Ok it's really not that dramatic but it's useful info for new owners. If you don't know by now, you'll soon find out the TL has some pretty cheap paint. Besides being susceptible to scratches, chips, and nicks, you need to watch out for settling water after it rains. It sounds pretty lame but if you don't garage your car, dry it off immediately after it rains, or drive it around to get the water off your trunk and roof, you're going to get water marks etched into your paint. It happened to me last year and my car looked like hell after 3 months of a rainy summer here on the eastcoast. Luckily I have a great dealer who sent me to their body shop at no charge. They got the water stains off my car and it looked awsome afterwards. The reason for my post is because I noticed some more marks on my car yesterday after it rained, the Sun came out, and the water dried. This was only after an hour or so, so the marks came out easily. Trust me on this, if you let that water dry on it's own you will be extremely disappointed and almost nothing you do will get those marks out.

Now I have a question. I have some touch up paint that I want to use to touch up some scratches and nicks on my car. If anyone has ever used touch up paint on their car, can you give me some advise on how to apply it and what to expect. I looked at past threads and what I learned so far is be very carefull and apply the paint with a toothpick. I doubt I'll be wetsanding just because it seems like too much of a pain but I want my car to look good again and I don't want to pay $500 at the body shop. Touch up paint is my only option so if you can give me some advice I'd appreciate it.
thanks

 

I got the Simonize paint and interior protection package from dealer. Teflon stuff they spray on and from what they tell me the only way to get it off the car is to sand blast it. No waxing needed ever....I guess I don't have to worry about the water spots, good to know though.

P.S. Has anyone else purchased the Simonize protection package? if so was it worth it?

 

i was always told (from people on the boards here) never to get the protection that the dealers offer.... or i probably would have.

i do agree though, i don't like the paint on these cars. same with my tsx. the paint on our rx300 held up for much longer. third year and only now are there paint chips and spots on the paint on the rx, but on the TL there are paint chips everywhere. i wish i had gotten the clearbra.

 

sounds like you had some acid rain problem that ate away into your clear coat. maybe if you took care of your car and waxed it occasionally (especially so since you kept your car outside), you would not have had this "problem." but good warning - everyone, wax your car if you care about it.

 

I don't see how you can say something like this from my post; you obviously don't know me. I've slacked off since I bought my car, but when my car was new in June 04, I washed it 3-4 times a week and waxed it every month. The reason I washed it so much was because of all the rain we had. I still don't see how you could say I didn't take good care of my car

 

You can wash it 3 times a day, and it won't do anything as far as protection is concerned. Washing merely gets the dirt and grime off the paint. Waxing is the protection part.

It depends on what wax you used, and how it was applied.

I apply Zaino religiously, and I haven't had a problem like that at all. But then again, anything is possible.

Also, don't blame the paint problem on Honda/Acura. It's mostly due to the new type of paint since the 90's, which is water-based. So blame the tree-huggers, not Honda/Acura.

 

You are correct - some folks will respond in ways that not only add "0" to the conversation but also appear solely to "solicit" a posting "pissing contest".

Anyway, like you I religiously protect my TL (Zaino products) monthly. Yet due to the TX heat/rain etc. and being a working professional, I don't have the time to clean and rinse after every occurrence. Rain water obviously has a tendency to sit on vehicles quite often.

Even with numerous coats of Zaino my WDP 04 TL has bad waterspots that are going to require a clay bar to remove...

The TL paint isn't the best but it's also not really the problem, nor is the fact you "didn't" wax enough or with the proper product. The fact is, given our atmosphere and chemicals released into it everyday, the rain that sits on our cars is some of the harshest/hardest water around.... In all reality, washing as much as you did actually helps you as much if not more than waxing.. Keeping the contaminants from etching themselves into our paint surfaces is the best we can do... Waxing just slows the process. Some more than others....

Keep her clean

 

I didn't blame my problem on anyone. All I said was the TL had some pretty cheap paint. I don't think I mentioned Honda/Acura at all in my post.

 

Do a search on touch up paint...some people (including myself) did not have a very good experience with the touch-up pen (atleast for AM color). The Pen color is a lot darker then the color on the car. Not sure what brand/type of touch-up paint are you planning to use but I would definitely do a search and ask for opinions from some one on the forum who has used it.

 

touchup pen was excellent for my AM. one side has the paint the other side has the clearcoat. i thought it was excellent, although, I would like the other spots touched up by a professional. i might just wait and let the hood and bumper take a beating then just repaint both. i'm not sure yet.

