Had the opportunity to detail a 06 Accord coupe in Nighthawk Black Pearl over the weekend. Boy, was it in poor condition.

Swirls, scratches, chips,... you name it, it had it.

This was just a quick job though.... nothing special. The owner only cared about getting rid of/minimizing the swirls.

This is what the paint looked like when I picked up the car. It had been washed 3 or 4 days prior.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee100/azuser/DSC00011a.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee100/azuser/DSC00015a.jpg


After washing the car with Meguiars Gold Class soap using the 2 bucket method and grit guards. Yup, the swirls were pretty bad... so bad that the blue flakes were being obscured by them; The paint was pretty dull too.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee100/azuser/DSC00018a.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee100/azuser/DSC00020a.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee100/azuser/DSC00021a.jpg


After washing it, I could feel the grittiness in the paint so I decided to clay it. I used a medium grade gray clay and Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine as lube.

The paint had a lot of contaminants in it... more than I expected. This is what the clay looked like after doing only half of the trunk lid. http://www.acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/yikes.gif

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee100/azuser/DSC00016a.jpg

The rest of the car wasn't much better.


Once I was done claying the entire car, I went to work on polishing it with my PC 7424. I used an orange pad with Menzerna PO106FF then finished it with a white pad and Menzerna PO85RD.

For the LSP, I decided to use a carnauba wax (Chemical Guys XXX Hard Core paste wax) instead of a sealant to try and give it some depth and gloss. Once the wax hazed, it was buffed using Chemical Guys Pro Detailer + 1x Carnauba as an aid (this stuff smells yummy http://www.acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/yum.gif).

By the time I finished, the sun was already coming down so I couldn't really get any good shots, especially of the paint with the beautiful blue flakes in it... so these will have to suffice. But believe me, as I was laying the wax down, the sun hit the paint at the right angle and WOW.... the blue flakes were popping out. I have to say that NBP is an awesome color... never really appreciated it until now.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee100/azuser/DSC00022a.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee100/azuser/DSC00023a.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee100/azuser/DSC00025a.jpg



As a side note, I think it's time to upgrade to the FLEX or perhaps even go all out and get the Makita??? The PC just doesn't seem to be as efficient anymore....

Oh, and I definitely need to get some better compounds. SIP or M105 would have come in handy for a few panels.

Wow, great results! Where do you get your clay from? Would have loved seeing some after sun pics but oh well. Nice picture with the girl showing some leg. :naughty:

Wow, great results! Where do you get your clay from?

It's from Meguiars. Amazon has it at a great price (http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-C-2000-Professional-Detailing-Clay/dp/B0002NYE5W).

Nice picture with the girl showing some leg. :naughty:

:D

damn!! that's a big difference in the before and after!!!!

I need to get mine done as well

very nice

great job :thmsup:

Awesome job. I'm going to do this to my 05 NHBP car, if it looks half as good as your job then I'll be happy.

Awesome job. I'm going to do this to my 05 NHBP car, if it looks half as good as your job then I'll be happy.

I think what really transformed the paint is the polishing step. So hopefully you have an electric high quality polisher, menzerma polishes(2 step) with some orange and white pads.