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I just pulled the trigger on my 8th, maybe 9th Acura (in between my wife and I) with a New Sport Hybrid 2016 RLX. I had the RLX 2015 P-AWS and after I test drove the Sport Hybrid I had to make the change. Dealer was awesome and found someone to take over my lease with 22 month remaining so I can take the new RLX Sport Hybrid. I got a major 10K rebate and my loyalty rate to 0% interest...What an amazing deal!!! So happy I made the change so far. Just on day 1 but will let you all know the main differences. Will tint the windows quickly but not sure on how dark...want to keep it classy. The only thing I wasn't able to get was the Chrome or painted P-AWS Mags. Im stuck with the OEM hybrid Wheels which I'm not a big fans of.
I think our OEM wheels are very easy to keep clean, but then again I keep my car so clean all the time that they rarely are dirty for more than 24 hours. Congrats on the new ride! I call mine the Blackbird. My kids call it the Bat Car. Either way, more than 2 years later I still love it. Just never gets old to me. If you need help learning how to finesse the torque out of the motor system, just say the word and we will offer our assistance. Just keep an eye on the speedo as you will very likely be traveling faster than you expected quite often.
Thanks pgeorg...Where do we sign in for RLX owner? I will need some tips on keeping the black paint pristine. I usually take White but this time, I had no option and had to go with CBP. Its was the only RLX 2016 left in Montreal Canada.
Absolutely curious now on how to get the finesse torque out of the motor system. Please elaborate. Any suggestion on tints? How do you keep the blackbird clean without having swirls show up. Sorry...Pretty new with black paint.
if you can get to a place that is certified to install this Opti-Coat PRO, I highly recommend. The place I went took out all the swirls that existed and then applied the product. It is awesome protection and shine
Congratulations and welcome to the family bazoulay. I hope you enjoy many, many trouble-free, smile-inducing miles in your RLX Sport Hybrid.
I'm also figuring out the nuances of owning and maintaining a black car and it is definitely more time consuming than many other colors. That said, when it is shined up, it looks REALLY SHARP.
So I’m so glad you asked about the paint care regimen. I do have to caution you that if you are not very familiar and experienced with an orbital polisher, you may want to just accept that swirls will be part of your paint job sooner than later. Black is a very difficult color to stay on top of. So here we go: We have three types of surfaces to work on. We have aluminum in the quarter panels, doors, hood, and trunk surfaces, steel on the roof, and plastic bumpers and lower rockers under the doors. You can use the same materials for everything but you need to use less pressure on the plastic surfaces. Also I use plastic gloves to keep any oils from my hands from getting on the application pads. I use the TorqX orbital polisher that acts as a multi-directional variable speed polisher that is easy to use once you know how to handle it. You will need to use two different pads (orange and black). I get all of my product from www.chemicalguys.com .
Step #1:
I use VSS with the orange pad (4 dime size amounts of material on it), with the conditioning spray for the pad, I press the machine with the material on it all over the surface I am going to work on in an even pattern, then I turn on the machine on #1 to slowly spread the material all over the surface evenly, pressing with about 5-8 pounds of pressure on the TorqX machine. Once the material is spread all over the surface, I then turn the machine up to #6 on the dial and slowly move over every square inch in overlapping passes moving at about an inch per second. You want to put enough pressure on the pad to compress it slightly and when you get to compound surfaces like the ridges in the hood near the fenders, you want to be careful there and not ride the ridge, but move down each side of it with the edge of the pad touching the ridge edge. Also make sure the pad does not go over the edges of the panels where possible. When the VSS is just about completely clear after you have gone over each square inch 3 times, turn the TorqX down to #1 and then lift it off the surface and turn it off (resting it pad up on a clean surface). With two yellow micro fiber detail towels, I use one to take off most of the dried material, and chase it with the second towel to polish it completely clean. Repeat this for the entire car, but apply less pressure on the plastic surfaces.
Step #2:
Once the VSS product has been applied as I noted already, and removed with the two towel process, I switch pads to the black one, spray it with the pad conditioner with three sprays, and then apply Black Light Hybrid wax from Chemical Guys. Then repeat the VSS application from above but now use the Black Light Hybrid wax. Let it dry for 20 minutes or about the amount of time you will need to cover the entire car with material. Then use the two towel process of removing the Black Light wax and then use a third clean towel to go over the whole car once you are done.
