First Complete Detail: My Trashed NPB TL
03-31-2010, 06:13 PM
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First Complete Detail: My Trashed NPB TL
Okay here we go. This is my 2006 Nighthawk Black Pearl Acura TL. I bought the car 3 years ago from my aunt who lives in Las Vegas. I received the car with a considerable amount of swirls (I’m sure its seen its fair share of automatic gas station car washes, cuz there’s no way in hell my aunt was gonna wash it herself ). I took decent care of it for the first year I had it. Washed every couple of weeks, used some otc waxes to keep it protected, but I never really understood paint care or paint correction at that point, so I’m sure my washes added to its problematic condition.
A year after I got the car, I graduated from college and went to the Middle East (where my parents were born) to teach English to grade schoolers. I spent a year total in Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. The entire time I was there, my car stayed parked in front of my parents’ house in San Francisco. It was rarely driven, probably once or twice a week by my mom and dad, and I’m pretty sure my dad washed it for me about once a month. So you can see how the swirls/marring/defects have just been building up on this soft paint.
So I got back from the Middle East last June, proposed to my girlfriend (now fiancée) 2 weeks later and started grad school in the Fall. I thought that once I started grad school, my life would settle down a bit and I would have time to give some lovin to the TL. Boy was I wrong. Between school full time, 20 hours a week studying, helping run the family business AND planning a summer wedding (07/10/2010!), my poor TL just kept on taking a beating.
I was finally sick of the way it looked. So I ordered some supplies and got to work! The following is what I did and what I ended up with. Enjoy.
Total Time Spent: 20 Hours (18 on exterior, 2 on interior)
Damn, this is a very satisfying process.
Process:
Exhaust:
Just sprayed down and cleaned up with diluted solution of Oil Eater
Wheels/Tires:
Cleaned with diluted solution of Oil Eater/Tons of brushes
Wheels sealed w/ Opti-Seal
Tires dressed w/ Mother’s Reflections Tire Care (Gives a clean matte finish)
Wash/Clay:
Presoak w/ Gilmour foam gun and CGCW
2 Buckets and a Grout Sponge and all that good stuff
Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay w/ ONR Lube
Paint Correction: (after a bunch of SSR 2.5/SSR 1/M105/M205/ASR/AFP test sections and pad combo trials)
M105/Orange CCS Cutting Pad/UDM
M205/White and Black CCS Polishing Pad/UDM
Sealant/Wax:
Opti-Seal topped w/ Souveran (what a warm, sexy combo)
Few Notes on the detail:
-Yes I know I should probably invest in a more powerful machine, but I had the UDM on hand and it took time and lots of pressure, but I think I didn’t do too badly
-The M105 dusted on me, but I think it’s just my beginnerness.
-Next time I would really like to get more clarity out of the paint. Maybe another pass with M205/Black could have done this, or maybe a polish like 85rd or Ultrafina?
-I did an atrocious job of taping emblems/trim. I ended up with some discolored trim on the roof and rear windows. I have to make an effort to do a better job next detail. Any tips on turning the trim black again? It was already faded to begin with but I think this detail just made it worse.
-I did not pay much attention to the wheels/tires. I have new 18 x 8.5 gunmetal A-specs going on next week
And finally after 2 days, 2 blisters and a sore back, the photographic evidence (Sorry about the picture sizes...I didn't realize how big they were until after I made the post:
BEFORE:
DURING:
After 1 pass w/ m105
After m105 & m205
Hood
AFTER:
The sun was trying to come out, but rain was on the way so I had to move quickly.
Thank you very much for checking out the thread. I could not have imagined doing something like this without the abundance of knowledge on this forum. Thanks guys.
A year after I got the car, I graduated from college and went to the Middle East (where my parents were born) to teach English to grade schoolers. I spent a year total in Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. The entire time I was there, my car stayed parked in front of my parents’ house in San Francisco. It was rarely driven, probably once or twice a week by my mom and dad, and I’m pretty sure my dad washed it for me about once a month. So you can see how the swirls/marring/defects have just been building up on this soft paint.
So I got back from the Middle East last June, proposed to my girlfriend (now fiancée) 2 weeks later and started grad school in the Fall. I thought that once I started grad school, my life would settle down a bit and I would have time to give some lovin to the TL. Boy was I wrong. Between school full time, 20 hours a week studying, helping run the family business AND planning a summer wedding (07/10/2010!), my poor TL just kept on taking a beating.
I was finally sick of the way it looked. So I ordered some supplies and got to work! The following is what I did and what I ended up with. Enjoy.
Total Time Spent: 20 Hours (18 on exterior, 2 on interior)
Damn, this is a very satisfying process.
