PortlandRL

2007 Acura RL
Nighthawk Black Pearl

Detail – June 3, 2009

This 2007 RL belongs to my dad and he bought it new in December of 2006. It has only 25,000 miles on it and I have tried to keep it up as best I could and polished it to perfection last May. It looked fabulous with only very light marring from washes until a snafu lead to the dealer running it through the swirl-o-tron. Moderate swirls and some lovely RIDS (all courtesy of the dealer wash) peppered the super-soft Nighthawk Black Pearl paint.

This job was actually broken up into three days. Day one started at 9:30 AM and ran until 6:25 PM when the heat and humidity (damn near close to 90º and 85% humidity) finally got to me and I cut it short after polishing a little under half of the car. Day one also included engine cleaning and dressing, wheel arch and wheel deep cleaning, exterior wash, clay, and partial polish. Day two saw the completion of polishing and a post-polish wash that was quickly negated by a storm that blew dust all over the clean car (I couldn't seal up the garage quickly enough). I abandoned my quest until Day 3 which saw another wash to get all the storm dust off and then the application of the 4-Star and interior detail.

Exterior Process
Wash with Griot’s Car Wash and MF Mitt
Jack up vehicle, remove wheels and clean suspension components with pressure washer, Meg’s APC 4:1 and detail with GG Undercarriage Spray.
Engine clean with APC 4:1 and dress with Stoner's Trim Shine.
Deep-clean wheels with Griot’s Wheel Cleaner and elbow grease.
Dry with GG Microfiber Drying towel
Clay with Griot's Clay and Speed Shine for lubricant.
Polish with Griot’s Random Orbital and Orange Pad; two or three passes with Stage 2 polish and one finishing pass with Stage 3 polish.
4-star UPP used for LSP, applied by hand and allowed to cure for two hours.

Interior Process
Removed winter mats (rubber) and prep summer mats (carpeted) by hot-water extracting with Dirt Devil carpet cleaner
Remove door sill scuff plates and clean with Lexol leather cleaner (does miracles minimizing scuffs).
Vacuum interior
Clean dirty rubber pedal covers with APC 4:1, brush, and cotton towel.
Clean and condition leather seats, steering wheel and arm rest with Lexol leather cleaner and leather conditioner
Dust dashboard with MF cloth
Clean windows with Sprayaway ammonia-free window cleaner.

Total Time Spent: 20 hours

Here we are with the vehicle as I got started...from a distance it doesn't look too bad.






The interior was actually fairly nasty.




Engine was pre-soaked with Meg's APC 4:1 and hit with the hose. As you can see it really wasn't all that bad.


The wheel arches, on the other hand were beyond gross. These were pre-sprayed with APC and blasted clean (went easy on the suspension components, of course) with a pressure washer.




Since I had the wheels off to clean the arches, I did a full wheel clean-up, front and back. These are the specialty Michelin PAX run-flat tires and these things weigh a damn ton! I estimate their weight at 75 to 100 pounds each. Light they are not.


Eww....


The wheel arches and suspension bits look MUCH better!






The wheels after...




In the garage for drying and clay.


A majority of the contamination came from the trunk lid and rear bumper.


With the paint stripped clean, the actual extent of the damage was revealed.


And it was only 12:30....


Taped off for polishing. I had to cover the Acura logo up front because it contains the active cruise and collision mitigating braking sensor. The owners manual says not to let polish dust get on it so this precaution is taken.






Scuffs in clear bra on front bumper...likely from the dealer running it through a car wash.


After polishing...




The engine all cleaned up.


I even went so far as to straighten the oil fill cap and remove the gunk around the dipstick with a Q-tip.


The 4-star doing it's thing....


Teaser...


While the UPP set, I did the interior. The foot pedals were just plain NASTY.


I spritzed the pedals with APC 4:1 and let it set while this towel caught any run-off from the brake pedal.


Pedals done before I vacuumed.


All clean...that parking brake pad refused to clean up any better than it looks now.




With the 4-Star off, the drooling may commence.