Step #3:
Then step three is to use Chemical Guys Butter Wax, however the Butter Wax is super easy to apply so I spread it by hand with micro fiber glove so I can really feel it get into the surfaces. We are blessed with deeper paint which is many microns thicker than many other cars out on the market with the exception of MB, Audi and Porsche. Other exotics also tend to have deeper paint thicknesses too.
Step #4:
I use detailing purple spray with another clean microfiber towel using a very fine mist application and immediately wipe it off to catch any remaining material I missed in the final wipe down. I know this sounds like a lot of work but that is what it takes to keep my Blackbird looking great, even with more than 49,000 miles on it. Afterwards the surface is so smooth, water just falls off of it. Regarding the finessing the torque delivery, that will be for another night and another reply.
Wow!!! Amazing reply Blackbird!!!! Sounds like way too much work for me. I will have to find someone to do this for me as its way too time consuming. How often do you need to do that treatment? Does acura dealers provide this service at reasonable price.
I do this process around 4 times per year, and lesser applications in alternate times, so I am working on the car about once per month.
Actually I did not explain all of the steps enough. I use the purple Chemical Guys car wash soap with a micro fiber sponge in a two bucket system so I rinse the sponge in bucket #1 which is clean water, thoroughly squeezing it out, then put it in the soapy bucket before apply it to the car surface. Also I use a clay bar with the detail spray to prepare the entire car for all of the other steps I mentioned. There is a procedure for the clay bar process too but I don’t think you want to hear about that from the sounds of it. Regarding hiring someone to do this, that pricing and relative expertise is local. I assure you, your dealer will not do what I am stating is my process. At best most places will wash, dry and with a rotary machine, use a cheap cleaner polish in a one-step method, and charge you around $200. I learned from one the best in the business in the New York area. He travels the country for his clients where he will spend more than 12 hours on each car (typical project), and charge much more than $2,000 for extreme exotics that many of his customers have in their collections. He is a scientist (PHD) and chemist so he knows what he is doing. More than qualified.
Thanks for the recommendations for wheels but think I will stick with OEM Hybrids one. The noise cancelation wheel apparently removes -7db in road noise.
Got my Tints done this week and went with 25% back, 35% side back and 50% front. We have laws in Quebec to prohibits tints in front more then 70% but went with 50% to avoid the drop in tints in between back sides. Let me know what you all think.
Side by side with the wife's 2016 MDX I got her last year. Cant wait to test them both in Quebec winter and compare. Both will be equipped with Nokian Hakkapelitta 8.
congrats and good job. I just picked up mine yesterday white on black.I was surprised they didnt fill up the gas tank. Especially since it was sitting there for 3 days before I went to pick it up. I went to pick it up the second day and they said stereo volume wont go up. Rather than wait for the fix I said Id come tomorrow. Only had like 1/8 a tank. Will take pics and show off the beauty.
Second RLX and this Sport Hybrid is a BEAST!!!! Love it so much!!!! Had just washed them both with this new SansZo waterless product. Really amazed on how clean and efficient it was to clean them up under 1 hour. Hard to believe but will always clean my car this way. Black will be hard to maintain so did my homework on what works best and needed something fast that I can do every week. You guys should try it...you will be shocked how great it works. Did any of you guys try?
The chrome Wheels do look nice. I wish they can do this painted grey like the P-AWS models...Not the silver but the dark grey. Not sure if this is the US Wheels or 2017 but those are the ones I would go for. By curiosity, how much and where did you get your wheels done?
The chrome Wheels do look nice. I wish they can do this painted grey like the P-AWS models...Not the silver but the dark grey. Not sure if this is the US Wheels or 2017 but those are the ones I would go for. By curiosity, how much and where did you get your wheels done?
Did it at place called calchrome.com.
My local Acura is using them, so it's trustworthy.
(They have many color options, too.)
They did a great job, and it cost $920 for 4 wheels.
Last edited by Guitaryojedi; 06-09-2017 at 06:10 PM.
05-22-2017, 04:07 PM