Process:
Exhaust:
Just sprayed down and cleaned up with diluted solution of Oil Eater
Wheels/Tires:
Cleaned with diluted solution of Oil Eater/Tons of brushes
Wheels sealed w/ Opti-Seal
Tires dressed w/ Mother’s Reflections Tire Care (Gives a clean matte finish)
Wash/Clay:
Presoak w/ Gilmour foam gun and CGCW
2 Buckets and a Grout Sponge and all that good stuff
Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay w/ ONR Lube
Paint Correction: (after a bunch of SSR 2.5/SSR 1/M105/M205/ASR/AFP test sections and pad combo trials)
M105/Orange CCS Cutting Pad/UDM
M205/White and Black CCS Polishing Pad/UDM
Sealant/Wax:
Opti-Seal topped w/ Souveran (what a warm, sexy combo)
Few Notes on the detail:
-Yes I know I should probably invest in a more powerful machine, but I had the UDM on hand and it took time and lots of pressure, but I think I didn’t do too badly
-The M105 dusted on me, but I think it’s just my beginnerness.
-Next time I would really like to get more clarity out of the paint. Maybe another pass with M205/Black could have done this, or maybe a polish like 85rd or Ultrafina?
-I did an atrocious job of taping emblems/trim. I ended up with some discolored trim on the roof and rear windows. I have to make an effort to do a better job next detail. Any tips on turning the trim black again? It was already faded to begin with but I think this detail just made it worse.
-I did not pay much attention to the wheels/tires. I have new 18 x 8.5 gunmetal A-specs going on next week
And finally after 2 days, 2 blisters and a sore back, the photographic evidence (Sorry about the picture sizes...I didn't realize how big they were until after I made the post:
BEFORE:
DURING:
After 1 pass w/ m105
After m105 & m205
Hood
AFTER:
The sun was trying to come out, but rain was on the way so I had to move quickly.
Thank you very much for checking out the thread. I could not have imagined doing something like this without the abundance of knowledge on this forum. Thanks guys.
03-31-2010, 06:20 PM
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Nice work. Keep it up and you will get your time down on the process. I started paint correcting my NBP TL last summer and it took me 15hrs on the outside my first time. All was learning what combo of pad and polish to use. Once you get more practice, you can step up to a rotary but otherwise glad to see another NBP showing its true beauty. 
03-31-2010, 06:24 PM
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Few Notes on the detail:
-Yes I know I should probably invest in a more powerful machine, but I had the UDM on hand and it took time and lots of pressure, but I think I didn’t do too badly
-The M105 dusted on me, but I think it’s just my beginnerness.
-Next time I would really like to get more clarity out of the paint. Maybe another pass with M205/Black could have done this, or maybe a polish like 85rd or Ultrafina?
-I did an atrocious job of taping emblems/trim. I ended up with some discolored trim on the roof and rear windows. I have to make an effort to do a better job next detail. Any tips on turning the trim black again? It was already faded to begin with but I think this detail just made it worse.
The UDM did a fine job with the polishes. When using non-diminishing abrasives like the M105 / M205 you're able to correct quite a bit without needing a ton of power.
M105 has a tendency to dust, but you can help minimize how much it dusts as you use it more and more and get your technique down.
Following the Meg's polishes with PO85RD or Ultra Fina would definitely help take your results to the next tier. There's nothing better than using 85RD after a long polishing session and working such an enjoyable polish that brings the gloss, depth and clarity to a whole new level.
For restoring your trim, what you'll want to do is properly prep your trim first, then use some sort of trim restorer. Here's a good article on restoring your trim to use as a reference.
Souveran is a favorite of mine for dark color vehicles, but unfortunately, the durability doesn't last long so get ready to reapply it every couple of weeks. It's good you used Opti-Seal as a base coat for underlying protection.
Excellent work, now to maintain it properly so it stays this way and doesn't become neglected again!
Enjoy.
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03-31-2010, 11:52 PM
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Very nice correction.
04-01-2010, 08:28 AM
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04-01-2010, 12:24 PM
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Make sure your pad is primed, and whenever you feel like its about to dust, just stop the machine and add a little more product. Thats how I prevented dusting after my first couple panels.
04-01-2010, 12:26 PM
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04-01-2010, 01:53 PM
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04-01-2010, 02:08 PM
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I know you weren't using a rotary but I have and pad hop is also an issue along with dusting, especially with more aggressive pads and polishes. An old rotary trick to reduce pad hop and dusting is to spritz a little quick detailer or a quick misting of water on to the pad after adding product. Works like a charm and I actually have a dedicated water bottle specifically for that purpose.
04-02-2010, 02:05 AM
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04-15-2010, 10:06 AM
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My wife's 2005 RL NBP needs some extra loving too. For most people, her car looks fanatstic. But we enthusiasts with severe OCD need that extra oompf! How much stuff did you have to buy to get to that finished look? I am a Zaino guy but I think I need some power equipment to really make the difference and get all the evidence of automatic car washes out.
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