Hi all, this is my first post. After purchasing my Black 06 TL three weeks ago, I spent many an hour (as many do) searching for the perfect wax to use on my virgin paint. I literally drove my car home from the dealer and parked it in the garage, and obsessed about what to use for a base paint protectant before I "hit the road". I even went as far as ordering over $250 worth of a Klasse / Sonus combination from Autopia including all the wash extras (Great Customer Service by the way). After placing the order I decided to second guess my own research, and did some more on a simple OTC solution. I went to other car forums and finally decided to give Meguires NXT a try last night. I washed with Meguires NXT car wash, and waxed with NXT. Now for a guy who doesn't mind washing the car, but really doesn't have a whole day for the process, I'll have to say I was very impressed. It went on easy, and came off extremely easy with a microfiber towl. I did purchase a clay kit, but decided not to use it after my first wash. My "test area", just didn't yield hardly any residue at all, so I decided to save my self a couple of hours and skip directly to the wax. So all in all, I'm glad I second guessed myself and saved a ton of time and money. By beautiful black 06 TL now sits in the garage looking "pristine", and now I'm waiting for the sun to come out and take it for a drive. I would like to thank all for their comments and suggestions. I'm not saying NXT is the best, but it worked very well for a guy who just purchased his first "black" car, and is extremely retentive about how it looks. Now to research some stuff to clean the interior, I haven't touched it yet with anything but hot water.

 

The one thing that matters to you and you alone is the result. If you're satisfied, it's a good thing. One of the first things I learned was to prep the surface prior to initial application of a sealant/wax. The process includes using a clay bar (removes imbedded contaminants) and a paint cleanser/pre-wax cleaner/polish (removes surface defects like swirls and minor scratches). The difference is night and day. Check out OCD for more info on detailing as well as the other online detail sites. BTW, welcome to the forum.

 

Hey Thanks Hawhyen51! I'm definately going to refer to the forum for advice as I continiue my adventure with my new TL. In fact, it was this particular forum that actually guided me towards the purchase of a TL. I'm a former G35 Coupe owner and began my forum experience at G35Driver and FreshAlloy. I actually spent about three months pondering, and searching this exact forum which led me to the purchase of my 06TL/BLK/Parchment/Navi. I love it!

 

Hey TexasBatman, welcome to the obsesion!! I have a black TSX and I think it's the best color out there. Did you try the NXT liquid or paste wax? I have used both, and I actually prefer the paste. Try applying it, and then lightly spray the panel with Mothers Reflections sprayWax/QD and buff all off the panel. Works like spit shining your leather shoes! What shine.

For your interior, go with the Lexol cleaner and protectant for the leather. For the pleather areas (ANYTHING not perforated) go with 303 Aerospace protectant. If you have trouble finding it, try either a boat store or a pool/spa store. It is hands down the best. Low gloss, high protection in the Southwestern sun. Good luck and for god's sake, how bout a pic of the car!!!!????!!!!

 

I used the liquid, I thought it was the easiest wax (on and off) that I've ever used. On a black car (My first), I was really nervous to start. I also use the NXT Speed Detailer for those times when touchups or quick cleans are necessary. On a black car, that's about every other day.

Good advice on using the lexol on the perferated surfaces at 303 on the other parts. I found some 303 at West Marine (Boat Supply Chain Store). 303 has a website which lists some other locations as well.

Do you use 303 over the lexol on the perforated surfaces? Do you use the lexol cleaner to clean the other leather surfaces before using 303 as well?

I'm not sure how to post a picture, I tried insert image, copy, paste, etc.

 

Just re-found this thread. You have probably aswered all of your questions by now, but what the hell:

1. I alternate Lexol and 303 on the leather, about every two weeks
2.Try the paste NXT, honestly, I have used both, and the result are worth it. Almost no difference in work required.
3. Go to imageshack.com and upload your pictures, then use the ink in the upload page to insert a pic. You cant go directly into the post. There is a Sticky in Photograph Gallery on how to do this.

 

Welcome to the forums and the world of TL. I have a NBP TL too and love it. There's nothing more satifying and beautiful than a freshly washed and waxed NBP TL. This is my third black car but it took me two bad experiences with chips on the front of the car to realize I should bite the bullet and get a clear bra. I would highly recommend you look into getting one installed before the chips accumulate. They look horrible on a black car as they really stand out.

