Acura TSX - Pearl White Paint Correction

[Alekss]

First of all, I have to say it was not easy working with PW simply because it hides imperfections well. I was using my bicycle lights in order to get the right angle and to see damage clearly.
The car itself is a 5yr old TSX that has never been polished. The paint has seen regular car washes. Other than that, the vehicle is in excellent condition.
Even though I didn't take any pictures of the IRON-X application, I found that it helped immensely with decontamination as the paint was embedded with iron deposits. Therefore the process was:

Wash
IRON-X
Wash
Clay
Menzerna FG400 on Tangarine 6.5" for large panels and on Cyan Hydrotech 5.5" for smaller panels
Menzerna FF300 on White CCS 6.5" and Orange Hydrotech 5.5"
Opticoat

This was my first time using Opticoat. I have to say the product itself is easy to apply but the lighting is the key. I believe I applied enough, even though I still had some left in the syringe after I was done.

Onto the pictures:

Start with the product I used:



Damage on driver's side door:



Shot of the trunk lid. Probably one of the worst looking panels on this car:


More damage shown here:



Now, here's the lid after 5 passes with FG400. Still some minor marks on there but quite an improvement:



Right Tail light before and After FG400:



After:



Here's the "beak" or the grille section. Obviously the taped off section did not see any product. You can see that one scratch still remained as I didn't want to go too deep with the product.



I noticed a lot of dusting with FG400...normal??



This is how I improvised with my bike lights:



Cleaning pads on the fly:



Still minor marks left after 5-6 passes with FG400:



FF3000 took care of that:



Using the eraser to remove any oils prior to Opticoat application:




The finished product:





The other Acura's door handle as seen in mine:



In the sun...baking Opticoat:



I guess, Opticoat being put to the test:


Couldn't get any reflection shots with PW:

[DetailedByPrecision]

Nice job. Any reason why you preferred to use the yellow foam applicator pad for Gloss Coat instead of other methods?

[PreludeVTEC01]

Great work. What a turn around. It's really shining now!

[custmsprty]

[MIsnowman]

Looks great. The before and after step by step shots are really neat.

BTW, that tripod/light contraption on the windshield looks like an accident waiting to happen. I don't think that would buff out.

[MitchLiving]

How did you like the FLEX???

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Very nice transformation on the white TSX! It looks great now.

FG400 should not dust much at all. A few things could be going on. Compounding with too much speed, too hot outside, or a combination of both.

Have you had a chance to read through an article I put together?
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...brid-pads.html

[Alekss]

Have you had a chance to read through an article I put together?
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...brid-pads.html

Mike, I noticed in your post you run the polisher at 3-4 speed while making 6-8 passes?
I ran mine at speed 5 making 5 passes. So faster speed less passes.
I will try this next time

Nice job. Any reason why you preferred to use the yellow foam applicator pad for Gloss Coat instead of other methods?

It was my first time using opticoat and simply I was curious to see how it works with this applicator. I've seen videos of guys using MF towels?

How did you like the FLEX???

Really nice tool...after all, it's German

Looks great. The before and after step by step shots are really neat.

BTW, that tripod/light contraption on the windshield looks like an accident waiting to happen. I don't think that would buff out.

Totally agree...I made sure it's solid before proceeding to polish.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Mike, I noticed in your post you run the polisher at 3-4 speed while making 6-8 passes?
I ran mine at speed 5 making 5 passes. So faster speed less passes.
I will try this next time.

For me, I have tested too see how FG400 behaves on speed 6 and it became completely useless for me. I got about two passes before it dusted like crazy and was spent.

Try slowing down the 3401 to speed 3-4 and see how it works for you.