Hey all! So I have the 2013 Crystal Black Pearl, with nothing really done to the outside of it at all yet. I was going through usdmJON's thread and really liked the grill plastidip matte black that he had done originally on it, but I had a couple of questions about that...mainly, is plastidip the best way to do that? I don't want something that will easily peel or anything like that, and this would really be my first undertaking of this sort of thing. Is plastidip pretty reliable, and should I do it myself; or is there a better, maybe more expensive, but more reliable method of doing that?

Also, sort of in that same vein, for the crystal black, are car washes pretty safe? Or should I just stick to hand-washing it? I live in central Illinois, so we get some pretty severe weather, so I was thinking about doing some car washes, one of the best ones in town is called rainstorm and its not a touchless wash, but quite a few people use it... Any advice on that?

Sorry for the separate thread, I wasn't sure if I should leave it as a comment or create a whole new post, if it's in the wrong place just let me know and I'll remove it.

 

i am pretty anal about my car's paint.

anything will scratch and mar the paints surface, so I always wash my cars myself.

if you dont mind, or think of your car as just a transportation device to get you from point A to Point B, then taking it somewhere is just fine.

however, if you are an auto enthusiast who values the paint, hand wash it with the two bucket method.
this two bucket method helps ensure that your wash media will be debris free.

if your wash media falls on the ground, get a new one. etc.
again, I am anal and anything in your wash mitt will drag onto your cars paint.

 

Two bucket method for me.. and I wouldn't let baby Jesus touch my car either..

Especially on the Crystal Black I wouldn't let the average joe wash or touch my car..

 

I have a CBP also, and I have always hand washed all my cars, as for the Plastidip question, I have used it on my previous Civic grill, I had at least 5 layers and it lasted at least a year and I only touched it up once. I think it's a good alternative to a permanent change so if you don't like the look just peel it off. I did my grill in matte black and after I washed it I would use Mother's Back to Black on it and it looked really good and stood up pretty well to daily freeway driving

 

I did the plasti-dip grill as well. I can tell you that with plasti dip, it will take a beating. Pressure washer won't take it off unless a corner started peeling on you.

As far as car washes, I use Chemical Guys Foam Cannon and a low power psi power washer with Mr Pink soap. It does a pretty decent job removing dirt and grime and anything left over tends to get burned off with my cleaner wax i use from Turbowax.

Only time a microfiber touches the car is after applying wax with my Porter Cable 7424xp.

 

Damn you guys are crazy. Haha
I wont let anyone else wash my car but a bucket and soap with a normal towel is good enough for me. If I cared that much id quite my job since I work basically on a ranch style property. Gets dirty af in 2 days and its parked on the street overnight.
Just me though.

As for the plastidip I first used smoke then took it off. Later used black and took that off too.
Both stand up pretty well but it wont take much to peel it off either. One jerk off can walk by and ruin it with a finger nail.

 

no to the car wash...and no to anyone touching my cars except me in terms of washing/detailing them. like justn...i'm extremely particular about how my paint looks (like borderline OCD). however, that's me. some people don't care and the swirls / scratches don't bother them.

as far as plastidip...haven't tried it, don't anticipate i ever will.

 

I am with ^^.....Unlike her though, I am fully assuming my OCD *lol*

 

we bought our tsx knowing it was going to be used for cross country roadtrips and other trips. we took it thru car washes as the two bucket rule was hard to do when you are over 2,000 miles from home in a hotel and the car is filthy. It is also a lot easier if you do not drive the car any distance.