This was my first time using the clay. The small rust spots on the paint were really bothering me. Now, they're all gone.

 

very nice. what happened to your rear mud guards??

 

Super clean!

 

Thanks. I only got the front mud guards when I bought the car. I think rear mud guards are like $80 option.

 

thats a little shady.
then again i wasnt offered mudd guards or anything of that sort

 

I think you got jipped. Mudguards come in sets of 4. Just like the alloy wheel locks. lol

 

I've seen other TSX's in London with only front mudguards. Maybe it's a Canadian thing.

 

 

I never use clay before. What brand did you use?

thx

 

I used Mothers California Gold. I don't think there's any difference between brands. I saw a clay by Mcguiar's but I decided to go with Mothers since the kit had wax and it was only couple more dollars than Mcguiar's. I didn't use the detailer that came with the kit, instead, I used soapy water for lubrication. Give it a try, it was well worth 6 hours!

 

Thx, I sure will try it. My car already have te infamous chips.........

 

Canadian Honda spec's out front mud guards on all Honda and Acura models. Rear mud guards are optional.

American Honda makes all 4 guards an option.

-SWRT

 

You'll be able to do it in half the time next time. The feel of paint after a good clay job is freaking awesome.

 

foolioness: Oh I have chips all over the hood and the bumper too. I touched them up with factory paint, wet sanded them, then used Scratch X to bring back the shine. It's almost invisible unless you start searching for them. The only drawback is the factory paint doesn't have sparkles in them.

SWRT: Thanks. That's what I thought.

tony4311: Ya. Now the paint feels like glass.

 

Nice work! i love PWP!

 

That looks great. I guess its off to the store to get a claybar. My PWP shines but not like that.

 

you wont believe what your car looks like after doing it. its hard work, but definately worth it

 

Thanks for the replies.

I had a lot of rusted brake dust caked onto the paint over the entire car (I drive on Detroit highway [I96] every day ) but especially the back (the bumper and the areas beside the license plate). When I run my finger across those areas, it felt like 1500 grit sand paper. Now it looks like the day I brought it home from the dealership. I was worried about getting swirl marks but as long as you have enough lubrication and don't move the clay bar in circular motion (only front to back motion), you'll be fine. Oh, and lastly, don't apply too much pressure. The clay should glide over the paint. The clay bar also took care of bugs on the front bumper and small pieces of protective film that my dealership didn't remove when I bought the car.

 

looks nice and shiny

come to the meet next week!!

 

OK, that does it. I find little bits and pieces of the protective film seemingly every time I wax. Claybar it is.

BTW, TSX7, you take really nice pictures too.

 

TSXDude: Thanks. I WISH I could come to the meet! I still going to school! We only get 3 weeks off for the summer and until then, we have on average about 2 midterms/week, 2-3 quizzes/week, and 1 essay/week. As a matter of fact, I have midterm tomorrow in Radiology.

jlukja: I tried to remove those films by hand and it didn't work so I gave up on them until I used clay. When I went over them with clay, it started getting smaller and smaller then it disappeared.

Thanks for the compliment. I have a digital SLR but still don't know how to use it.

 

Man that looks sweet. Im going to clay mine next weekend hopefully. I ordered my Pinnacle clay kit, Klasse sealer, and Pinnacle wax this weekend. The car has only been home from the dealer for a week, but Im anxious to clay any contaminants off the car and seal up the paint, followed with a polish and wax.

 

smooove...

 

It shouldn't take you too long to clay your car since it is only a week old. Mine is a little over a year old with about 20 000 miles on it. I didn't polish and wax this time but during the summer break, I think I'm going to clay it again and then polish/wax. Have fun next weekend!

 

More like about 90% of that time. It only takes me about 20 mins or so to clay my TSX.

