to seal in the shine and as most people know I'm a "juicer" at heart, I have loads of waxes and sealants but I prefer Dodo Juice waxes to pretty much anything. Today I used Dodo Juice Purple Haze wax and had time for two coats of it.
Applied all round the car with Meguiars foam applicator pads and left to cure for about 20 minutes, buffed off then another coat applied after about an hour.
_____________________________________________________________
All buffed off and the job is done in the time and levels required.
_____________________________________________________________
Hope I haven't bored you too much but there were a fair few requests to see the process on this car at each stage. My apologies again for the quality of the photos and I am sure one day I'll get round to buying a proper camera.....if I can stop myself buying new detailing products....nah, that's not going to happen.
Big thanks to Andy for keeping the music flowing and the banter sharp. The car is for sale now guys so if anyone's looking for an NSX..... :wink:
The condition of the car itself wasn't the best, it has been resprayed (not brilliantly) and came with lots of stone chips, scratches and blemishes as the previous owner didn't care for the car at all. So far it is the worst condition paint I have worked on. Some of the scratches and blemishes are too deep to be removed by any other method except respraying. However....it is still an NSX and as much as I began to hate it (because of the work involved in sorting it) I also became quite attached to it. Anyway without further ado prepare yourself for lots of pictures (all from my phone, sorry) and a few words too.
_____________________________________________________________
DAY 1 ~ 7.5 hours
So on arrival I had a ggod look around the car and took paint readings, there was a mish-mash of depths all around the car but still enough paint to work with later on. Remember, the pics are from my phone and don't show the paint defects (or indeed the results) as much as I'd like.
Scratches, swirls, blemishes and adhesive from the decals.
Scratches
Adhesive residue
Bad swirls and untreated sap/water marks that stained the paint
Paint cracked on the roof
General uncared for condition
Swirls were present on every single inch of the car
Severe holograming from previous polishing
Decals were left on the skirts but you can still see where they were on the doors and wings
Upper bonnet section
Front lip is covered in chips, scratches, swirls and nastyness
_____________________________________________________________
So first step she was dragged outside kicking and screaming and jet washed to get rid of klingons and then washed with my shampoo concoction.
Then wheeled back inside after claying and drying.
The defects were still there, the magic shampoo fairy couldn't help with this one too much.
_____________________________________________________________
Then the first step in polishing began. After a little testing Meguiars Ultimate Compound was used on a mix of Meguiars and Menzerna pads. The next pic is a 50/50 after the right side had it's first set of passes with Ultimate Compound.
The polished side under the lights
The untouched side under the lights, you can see we're starting to make some headway...kinda.
Easier to see the difference now.
The clarity is starting to appear in reflection shots.
The combination was working so the rest of the car was hit with it.
It was the end of day 1 and I got a tad tired...
Day 2 ~ 6 hours
The second stage of polishing and again after a few tests I decided to keep it old-skool and go with Meguiars, this time #205 using Lake Country and Menzerna pads. It's bloody freezing in that unit no matter how much I found myself dancing to Andys Smooth FM tunes.
So after a hearty McDonalds breakfast with Andy and a few good coffees I started....
Yep it's working, let's stick with that.
Under the lights after #205 50/50
Uh huh, working, check the depth of colour and shine coming through.
This area was badly swirled but the two polishes are finally ridding the car of it's curse.
Nice reflection, getting better each time. Note the curve of the wheel arch has given me a "Mini-me".
_____________________________________________________________
Stage 2 of polishing completed.
_____________________________________________________________
With day 2 coming to an end the correction was taken as far as requested and so the shine was further enhanced. I wanted to glaze the car and decided that Meguiars was doing ok up to now so decided to stick with it by using Meguiars Show Car Glaze #7. #7 is often overlooked in favour of new-skool brands but if used correctly it can give great results, spread thinly and remove before it dries.
This was then used all round the car. It offers no protection and would simply rinse off in the rain so needed to be sealed in ASAP. Enough time for a couple more silly reflection pics though.
_____________________________________________________________
Time now to seal in the shine and as most people know I'm a "juicer" at heart, I have loads of waxes and sealants but I prefer Dodo Juice waxes to pretty much anything. Today I used Dodo Juice Purple Haze wax and had time for two coats of it.
Applied all round the car with Meguiars foam applicator pads and left to cure for about 20 minutes, buffed off then another coat applied after about an hour.
_____________________________________________________________
All buffed off and the job is done in the time and levels required.
_____________________________________________________________
Hope I haven't bored you too much but there were a fair few requests to see the process on this car at each stage. My apologies again for the quality of the photos and I am sure one day I'll get round to buying a proper camera.....if I can stop myself buying new detailing products....nah, that's not going to happen.
Big thanks to Andy for keeping the music flowing and the banter sharp. The car is for sale now guys so if anyone's looking for an NSX..... :wink:
.