Here's some pics of my car with the bra installed: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2059734

 

Hey Tex,
Welcome to the Forum. I have a CGP TSX (dark in its own right, my first dark car as well)

I used NXT for my first "major" detail in May and water still beads. When I do my next detail (soon I hope) I am going to polish before to see what results I get.

There are a lot of questions about the durability of the NXT, so I did buy the Speed Detailer. I use it after a wash, maybe every 3rd time. I do think that helps keep the NXT looking good.

Enjoy that car!! Don't keep it locked up in the garage...

 

If durability is an issue (Extreme heat, extreme laziness...) try putting Collinite 845IW on, THEN NXT paste. One word:


WOW

 

Hi All,

Just wanted to update you since I've now had the car for just about 4 months. Being my first Black car I have to say that it's been a bit easier than I had anticipated to keep looking showroom new. I wash it at the full service brushless automatic car wash about twice per week picking a normal wax package and having the "kids" dry the car off. I usually have to drive the car a few miles to the next self serve car wash and dry off a few of the "drips" that came out of the crevices with my micofiber towl, but that's about it. It seems to be worse just below the review mirrors and along the trim just below the doors. I also usually have to redow the windshield because it seems that spirts of water seem to come up from the tray that the windshild wipers sit in, but not to bad. Anyway, I've been experiementing with different products over the last few months (303, lexol, vinylx, woolite, etc.). I'll have to say that I've settled with using diluted woolite to remove surface dirt pretty much everwhere inside, I follow up with a dry towel so that nothing leaves a streak. I've used nothing else on the dash other than the woolite, I'm not a fan of using a product with protectant until absolutely necessary. I'm thinking that I'll probably not have to use anything for at least a couple of years on the dash other than the woolite followed by a dry towel. I then use lexol conditioner on all of the leather and vinyl seating surfaces. I've read that the lexol doesn't soak into the surfaces other than leather, but use a dry towel to follow up and it really leaves everthing looking great. I used lexol on my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee from the day I drove it off the showroom floor and when I sold it, the person buying it told me the seats and leather surfaces looked brand new. I would have to agree. I didn't clay my car before the first wax when I bought it, but I did before the second wax today. It was MUCH EASIER than I had anticipated. I used the ClayMagic kit and it was really, really easy. It took the whole kit, but I think it was well worth the extra $10. I washed the car at my favorite full service car wash today, clayed the car, then washed again with Meguires Gold Class, dried, and then waxed again with NXT Liquid wax. I had noticed some swirls before washing today and they all appeared to have disappered after waxing. After waxing I used NXT Quick detailer on the whole car and it hid some of my waxing imperfections and seemed to smooth out the whole finish. All said an done the car looked absolutely awesome when I was done. That being said I think I've settled on the products that I'm going to use on the car from this point forward. The day I bought the NXT I also ordered several mail order products since I didn't think I would be able to make up my mind. Price isn't really a factor since I still have $250 worth of mail order products sitting in the box. I tried the NXT stuff, liked it, and I'm not even going to experiment with the other stuff. All in all the car's been a great car, and I appreciate it more and more every day. I really enjoy reading the pleathora of information found on this site and I hope that everyone can benefit from the personal experiences of all Acura TL owners.

 

Texas,

great that you found a system that works for you. That's the most important thing.

A few notes for the future:

1. the kids drying your car are using the same towels on your car as they just used on that filthy pickup truck in front of you, so any remaining dirt on the truck that was transferred to the towels is going to get ground into your paint. You may want to pick up a couple of waffle weave towels and do the drying yourself.

2. the reason your light swirls dissappeared after using the NXT is because it has slight filler properties. The swirls will reappear after a couple of days or a week. They can only be removed by polishing. Having said that, if you start from a clean slate, and do your own drying, they won't appear again! Chances are, though, the guys drying your car are putting new swirls into the paint each time you get a wash/dry.

3. the idea behind the 303 on the dash, etc.. is that with once-a-month use, you will never get to the point where you actually SEE that you need to use a product. It's like sunscreen for vinyl. If you always wear sunscreen, you will never see skin damage. If you wait until you see redness, spots, tumors... It's too late to put on sunscreen. 303, if used properly does not leave that super-shiny look of armor all. Try it and if you don't like it, woolite it off!

 

Gotta agree with Stogie about using products that work for you. Seems like you're very happy with the results. He offered some great tips also. Let me add this tidbit to #3; the woolite solution is great for cleaning, but does not provide any type of protection. You would still need a protectant like 303 to protect your interior especially from UV exposure and damage.

 

 

Thanks for the advice!