Recommend products for swirl removal on 2008 Nighthawk Black Pearl Honda Civic using DA buffer?

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My 2008 Nighthawk (Nightmare?) Black pearl Honda has never been driven in rain or snow, but it recently lost its garage space and is now exposed to the elements. The paint has always been sealed and while it has good gloss, the dreaded spider webs and holograms are now visible.

I've used a variety of Meg's products with good results but after reading through many posts it seems people recommend Menzerna, Wolfgang's, Pinnacle etc. My goal is to remove the surface imperfections in preparation for sealing the paint.

I want a blemish-free finish but I'm also willing to sacrifice a bit in exchange for convenience. Some posts suggest claying, then swirl removal, then polishing, before waxing or sealing. No doubt that would produce excellent results, but for my purposes I am considering just using Menzerna PF 2500 or Pinnacle XMT Ultrafine Swirl Remover with a DA buffer prior to applying sealant.

What would you recommend? Please include suggestions for just single-step or multi-step approaches, with your preferred products.

Thanks!

[dooyaunastan]

Honda's generally have softer clear coats, so PF2500 might be perfect, but could be overkill. I've seen a user achieve dramatic correction results on his red Accord with just M205 so there's always that to consider. You'll also want to be wary of micro marring from overly aggressive products, especially with black paint.

I don't think you'll be needing MF pads, and unless you have an air compressor handy I'd think they would be more of a burden to clean than foam pads.

I'd suggest the Lake Country flat pads for starters, Orange for cutting, White for polishing. A black or two if you want to apply your LSP via machine.

Always perform a test spot first, using your least aggressive pad/product combo and increasing aggressiveness until you achieve the results you desire. For instance, if you had M105, M205, LC flat whites, and LC flat oranges, you would first start off with M205 on an LC flat white pad. If this doesn't do the job, try M205 on an LC flat orange pad. If that doesn't do it, you may need to try M105 on a white pad and then an orange and so on and so forth.

Menzerna's PF2500 is probably somewhere in between M105 and M205 as far as aggressiveness goes, I'm not sure in relation to the Pinnacle products.

Most importantly, there's no point in investing all this time and money into polishing your car's paint if you're not going to have quality microfiber towels to wipe the residues off scratch and marring free.

I tried to be somewhat general with answering your questions but if you need any clarification I'll be glad to try and help you out, not to mention others inputs you will likely receive.

[BlackHawk]

i believe there was someone here that did a correction on a accord with just a black pad and m205. So i would stay away from medium level polishes, and go with things a little on the downside, knowing how soft the clear is on your car.

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Thanks for the quick and very helpful reply. You read my mind, as my next question was whose microfiber towels to use. I suspect the ones I've been using from Costco are not quite up to snuff. Please let me know what you recommend.

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i believe there was someone here that did a correction on a accord with just a black pad and m205. So i would stay away from medium level polishes, and go with things a little on the downside, knowing how soft the clear is on your car.
Thank you Blackhawk. Just as dooyaunastan suggested, I will take your collective advice and start with the least aggressive cut on a small, least conspicuous section and see what results before moving to anything stronger (only if needed).

[CriticalDetails]

When performing a one step paint correction on a Honda I use Menzerna Final Finish 3000 on a white pad. Final Finish will eliminate swirls and leave the paint LSP ready. However if you have RIDS you will need to use Power Finish 2500 or in my case Intensive Polish 2000 on an orange pad.

The Costco towels are a great bargain and can be used on the paint. I use them for polish removal and in my emergency bird bomb removal kit. Costco towels are also great for door jambs, engine compartment and interior cleaning also. I wouldn't advise drying or quick detailing with them though.

To be honest if you drive a black vehicle with soft clear coat daily you cannot keep it defect free for more than a few months. Eventually it will get dirty enough that you will have some wash induced marring that only you will ever notice. After driving a black Jeep for the last 7 years I eventually came to terms that some swirls are better than a lot of swirls.

You should consider Opti-Coating your Civic it will help you maintain your sanity. I Opti-Coated my Jeep 3 years ago and haven't polished it since. Before Opti-Coat I was polishing every year to remove water spots and swirl marks.

[psynx]

I use to have a 2012 Honda fit Nighthawk black pearl ad well and I had great success with up and uc.
I tried the d300 with mf discs and it hazed it pretty bad.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using AG Online

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Critical Details, thank you for the advice. Although the car is driven infrequently, and even then, only in dry weather on dry roads, I notice that even after the most careful hand washing with a lambs wool mit, some swirls appear. Or maybe just by looking at it cross eyed - it's nuts.

Thanks to everyone's much appreciated replies I now know that the Honda's soft clear coat finish is a bear to maintain, so I will prep the paint every 4 - 6 months before applying LSP with my DA buffer. On the other hand your suggestion for the optical seal is a possibility.

Thanks again and BTW what a hip avatar!

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Thank you psynx. I plan to start with ld and use lc only if needed. I already have enough swirls, light as they may be!

[SanmerDetailing]

I did a swirl and scratch removal on a Honda Accord last month using Poorboy's Polish with Carnauba on a polishing pad with a Bigfoot.

[Lost Highway]

I'm used to DAT polishes and have been primarily using Menz PF2500/203S or SF4000 on Hondas. I recently started using SONAX Perfect Finish 4/6 and I think it may replace the Menz polishes for me on soft paints - more cut than SF4000/106FA but finishes just as well. I usually use Buff & Shine green or black pads.
Friends who are more comfortable with SMAT polishes than I am get good results with Meguiars M205 on Hondas.
I have also heard positive comments from people I trust about Scholl Concepts S20 Blue and Dodo Juice Supernatural Micro Prime on soft paints but I have not personally used these or seen the results. I just got some Micro Prime but haven't used it yet. I'm sure I'll buy S20 Blue when it is available in the USA as I like S3 Gold, S17+ and S40 from Scholl.

Edit: Forgot the towels part - I've had the best luck with PakShak but the Korean towels from MicroFiberTech are also very good. I also can recommend the Autofiber Zero Edge towels and Zero Cuff wash mitt that MicrofiberTech sells (Auto Detailing Solutions also carries them). I hear very good things about Poorboys DMT towels but haven't used them. I'm sure the Microfiber Madness towels are excellent or CarPro US wouldn't be carrying them but they are definitely not cheap. I'm sort of a MF towel junky, although not as bad as Cooter, and these are what have liked best out of dozens of different towels.

[ksigna]

I recently worked on an Acura RL with soft paint. I did a 1 step with Duragloss 501 and a white pad with great results. I have also used Sonax Paint cleaner with a black LC flat pad with good results on a Lexus. I also add a little Optimum no rinse to my wash solution. Hope that helps.
Kyle

[ksigna]

I just want to add to my previous post. The AIO's I used didn't give the 100% correction you might be after but they made a huge difference with just using 1 step.
Kyle

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Thank you SanmerDetailing.

[J504]

Check out this Nighthawk Black TL I did a while back.

2010 Acura TL Nighthawk Black Pearl - Autopia Forums - Auto Detailing & Car Care Discussion Forum (http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/detailers-showcase/42367-2010-acura-tl-nighthawk-black-pearl.html)

You can compare how bad your swirls are to the TL. If you only have light swirls, I would suggest something like m205 or HD polish and a tangerine polishing pad or white LC pad to get the job done. :xyxthumbs:

Edit- Forgot about the towels also. I used Pakshak silver surfers for all compound and polish removal. I then used MFT's blue 530 gsm towels for sealant removal.