'11 TSX Detail

[gofast182]

I spent a good chunk of today detailing my parents' TSX (yes we both have one). The color is Forged Silver, it's a cool silver, almost blue in certain light. Anyway they haven't waxed it since they got it because they had the dealership put on Simoniz GlassCoat which is supposed to last for 3 years. I finally convinced them that was a load of [censored] and they let me have at it.


Products used:
P21S Total Auto Wash - Engine bay
Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner - Wheels
Optimum Car Wash - Tires/wheels/wheel wells & Body (separate buckets)
Nanoskin Autoscub Fine Pad - Body
Nanoskin Glide - Body (with Autoscub Pad)
Collinite 845 - Body
Adam's Invisible Undercarriage Spray - Wheel wells
Adam's Super VRT - Tires/engine bay/cowl trim

Misc: two-bucket method with grit guards, Uber double-sided MF towels, Porter Cable 7424XP, Lake County black finishing pad


*Note there's a reddish artifact in my camera that show up repeatedly, it's not on the car.*


Dirty barrels and rotor hats. Not allowed here.

Dirty jambs not allowed here, either. My stepdad usually cleans these, must not have washed her in a while.

Engine bay a little dirty, we'll clean that right up.

Crud in the cowl well. Yuck.

Finish is in decent shape but there are a few spots and surface contaminants.

Washing wheels with Optimum post Sonax Full Effect. Together with a wheel brush the two work wonders. Look at that dirt melt away!

Viola!

This bucket of dirty water is from the jambs alone! The trunk jamb was especially cruddy.

Now that's a clean engine! This was actually before wiping the rubber and plastic with Adam's Super VRT. It looks like it's right off the assembly line now.

Getting my Autoscrub on!

Collinite removal reveals a great shine!

Reflection!

More reflection!

Note the "invisible undercarriage" (makes wheel wells 'disappear') and the finish on the tires. These are stellar products from Adam's.

No more leaves or gunk!

Finished! Time to clean up.

 

[4D-56]

Shes a beauty!....Nice work.

 

[DoiInthanon]

Awesome. That is gleaming.

 

[The Critic]

Looks great for a clean-up and seal. I also really liked the format of your post - it was very clear and concise.

Next time, you should try some Iron-X paste before the Nanoskin. It will make the process much quicker. Send me a PM with your address and I can send you some.

Also, what's the dilution for Optimum Car Wash? I am curious how economical it is compared to the $11/gal that I pay for Meg GC at Costco.

 

[gofast182]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Looks great for a clean-up and seal. I also really liked the format of your post - it was very clear and concise.

Next time, you should try some Iron-X paste before the Nanoskin. It will make the process much quicker. Send me a PM with your address and I can send you some.

Also, what's the dilution for Optimum Car Wash? I am curious how economical it is compared to the $11/gal that I pay for Meg GC at Costco.

Thanks guys and thanks Mr. Critic!

That's very kind of you but I'll need to order some more stuff soon so I'll get some Iron-X then. Is it harsh on the finish, will it remove wax? Not that it matters much because if I'm using the Autoscub pad, I'll be waxing/sealing anyway.

When doing wheels and wheel wells I use 2 capfulls with 3.5 gallons of water when washing the body I use 3 capfulls with 4-4.5 gallons. Each dilution I do uses slightly less wash than Optimum suggests. Overall the Optimum wash works very well and smells nice but I'm not certain it's worth extra money if you can't find it for a comparable price to what you use now. For example, before getting the Optimum I just finished with a bottle of Mother's California Gold Carnauba Wash and Wax which worked just as well as the Optimum, although it didn't smell as nice. I guess what I'm saying is I'd get the Optimum again but not if the price isn't good.

 

[gofast182]

BTW anyone have experience with Simoniz GlassCoat? Even though I convinced them to let me clean the car I'm not sure they still don't believe the dealer's promise (with warranty) that it lasts for 3 years. Total B S as far as I'm concerned. There's only one product I know of that can last that long, Optimum Opti-Coat 2, and it's fairly new to the market. Anyway they resisted doing anything to the finish out of fear of voiding this warranty. I thought it silly to let the finish become vulnerable to damage for the sake of preserving a warranty to fix it when the goal should be to protect it so you don't have to do any intensive correction in the first place.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: gofast182
BTW anyone have experience with Simoniz GlassCoat?


I didn't know they were still in business. Did it seem like there was any protection on the paint at all?

 

[gofast182]

Originally Posted By: satinsilver
Originally Posted By: gofast182
BTW anyone have experience with Simoniz GlassCoat?


I didn't know they were still in business. Did it seem like there was any protection on the paint at all?

Not really. Water didn't bead on the finish (except underneath the mirrors) and there was a decent amount of resistance particularly when dragging the chamois across after washing and also some when wiping the Glide off of the panels I just hit with the Autoscub pad (it wasn't rough, just not slick).

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: gofast182
Thanks guys and thanks Mr. Critic!

That's very kind of you but I'll need to order some more stuff soon so I'll get some Iron-X then. Is it harsh on the finish, will it remove wax? Not that it matters much because if I'm using the Autoscub pad, I'll be waxing/sealing anyway.


It does seem to noticeably weaken any existing protection, but it will not remove it completely. My understanding is that it is paint safe, but the fumes are pretty terrible.

Originally Posted By: gofast182

Not really. Water didn't bead on the finish (except underneath the mirrors) and there was a decent amount of resistance particularly when dragging the chamois across after washing and also some when wiping the Glide off of the panels I just hit with the Autoscub pad (it wasn't rough, just not slick).


Many coatings are designed to sheet, rather than bead. Did you witness any sheeting? The glasscoat sounds very similar to 22PLE or Cquartz, as most glass coatings have a 2-3 year lifespan.

 

[gofast182]

There was no sheeting, either. The water would just rest on the finish with the drops kind of collapsing on themselves and spreading out.

 

[Turk]

Flippin' nice!!!

Now you gotta wax that windshield so the towel slips down...

 

[gofast182]

Thanks!!

I went back after cleaning up and put Rain-X on the windshield (it was never treated before). Also I got a little bit ahead of myself in that final pic there's still wax on the rims, they're shinier now.

 

[RTexasF]

Very nice work and a fine thing to do for your parents. If I'm not mistaken the Glasscoat requires additional applications during the contract period. Check the fine print on their contract.

 

[gofast182]

Thank you, Texas! That's interesting and more along the lines of what I suspected. I know they have the paperwork filed away somewhere, if it comes up again I'll have them look.

 

[gofast182]

Rain. It was bound to happen sooner or later.