JLTSX07

Hey all,

Well, I finally got around to detailing my 2007 Acura TSX today. I think that it went fairly well, but no matter what I do, I can't really get the paint to "pop." It looks good in the sun, but I see all of these detailers on this forum that produce these unbelievable reflections, and I just can't understand what I'm doing wrong. I do have yet to try detailing with my Porter Cable, but today I did the following by hand.

1. Washed with Optimum No Rinse.
2. Clayed with Meguiars smooth kit.
3. Applied Meguiars Swirl-X by hand to the entire car (had some swirling/spider webbing).
4. Applied Meguiars NXT 2.0.
5. Applied Optimum Car Spray Wax

The Clay step was a lot of fun. I've never done this before, and I couldn't believe the amount of crap that came off the car. It was amazing how much smoother it was when I waxed afterwards, especially the paint right behind the tires.

Here's my question. I noticed major streaking after applying the Optimum Car Spray Wax. What did I do wrong? Also, how do I remove the streaking?

Lastly, is it bad to apply the aersol tire shine after you've waxed the car? I guess my question is, will the wind pick up the aersol spray and get the car all full of that crap?

Now, onto the pics. Any advice/tips/suggestions would be great. I'm totally new to this, and I'd appreciate everyones thoughts. I plan on doing my next detail with my G100. I just wanted to get a feel for everything before I brought that out

PortlandRL

It looks good but the 'pop' you refer to comes from a combination of factors; machine polishing and the correct choice of LSPs. I stopped using spray-on tire dressing a year or so ago due to the concerns you expressed. And I agree...there is something very carnal and satisfying about claying.

I'll let the more professional detailers pop in to give you advice.

JLTSX07

Yup, that's what I figured! The G-100 will be coming out next detail (prob in a month or so). Like I said, I just wanted to get an idea of how the products work, etc. I'm very new at this... I'm still a little hestiant to use the G-100, but after this detail, I think I'm a little bit more comfortable.

Anyway, I'd love to hear some suggestions on what to use, and in what order to get this color to really "POP"

Lastly, how much more reflective could this color get than how it currently is?

exceldetail

Jeff, you really have to step up to the plate to compete/mimmick big boy shine and appearance. Its going to take a R/O at least my friend. A great polish for dark colors, Im finding is the new Optimum Finish Polish. Man does it bring out some glass........Im saving pics for the 7 series.....
What are you trying (other then "more paint bling") to remedy, whats the condition of the paint now? Its hard to recommend anything if were not sure where to start.

Denzil

iTrader: (1)

The pop you're looking for refers to paint correction using a random orbital or rotary machine. The streaking could be the result of a few things but in your situation I would think that you may be applying too much product... were you working in the sun? Also, I don't care for aerosol tire shine products for tires but for wheel wells (i.e. Armor All Tire Foam), they're okay in my book.

Other than that, your results look good. Once you move on to the G100, you won't look back.

You'd probably be fine with a white pad and Optimum Polish followed by a black pad and Optimum Finish. If you need more correction power, an orange pad and Optimum Polish should do the job for your Acura paint.

To answer you final question, it can get very reflective and deep! I just did my Integra. Click here.

bAek-sU

it would be best if you look for water base tire dressing and get some better polish(like what ppl said above). i would recommand Danese Wet Glaze and 4*upp, you could get it from Pat (Exceldetail)

mrclrider

some of the streaking could be from the Nxt wax. I had some problems on my car till I really dug down deep in the Megs forums looking for answers. They can't stress enough about a very very thin coat of the product on the care, and also the drying/curing times. You may not have let it cure enough, i'm not saying you didn't though, but for me last fall, it sometimes was an hour or so before the swipe test was good. So the smearing could be the Nxt, not the spray.

Also for the tires, if you would to need to keep using the spray, don't forget to wipe down the wheels when you are done, if you already do thats awesome, but i'm sure you know it attracts ALOT of brake dust. I love using a paint brush with most any tire product, keeps the hands from getting nasty from an applicator sponge, and helps get down into all the little details of the tire....just my .02

mrclrider

car does look very good though!!

JLTSX07

Thanks for the comments guys!

Like Patrick and others have mentioned, I need to step up my polish. I do have Fourstar UPP (sealant) that I purchased from Patrick awhile back. Now, I just need some decent polish. The paint seems to be in pretty good condition (can you tell by the pics, or not really), so I'm thinking that some Optimum should work. Do I need just one Optimum polish, or do I need the Optimum polish and finish?

Lastly, could I wash, (think I can skip the clay part since I just did it), and then do the optimum polish, followed by the optimum finish, and then the four star UPP? All of this would be done this time with the G-100. Does that sound good? If i'm miissing steps, someone please feel free to fill me in. Also, patrick, please let me know which compounds I need to order from you

Also, I do have 2 W8006 soft buff 1.0 pads, 2 W9006 1.0 soft buff pads, and 2 W7006 (Cutting pads) that I got with the G-100. Will those suffice, or do I need something better?

It will be neat to see some comparison pictures between my handwork and the machine

Thanks again!

Jeff

mrclrider

I think from what I read from Patrick, the OPT finish replaces the polish. Doing the polish then the finish from what I understand would be redundent. If you are doing just your car, the pads you currently have should be just fine, just remember to not mix product from pad to pad, and from what I read, you will probably never use your 7006 pads. You will be so amazed the difference from Hand to PC, you will look back and think about why you did it by hand for so long and didn't pony up the money for the pc.

007Acura

great job! it looks perfect

Denzil

iTrader: (1)

Um, it depends on what kind of look you want really. You wouldn't really need OF as OP finishes down pretty nicely but if you want that extra bit of gloss and depth, you'll definitely want the OF. However it if were up to me, I'd definitely go for that extra bit of gloss.

You can definitely skip the claying part since you did it fairly recently but it wouldn't hurt to do it again to ensure that your paint's surface is perfectly (as much as possible) is clean before you take a polish to it. Your steps of using OP followed by OF and finished with UPP is definitely the right way. I really don't think you'll be needing a compound for your vehicle so hold off on it for now until you get a better grip of the G100 and understand how the polishes work. You're best approach would probably be using OP with the 8006 followed by OF with the 9006.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. I think you'll be able to tell the difference in your results between hand polishing and machine polishing.

Yeah, OF doesn't really "replace" OP but you can if you wanted to, LoL. OP followed by OF could be considered redundant but if you really want that extra bit of gloss, you really have to follow up your medium polish with a very fine finishing polish. Some claim to not be able to tell the difference and some do. I think it really depends on the vehicle but IME, I have been able to tell the difference most of the time.

SweetJazz

Your car looks very good from your photos. The reflections you have mentioned also has alot to do with.......

1. Color of the paint. Darker cars (black) tend to have better reflectivity than lighter (silver/white) cars.
2. Amount of orange peel in the facotry paint. This is a large factor in achieving a true mirror finish. Orange peel distorts reflected images and is the one item I hate most about Acura paint finishes.
3. As mentioned previously, machine polishing will give you the best finish possible with what you have to work with. Acura paint is not the best quality OEM paint IMO. Newer Audi and Lexus cars tend to have OEM paints that allow for the true mirror reflections we all want to see.