 

6hours?!?!? jesus. the first time i did it to my TL, it took me about 2 hours using the lubricant spray that came with it and i was too tired to wash the car again after.

last time i did it, it took me 2 hours TOTAL. washing and drying. i jsut used the claybar while i was washing the car. that saved A LOT of time.

 

You're hired. PM me for my address.











j/k I'm gonna do my first claybar soon. I'm planning on several hours.

 

Seriously, it shouldnt take that long. Especially on a new car. One or two passes is all it takes before it feels smooth. Fold the clay and repeat.

You know, I wouldnt really mind doing someone else's TSX eventually. I've become quite good with the whole detailing process, if I say so myself

In fact, I think im going to do my 6 month Zaino this weekend.

 

Since claying will remove most/all of the wax, it is HIGHLY recommended that you polish and wax (or at least wax) after claying. Right now, it looks shiny because of the clay making things smooth, BUT, it's not protected by any wax.

All you'll need to do is wash and wax, but do this as soon as you can.

~Eric

 

You have absolutely nothing protecting your car after you clay.

 

PWP is easily my 2nd favorite color - seeing a clean one makes we want to swap!

 

Yes. I should have waxed it but I was too tired. I spent 1.5 hours washing + 6 hours of claying that day. I just don't have the time to wax right now. I did notice the water doesn't bead anymore after claying. Oh well.... In couple of weeks I'll go through this process over again with wax.

 

My car is over a year old with about 20 000 miles on it. Trust me, one or two passes didn't do much on my car. For sure it's going to be easier next time I do it.

 

that's because you don't have a PWP. I've done many clayings and I spend about 2hrs just on claying the car front to back, total cleaning is about 6hrs.

 

I've done mine every 6 months since I got the car so I guess I have a good head start.

Im wondering how you guys are doing the claying? You only need to do an area until it feels smooth to the touch. Even on a new car after a year or two it shouldnt take much. I recently did my sister in law's car (99 Sonata) that was never detailed. That claying took a bit longer since there was so much crap in the paint.

 

I think it depends on where you do most of your driving. As I said before, I drive on Detroit highway everyday to school and my car picked up a lot of brake dust. I should have taken a picture of what the paint looked like prior to claying. Also, I don't just go over an area until it felt smooth. I went over them until I got rid of all the rust (all the PWP owners will know what I'm talking about).

 

if you can get every piece of dirt out of your paint in 20 min. take a video next time of you doing your entire car bumper to bumper. For PWP its not just smooth, I put my face about 2in. from the panel to see if there is any blemishes at all. Like I said, you can only see some of this stuff on PWP. I probably spend 20min just on a door panel getting brake dust, asphalt and other crap outta there.

 

I dunno, I really dont think thats was claying was meant for. I use it as a way to remove the micro particles that get stuck in your paint. Once thats gone the surface should feel smooth. All the other stuff that usually gets stuck to my car that you can see comes off clean with an alcohol/water mix, which at the same time removes all the wax as well, so one less thing the clay has to deal with.

Also, taking out chunks of asphalt, bug guts and whatnot is going to junk up your clay in no time. In fact, if your taking out these large particles with clay, you have more of a chance of micro marring now because you have larger chunks of "stuff" floating around in your clay.

When it comes to saving time, I'd rather work smarter and not harder. Im by no means a professional, but I've learned a lot from several of the members on this board. So if you think im full of then ask about it over in the wash and wax section and see what they think.

No doubt, clay will remove these "chunks", but I think there are other products/methods that will save you time.

 

I agree everything that can come out w/ scrubbing should be done first, I always wash my car thouroughly before claying, but like I said, if you don't have a PWP you don't really know what kind of crap is stuck in your paint. really its almost impossible to explain, and why every PWP member needs to clay bar their car. I don't think I've ever heard a NHB member do it, their paint covers up everything already

 

Point taken, but if its visiable, I still dont think claying is the right method. Alcohol/water, wd40, bug/tar remover are all products that can remove the visiable stuff a lot quicker then scrubbing it with clay.