 

They threw it in for me for free (and considering the deal I got, I doubt it was factored in elsewhere). I let the car go about 3 months this past winter without a wash...all kinds of dirt, crap, some slag, rain, etc. on it. When I washed it, it all came off with no marks left. If only it protected against rock chips...

Not too sure about the interior piece of it, though. Driver's seat is a little dirty and the front floor mats (particularly mine) look a little rough. But, since the deal says if something is stained and they can't remove it, they replace it, I'll be fine. Just before the deal runs out, I'm going to get a new set of floor mats and maybe my leather replaced (unless they can clean it). That's one way to get rid of buttprints!

 

I've never seen a paint protection package (A Touch of Class, Simoniz or whatever) last that long and I still question it's longevity. Regardless of what is put on, the paint is still subject to contaminants such as rail dust, brake dust, acid rain, salt, pollution and bird droppings. Washing alone will not remove these contaminants. This is one reason why most of the forum members take great pleasure in the upkeep of their vehicles. You'll hear of products such as Zaino, Klasse, Pinnacle, Megs, and whole host of others they constantly use. These products cost less than what dealers charge for "Paint Protection". A little time and dedication is all it takes. On a sidenote, Paint Protection Film (PPF) is worth the money.

 

Vik, where did you get your AM touch-up stuff?

 

^ebay. search for touch up paint pen. it was $13~ shipped.

 

ebay

 

Acura Paint Pen or PaintScratch

 

Simple "waxing" may or may not do the job. If you are parked outside most of the time, you may want to consider applying a sealant over the clearcoat. Besides a longer term protection (compared to just wax alone) it gives you peace of mind against bird droppings, acid rain (chemical fallout) UV damage, tree sap and anything else that may deteriorate the clearcoat.

As far as personal experiences with these "dealer applied" protection packages, here is what I can say:

Paint protection: Dealer applies a multi-step sealant and polish that you can most likely do yourself. Most gives you a "certificate" and some I've seen warns in fine print that applying any product other than theirs will "void" the protection warranty. Pretty useless and a waste of good money IMO. What fun is owning a car if you can't wax and polish it? The worst part is they may apply this on an improperly prepped surface and all they did was put a layer of protection over the pre-existing contaminants. I'd rather do this myself and do it properly.

Carpet Protection: Dealer charges you a few hundred dollars for something that you can do yourself. For under $20.00 get a big can of ScotchGuard spray, move the seats back and spray the carpet twice. If you don't have small kids who may spill milk and juice on the carpet, you really don't need this.

Rust Protection: Dealer (or contractor) applies an extra layer of rust protection over what the factory has already applied. Rust perforation is covered by Honda (or any new car manufacturer) and rated for several years. Aftermarket protection voids this warranty and lets someone else worry about the rust-at your expense.

All these are just gimmicks by the dealer to squeeze extra money out of you after you have already committed to buying the car. I have always emphasized to the salesman that any attempts by their sales manager to sell me anything other than what I wanted to buy and I will go somewhere else.

 

I had a NBP 2002 TLS that I religiously kept clean and waxed. It probably had at least 5 coats of Soverein Pinnacle Carnuba wax on the finish. One summer, I had to keep the car outdoors during a rainstorm. The sun came out right after the rain and burned spots all over the hood and trunk. For some reason the roof didn't get any spots. They were etched right into the paint and could not be removed without sanding the clearcoat which I declined. The dealer wanting to keep my happy gave me a Comptech Exhaust since I declined to have the car repainted. Yes, the paint especially Black, is poor. It's not just Acura, the EPA took the lead out of paint so it's not as hard as in the past.
These spots finally got to me, and I sold the NBP TLS and purchased an Anthracite '04TL. I'm using Zaino currently, but I still don't trust water and sun. The droplets act like a lens, and when the sun comes out, it literally burns the paint. Call it Acid Rain...or whatever you want, but it's going to happen unless you wipe the car down each and every time it rains. So far, my Anthracite paint doesn't have any spots...YET!! Since I never drive it in the rain, I intend to keep it that way as long as possible. My rain car is a Honda DelSol. It's white and doesn't seem to get acid rain spots. It could be because they had lead in the paint when the car was built...I dunno.

 

I am reviving this thread out of necessity. I try to take good care of my car, but am plagued with horrible water spots etching my paint. I do my best to dry the car after it rains but it is impossible to get it every time. I can't get them out no matter what I try. I tried vinegar, compound, polish, clay etc. Please help me with advice to get these out and the best product to prevent this. Don't just say wax either, please. Also, I don't have a garage so I need another solution. Thanks.

