Years of auto car wash...

[NguyenAdam]

So I'm getting ready to detail my girlfriends car. (Keep in mind that I'm a beginner) Its a 2009 TSX in Grigio Metallic. Shes brought it through automatic car washes for the entire life of the car. Paint is in very rough condition. What should I be in for when approaching the car?

-Meguiars clay
-Meguiars Ultimate Compound
-Meguiars Ultimate Polish
-Menzerna Powerlock
-?

Any other input is appreciated. :xyxthumbs:

[7PaintGuns]

By hand or machine?

[NguyenAdam]

Going to compound and polish by machine. Sealant by hand.

[7PaintGuns]

Could you be more specific with you question?

[fly07sti]

What machine will you be using and how much experience do you have with it? A full correction on a car can be Very labor intensive, especially when you're just starting out. I recommend taking your time and work on your technique. Make sure to check each section with a light source so you don't go and buff the whole car after your test spot to only find out there's still swirls or hazing.

[Heisenberg]

I recently did a full correction of my TSX - it's a 2010. I think you've got a good game plan, just make sure to do a test spot. The majority of the defects in my car came out with just M205(which is close to on par with ultimate polish) The paint is very soft.

http://i.imgur.com/pLioc9J.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TLrhYsa.jpg

[dlc95]

Check this thread out:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/50162-how-do-test-spot.html

This is the best place to start.

[NguyenAdam]

What machine will you be using and how much experience do you have with it? A full correction on a car can be Very labor intensive, especially when you're just starting out. I recommend taking your time and work on your technique. Make sure to check each section with a light source so you don't go and buff the whole car after your test spot to only find out there's still swirls or hazing.

Plan on getting the Griot Garage. Don't have much experience with it. Yeah I intend to take my time on this car. Its in pretty bad shape.

[NguyenAdam]

I recently did a full correction of my TSX - it's a 2010. I think you've got a good game plan, just make sure to do a test spot. The majority of the defects in my car came out with just M205(which is close to on par with ultimate polish) The paint is very soft.



Your car before is still in much better shape than hers is. Lol. I've got alot ahead of me.

Did you ever have trouble buffing the edge of the headlights where a small part is recessed? I restored her headlights, but I did it by hand using the 3M headlight kit. I'm gonna go back at it with the machine to get better results.

[Klasse Act]

Meg's Ultimate Compound is going to blow you away! The GG RO is what I've been using for over 4 years and an orange pad and speed setting of about 4 to 4.5 should work wonders on that soft Japanese paint, looking forward to seeing the paint!

There's a DVD that comes with the GG kit and its very helpful and funny as well, will put your mind at ease, trust me, been there, done that[emoji106]

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

[RTexasF]

Good advice here. I'll (hopefully) add to it with this...........don't make the beginner's mistake of not ordering enough pads with your new Griot's machine. Many think the whole car can be done with a single pad, not so!

Once you do the test spot and find the combination that works best you may need up to a half dozen of that particular pad for the entire car.

[damaged442]

I went with XMT 360 on my CBP 09 TSX. I was using PC with white 5.5" LC CCS pads. Worked very well.

[Mantilgh]

Good advice here. I'll (hopefully) add to it with this...........don't make the beginner's mistake of not ordering enough pads with your new Griot's machine. Many think the whole car can be done with a single pad, not so!

Once you do the test spot and find the combination that works best you may need up to a half dozen of that particular pad for the entire car.

Yep, never hurts to have extra when learning. I over heated and sunk the center of two of mine when first trying them out and had another defective one separate.

You could always work on a body panel or two at a time though if you don't have the spare time to do it all in one shot. That way you have some time to think over and refine your process and ask questions here if you are having issues before you try another section or redo ones you done to get better results.

[GSKR]

Uber will take care of that real quick.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Hi Adam, welcome to AutoGeekOnline!

The Griots Garage 6" orbital is a great machine to start out with. Which pads did you have in mind? May I suggest the new Meguiar's 5" DA foam pads. I would order 2 6packs. This gives you a total of 12 pads. I mix it up to 5 cutting, 5 polishing, and two finishing. This way you have enough pads on hand to take care of the car.
Meguiars 5 Inch DA Foam Discs 6 Pack (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-5-inch-da-foam-discs-6pk.html)

Don't forget to pair them with a 5" backing plate such as the Meguiar's DBP5 5" plate.
Meguiars Soft Buff DBP5 DA Polisher 5 inch Backing Plate (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-w67da-5-inch-backing-plate.html)


I would first start out with the yellow polishing pad and Ultimate Polish as a test spot and check the results to see how well it performed. This may be all that is required. If need be you can step it up by switching out pads or product to get more or less cut.