Make It Shine: 2003 Civic Type S

kaval · 06-06-09, 09:43

A very good client and friend of mine recently purchased a new-to-him car. I've detailed his old car a few times and almost purchased it a couple of months ago!

This new vehicle is a 2003 Civic Coupe with a full RSX Type S drivetrain, suspension, interior, etc. Basically everything that could be transferred from the RSX-S into the Civic was done. The car was built a few years back and used solely as a show car for a local shop called Foreign Speed to showcase the work, so it was subjected to a lot of wipedowns and contamination from sitting in storage. I had seen this car a couple of months before the detail and the paint looked very good. I thought SIP on a white pad would be able to take care of everything. However, after washing with CWG, the whole game plan was shattered. Holograms and deep nicks covered the paint and took away a LOT of gloss.

I knew SIP on white would not take care of this damage, so I tried SIP on PFW. It took about 4 passes before I was happy but still left traces of fine nicks behind. I decided the best way to remove everything would be to pull out M105 and make 2-3 passes. This particular Honda paint colour is harder than usual so M105 finished down very well.

After M105, I made one light pass with Menzerna Power Finish on a white pad at 1400rpm, gradually bringing it down in speed to 1000rpm. Following this FPII at 1200rpm on a Black pad was used to jewel the finish. The following pictures are after a foam wash, and sealing with Collinite 476S. Tires were dressed with Opti-Bond and rims sealed with Opti-Seal. Exhaust tip was polished with #0000 Steel Wool and P21S Finish Restorer, followed by P21S again with a microfiber.

Afters:

The powerhouse:

Interior will be next, but not for a couple of weeks.

Thanks for looking!

Kaval

UPDATE
Last week I had the chance to do the interior of the car and do a little work on the outside again. Car was foamed, and hand washed with Maxi Suds and dried with the blotting technique. The 476S was still beading like crazy! Car was topped with Opti-Seal.

kaval · 06-08-09, 02:38

Here's a teaser of my next post:

resek · 06-08-09, 05:37

Very nice results !
Looking very wet !

Thanks for sharing !

JKR · 06-10-09, 09:58

looks good...that gas station looks like the one down the street from my girls house! brampton?

kaval · 06-11-09, 04:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by resek

Very nice results !
Looking very wet !

Thanks for sharing !

Thanks resek!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JKR

looks good...that gas station looks like the one down the street from my girls house! brampton?

Thanks. You are correct. Shoot me a PM.

Dragons4life · 06-11-09, 06:40

wow nicely done..btw...even with type-S parts..the real type-s looks lot nicer though hahaha.

gamby · 06-11-09, 09:07

Interesting car, no doubt. Ludicrously expensive to do back in '03 and I'm sure it was still pricey to do recently.

That car was a MESS when you got it. Anotehr animal w/ a rotary. Terrible. You did a beautiful recovery, for sure.

kaval · 06-13-09, 01:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragons4life

wow nicely done..btw...even with type-S parts..the real type-s looks lot nicer though hahaha.

Thanks!
Haha! To each their own I guess. I think they built this car to be unique, which it has definitely achieved.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamby

Interesting car, no doubt. Ludicrously expensive to do back in '03 and I'm sure it was still pricey to do recently.

That car was a MESS when you got it. Anotehr animal w/ a rotary. Terrible. You did a beautiful recovery, for sure.

Thanks a lot!

It still is pricey to do the swap, but I guess it depends what you're after. The K20R is a lot more, but the K20A2 and Z1s aren't as much. Keep in mind that 200whp on a stock 2.0 motor is pretty impressive especially since it retains 100% Honda reliability.

ES08xlt · 06-13-09, 08:49

been looking to see if a shop ever made a em2 like that. perfect sleeper as long as you dont miss shift that k20a

kaval · 08-13-09, 08:25

Just thought I would update this thread. Last week I had the chance to do the interior, and the owner wished to have the car washed and sealed. With the great weather, I was able to get some better pictures which are also in the first post:

Car was foamed, and hand washed with Maxi Suds and dried with the blotting technique. The 476S was still beading like crazy! Car was topped with Opti-Seal.

OTG Signs · 08-13-09, 10:10

So where did he find a car like this for sale?

bufferbarry · 08-13-09, 10:25

thats a intersting acura civic there lol! kaval great work as always man. that next one looks like a lot of fun buddy good luck!