Under the Halogen....


Look at that blue flake pop!


After the rain cleared and the roads dried out, I took the car up to the top of the hill and shot these at a cemetery.








Grrrrr....


Thanks for looking!

mrclrider

Damn! That looks great!! so much more from that black!! Flake looks awesome!!

TSC17

Great work Andrew on both the work and the write up! Nice attention to detail. So how big was the bill that your Dad received?

PortlandRL

Thanks, Todd. I was like a little kid on Christmas waiting for your reply to this topic.

Originally I offered him the discounted price of $175, all in. He insisted on paying the full $275. Given the amount of work I put in, I think it was reasonable. I'm seriously considering going to an hourly rate...

Ken1997TL

You'll be the first to hear from me if I need a detailer

Five star job!

exceldetail

Shweeeeeeeeeeeeng!
Looks beautiful!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Awesome Andrew-congrats!

PortlandRL

Thanks for all the kind words, guys. It makes me feel like I really accomplished something.

SupaRookie

looks awesome man. The car looks super clean now.

SweetJazz

Andrew,

Fantastic detail and writeup!

Did you take you Dad to school as far as maintaining the finish?

Rhlieu

WOW! That is a GREAT job! I have a 05 RL, would love to get it looking half as good as what you did! Will try to follow your process to a T...but 20 hour job?

PortlandRL

Thanks SJ...He actually does know all about proper washing techniques and not installing new swirls but it was a dealership snafu.

Thanks, man. It was 20 hours spread over three days but it was still 20 hours.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

looks great, but me thinks you need to bling up thoes tires!!!....i also think your using too much upp....you dont need to lay it on soo thick, and becareful letting it sit for soo long before removing it as dust can settle on it and then you end up rubbing the dust into your paint while your removing the upp....

afjock21

Nice job!

I always appreciate it when somebody takes the time to give the proper attention to a black car, or any color car for that matter, especially an Acura RL.

PortlandRL

Thanks for the comments. As for the wheels, we can't replace them due to the PAX run-flat capabilities and I actually spread the UPP really thin, about a dime-size drop for half the hood (for example).

nf3d0149ab

iTrader: (5)

Great work & write up.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Nice work

nokiaman

Wow! You did an amazing piece of work dude, you really a did a detail in the most profound sense of the term. That RL looks brand spanking new.

I should really do more than washing and drying next time I'm at the car wash.

CocheseUGA

Damn, I need to pick up some APC. Is this yet another item that I need to order?

Also, did you do any underhood protection (as in, covering electronics)? Or did you just let dry thoroughly?

psheu

wow..... so shinny, wet looking..... just like a hot woman stepped out of a shower..... all nice, soft, clean, glissening, voluptuous..... dame it, gotta go find the gf and tell her to take a shower now lol...... what a turn on..... nice ride

PortlandRL

Thanks for all the compliments, everybody.

I bought a gallon of Meg's APC at Napa Auto Parts and an empty spray bottle at ACE Hardware. I mix it at 4:1 and it usually lasts a good long while. The gallon jug is still almost full. The jug is clear and the liquid is green with the Meguiars label and 'ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER' on it.

As for working under the hood, I surveyed under there before shooting it with the APC or the water and didn't find anything that looked exposed and in need of protection.

Quickest way to dry it after rinsing the APC? Close hood, start engine.

mrclrider

What is your method to spreading your sealant so thin? Are you priming the pad with anything?? How do you tell where you last swiped? Are you using a light of some sort? I find it hard at times to get something like DG105 do go really thin because the pad starts to skip over the panel I'm working on.

PortlandRL

I used to apply my LSPs with my random orbital but was never happy with the way it came out. So now I apply it by hand on a microfiber towel with a drop of 4-star no larger than a dime. I work from top to bottom, left to right using the halogen if necessary.

sleepinxlionhart

Wow, great job! I need to do that too, hopefully my NBP will turn out as good as yours.

I was wondering, if it there is some way of getting the scratch marks off of the inside area just behind the door handle in that oval shaped grove area?

stogie1020

Portland, as the owner of a NBP, NICE WORK!