 

There must be some nasty stuff in the air where you live because rain shouldn't cause water spots. Ground water will leave spots if you have hard water, but rain should be pure water. Anways use vinegar straight and keep applying and rubbing to let the vinegar soak in. If the spots are soo bad vinegar will not take it out the paint is etched and you need to have the areas buffed out.

As far as not having a garage, pick your spots carefully. I used to memorize the sprinkler times around my house when I didn't have a garage to avoid water spots.

 

I'm extremely disappointed with the TL's paint. It's by far the worse I've ever had. Even my 24 year old black car has less chips in the paint and they were known for their crappy paint.

Mine has been so bad that I recently had the front end repainted and portions of the fenders and side skirts. My front end was starting to look gray instead of black from all the millions of chips.

This thing scratches if you look at it wrong. I've never seen such a thin paint that looks for an excuse to chip off.

Maybe it is the tree huggers and not Acura, I was talking to the bodyshop and they now have people coming by to monitor emissions and make sure everything is water based. Regardless, the shop said Acura is known for putting it on very thin to save money.

 

Try as I might the vinegar nor buffing worked. It is etched pretty badly. I think I may need to have it wet sanded... Which I will do but how do I prevent it from happening again? What is the best protection for the paint? (Zymol, Zaino??)

 

I've worked on a NBP 3G TL with this problem. I was able to minimize the etched spots very well with a rotary and random orbit polisher.

Use a high quality paint sealant:

Four Star UPP or Meguiar's #21, 2 coats and cure 12-24 hrs in between coats.

 

you got to be kidding me. as a couple of people have mentioned in this thread you are not taking care of your car properly. just washing it does not protect it. in fact washing your car slowly strips away the protection. and depending on the wax you used you could have no protection in just 3 washes.

now, ive owned my Type-S for 2 years already. and no water spots at all. i live in Hawaii where it rains all the time. not only does it rain but it could be sunny right after a down pour and the sun dries all that water in an instant. a good sealant/wax will protect your paint. now rock chips and scratches are a different story as i agree the paint is soft and prone to chips and scratches.

blaming the paint for water spots is just ridiculous. and the dealer is a fool for fixing your problem for free. my advice is have that dealer fix whatever problems you have for free because it seems they dont care about their money.

just looked at the OP date
05-30-2005

 

Angry much? I do take care of my car and wax it once a month. I often actually use sealant instead of wax. The problem remains that I have water spots. I get new water spots when the sun dries the rain on my car. I can't make this shit up!

 

not really angry but astounded by ones ignorance. blaming the paint quality for ones lack of maintaining or weather conditions is just beyond me. now answer me this. why is it that you have water spot problems and i dont? we both have the same paint right. also keep in mind that i do live in a tropical climate.

 

I'm not blaming it on the paint, the op was. I am simply asking for advice on the best way to keep this from happening. Maybe the wax I am using is not giving sufficient protection (Zymol). It is frustrating though that my black 1989 BMW 535I with original paint never had this problem in the same climate. I am wondering if maybe your WDP does not get as hot as a dark color, nor will it show spots as easily. What wax. polish, sealant are you using? Do you dry your car when it rains? It's not fair for you to assume I am not maintaining my car as I am EXTREMELY anal about my car and wax at the least once monthly...

 

I use Meguires Tech 2 synthetic wax on my NBP and it works very well. Zymol is more of a classic car wax since their paints were oil based to our water based paint. Try a synthetic wax.
If the guy above has a white car or RDX why is he replying to a thread on water spots?

 

sorry i do apologize. i use opti-seal for my sealant and my current wax that i am using is Migliore Primo blend. a white car doesnt get as hot as a darker colored car would but it does get hot. i do not dry my car off after it rains.

i also wax my car as often as twice a month. i apply my sealant at least once a week. so i am EXTREMELY anal with the maintenance of my car.

i had a RDX and now own a 07 WDP TL Type-S as in my sig...

 

I'm confused about those that complain about rock chips. When I'm doing 75 mph and see a stone thrown from an 18 wheeler and impact the nose, I know there's going to be a chip. Are there factory paint jobs that can deflect highway speed rocks?

I think anyone who doesn't garage their car is asking for long term wear. My 1990 4Runner had 240K miles, was always garaged and the paint looked great for its age. The poster above that talked about the prism effect of the sun through water droplets is on point.