Do you treat the wheels (not the tires) with anything?

PortlandRL

Thanks.

As for the wheels, no...never really saw the need. I did clay them just for shits and giggles.

CocheseUGA

Thanks for the Napa tip. I'll check today.

4 parts water, or APC?

PortlandRL

4 parts H20 to every 1 part APC. The spray bottle I got has a graph on the side and it reads to 30 ounces. I put 5 ounces of APC in there and then another 20 of water.

jeffL

Great job..very helpful. You have inspired me to get going on my NBP!

mklaudt

Very nice job - I"m just as impressed with the inside as the outside. I agree that the UPP looks a little thick, but maybe it's just the way the light's hitting it since you're using a small amount. Geez, I need to start charging my dad - I was going to do his SUV for father's day, but maybe I'll send him a bill instead....

Put something along the lines of optimum hypercompound on a microfiber and have at it. If you can spin your fingers around at 1500 RPM, it makes it easier. o/w just needs some elbow grease. Won't be pefect, but will look a lot better.

PortlandRL

Thanks again to everybody who gave me such kind comments. The sun FINALLY showed it's face today and I got to see my work under the Evil Mistress.



Remember this?


And now....


And a hood shot.

skyfox23

Man you did a great job, the RL looks great!!! I live down in Salem, would you be interested in making some extra cash doing my NBP Type S?? Seriously, I mean I could bring the car to you and let you do your magic, how much would you charge? My TL doesn't have too many swirls or spider webs but after seeing your work I want my TL to look like the RL does!!! Mine has been clayed in the last couple of months so not sure if it would need to be done again but your work looks fantastic, I really want mine to look like your Dads!!! Let me know if your interested?????

slavver01

iTrader: (3)

nice job man! ive been applying my 4star upp with the udm last few times, maybe ill give it a go by hand. was it easy to wipe off after 2 hours? longest mine ever sat was half hour

afjock21

Do I need to do everything you did to make my old 03 NBP TL look like the "and now" ? It's lookin kinda like the "remember this" right now...

Do you travel?

I do pretty well with all the product cleaners, waxes, polishes, etc. etc... Well, for my RL anyway... But I haven't got a clue about orbitals and stuff.. Which I'm guessing really takes out the swirls and light scratches.

OH, and is 4 star UPP a polish or wax?

PortlandRL

Thanks for the kind words but sorry, man...I don't think I'll be on the east coast until August (that is if I go at all). If you're looking for tips on buffers (be it a rotary or random orbital) post a topic in the main W&W forum. Many people here (myself included) are willing to help.

4-star UPP is a sealant. I prefer it because it meets my criteria for an LSP; it's seriously durable, slicker than snot, and makes water literally jump off the car. Also, it makes the flake in almost any metallic color just pop and show up great. My only complaint about it is that on light colors, it's damn near impossible to see.

afjock21

Cool.

Yeah, obviously kidding bout the travel part, but IF you're willin and IF you're in New England... That's just a great job.

I just keep lookin at those pics now...

that looks like a brand new, just built, just shipped, showroom floor Acura RL. Y'know... how most people wish their car STILL had that flawless shine.. how you could just eat right off the thing, that's how clean.. but now they just wanna get a new car cuz they can't bare to look at it every mornin.. full of swirls, light scratches, dull paint, scrapes, bruises, just uglyness staring right back at you. And other people staring at the car like.. what the hell, why you abusing it and, and why aren't you treating her right.... Yeahh.. like that.

and

nbp08aspec

I just got a NBP 08 TL (hence the username) but I came across this thread and wanted to say wow, just wow. I need to do the same because it came with a lot of swirls on it. Is that 4 star UPP stuff the main thing that takes them out? Right now I wash with Meguiairs, dry, then use spray on wax but I was eventually looking to clay it and then polish/sealant and then wax or use synthetic polymer. I would appreciate any help though I'm still kinda new to this whole thing, sorry to bump an old thread as well