Quality of the water coming out of your tap I've realized is a huge part. At my folks house, I can use their Mr. Clean spot free system and it literally dries itself with no spots. Tried that system at my house and the water has so many deposits that the filter can't clean the water enough and the car comes out like ass.

I will, however, comment on the paint concerning the transition from the plastic to the metal. I've got about 2.5 yrs and 47K on my 06 WDP and even my wife noticed the slight yellowing of the plastic sections. That's a bummer and I'm a meticulous maintainer.

Every think you guys with the spots wax too much? Even the light ones are still abrasive. I wax about every 3-4 months, about when I can see the car is losing it's gloss from the previous wax job. I use Maguire's NXT Tech Wax paste. I'm too lazy for the synthetic stuff...don't you have to leave that crap on over night?

 

No, synthetic wax dries in the same time as regular wax and is much easier to remove. The protection also lasts longer. I think nxt tech wax is synthetic.

 

this is not true. a wax that has a high carnauba content has to have a "set time". where as a synthetic wax can be wipped right off after applying. yes a synthetic wax is easier to remove.

a synthetic wax does not last longer than a wax that has a high carnauba content (such as Collinite). serious detailers would go with a high carnauba content wax over a synthetic wax.

 

Well, some might dog me, but Consumer Reports rated the NXT Tech Wax in like the top three around 2 years ago. Wasn't 'The Best', but it was very good for the money and one of the other Maguire's products was the one you have to leave on for like 24 hours, which I thought were the straight up synthetic blends.

Zaino was #2 and most people live by it.

 

Sorry I am going to have to insert my 2 cents here.
PLEASE check out my thread here

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-photograph-gallery-96/zano-paint-cleaner-swirl-removal-1z-einszett-polish-colinite-845-wax-sealer-%3D-sex-719328/

Before reading on more please sign up to autopia.org

Ive been using top-end free products for over the past 3 years. Everything as mention in this thread is mainly due to the lack of proper care of the paint. If your only washing it and going right to waxing all your hard work is going to last for a few weeks or even days depending on where you live and how beat your paint is. Every color takes different types of waxes or react to a wax different from another color.

To the user way above who said "Dealership used teflon spray" which is suppose to last and you will never need to wax again well sorry that's full of shit. It's a simple detailer spray that works for 2 weeks. Moving on...

Normal way of doing a real detail is:

-Wash the car 2x with 1Z Einszett Perls Shampoo with hose noozle set to Soaker not JET.

-Use California gold claybar kit with a fresh bucket of water + Soap.

-Dry off car with Microfiber towels

-Depending on paint if you have water spots and acid marks You might want to jump into 3M compound + Meg step 2 polish

-For someone that has mild marks as swirl marks you use Zano paint cleaner + swirl remover and then go over the car with some 1Z Pink metallic polish

-After the compound/polish you end up with waxing. Any wax of your choice would be fine best ive seen for an incredible finish would be Finish Kare Pink wax.

-Finally after all that hard work you need to SEAL IT! This will protect your paint and bead off water. Best ive used so far is Colinite 845 wax/sealer and for not an intense wet look but a longer lasting sealer would be finsh kare 1000 wax which is a sealer.

Do your research with what Ive provided. Follow these simple steps and about 4-5 hours I swear you will have amazing results! READ all instructions carefully as in set time ect ect invest in a few microfiber towels and knock yourselves out.

 

^how do you even lift your arm the next day? I'm pretty good about wash, clay bar, then wax but it takes me 45 minutes just to wash my car!

how do you protect the black trim from getting destroyed by wax? The anal retentive side of me almost painter's tapes the trim before I start but the reality of how long that would take usually wins.

Ever heard of anyone waxing there front windshield? Buddy of mine does that and swears by it but I think it will score it after a while.

 

exactly...

i also frequent autopia.org. maintenance is the key. also good quality MF towels. if you dont have quality MF towels you will just put swirls, spider webs and scratches back onto the car.

 

I use a buffer but, before going to the next step I do clean up the car with microfiber towels. Ive been doing this soo long that I don't even touch black trims

 

I use a buffer to remove compounds/wax, but never to apply. That's what I've read, anyway.

 

no wonder your paint is bad u wash and wax the clear off lol

 

I disagree with what you said. I have had my 05 Black TL throughout one harsh winter and MANY MANY rain storms. The paint looks fine. When it gets sunny I wash and wax her.