1991 black Acura NSX - quick writeup - Esoteric Auto Detail

[TSC17]

This 1991 Acura NSX (first year produced) came to me all the way from Indianapolis for a major restoration detail. The owner drove 3.5 hours to bring it to me, then hung out in Columbus for the weekend, and drove 3.5 hours back after I was finished. The weather had been looking a bit sketchy on the final day, but we got lucky and the rain held off for his drive home.



For a 19 year old car with 16K on the clock, it was actually in pretty good condition. There had been some previous paintwork done to it and the body shop left me with sanding pigtails and other issues to deal with, but otherwise it wasn`t as bad as you may expect. Having said that though, the paint was very finicky to deal with. Despite fully prepping the surface, I found that it took very aggressive means to get rid of the defects, yet with even light pressure it would mar the finish. It was like a combination of rock-hard Audi paint combined with BMW Jet Black. It took a bit of an odd combination of polishes/pads to get it to finish down the way I needed, and I spent 11 hours on the compounding stage alone with wool and Megs M105. To finish I used Menzerna PO203S on an orange pad with the PC7424XP. Final stages were Chemical Guys EZ Creme Glaze, and then followed by Blackfire Wet Diamond Sealant.



Before photos:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7491.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7483.jpg



There were a few major defects on the hood that I needed to do a little wetsanding on.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7497.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7498.jpg



This was after compounding with M105 and wool:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7500.jpg



The next two shots are after testing with PO203S/orange/PC. I found my winning combo for this particular paint.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7501.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7502.jpg



Before:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7504.jpg



After:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7505.jpg



Pigtails from previous D/A sanding done on the car:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7511.jpg



After several passes with wool/compound, but before finish polishing:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7514.jpg



Plenty of clarity restored:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7509.jpg

After shots:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7520.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7529.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7540.jpg



It was mostly cloudy out, so I couldn`t get really good outside or direct sun shots. Correction level was in the 90-95% range.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7552.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7600.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7597.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7585.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7555.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7568.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7591.jpg



Given the amount of time involved, and the efforts that the owner went through to have me work on his car, I gave him a t-shirt!

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/tsc17/91%20Acura%20NSX/IMG_7601.jpg



Total time involved was right at 22 hours.



Thanks as always!

[Nagz]

Great job Todd, that`s one wet looking NSX :2thumbs: What product did you use to dress the tires?



I need to get my hands on some CG EZ-Creme...

[Thomas Dekany]

Another amazing detail Todd! Looks beautiful now.



Hey DJ did a black one as well! You too are brothers.

[dmw2692004]

very nice work! That black looks soo wett!



Do you leave a towel in the car(passenger seat, last pic)?

[Thomas Dekany]

very nice work! That black looks soo wett!



Do you leave a towel in the car(passenger seat, last pic)?



Read the post - he gave the client a free t shirt.

[imported_DJ Mayo]

Excellent job, Todd. The end results speak for itself. I do however think the one I had was a little worse :2thumbs:



I`ll speak with you this week and possibly see you next!!

[RaskyR1]

Excellent work as always Todd! :2thumbs:

[John_K]

World class. Just wow. Very, Very good turnaround!!!

[Eisen Hulk]

Sick work, Todd.



I`m amazed at the timeless design of the NSX...That car is almost 20 years old and it still look VERY modern. Love those cars.

[Apollo_Auto]

Wow, that is an excellently specimen! Well now it is anyway :). Awesome buddy! You should have an email coming from me soon... :)




Sick work, Todd.



I`m amazed at the timeless design of the NSX...That car is almost 20 years old and it still look VERY modern. Love those cars.



Agreed 100%!! The NSX, Supra, RX-7 and 300ZX of "that era" were all WAAAAY ahead of their times, which is why they all still look marvelous. There`s been a Supra on my "to do" list for many years now and the time is approaching...

[JohnKleven]

Great work on that black paint. Those early NSX`s are hard to find.







John

[imported_Shaun Carollo]

Excellent job Todd. The clarity in the final pics is outstanding. I love NSX`s.

[imported_JoshVette]

Nice job, nsx in black is a great looking car.



Josh

[dsms]

Excellent correction as usual!

[TSC17]

Great job Todd, that`s one wet looking NSX :2thumbs: What product did you use to dress the tires?



I need to get my hands on some CG EZ-Creme...



Thanks. When my wife came out to look at the finished product, that`s what she said too...it looked wet. I believe it was Blackfire on the tires. And yes, pick yourself up some EZ Creme Glaze!




Another amazing detail Todd! Looks beautiful now.



Hey DJ did a black one as well! You too are brothers.



Thanks Thomas. If that`s the case with DJ, just consider me his much better looking older brother! :)




very nice work! That black looks soo wett!



Do you leave a towel in the car(passenger seat, last pic)?



Thanks Paul...it`s a T-shirt I left him.




Excellent job, Todd. The end results speak for itself. I do however think the one I had was a little worse :2thumbs:



I`ll speak with you this week and possibly see you next!!



Thanks brother (see Thomas` post). Yeah, I think yours was worse. Chat soon.




Excellent work as always Todd! :2thumbs:



Thanks Chad!




World class. Just wow. Very, Very good turnaround!!!



Thanks John!




Sick work, Todd.



I`m amazed at the timeless design of the NSX...That car is almost 20 years old and it still look VERY modern. Love those cars.



Thanks Casey, and I completely agree with you. I still remember the first one I saw in person back in 1991...I was absolutely blown away by the (ahead of its time) styling, and it still looks fantastic today.




Wow, that is an excellently specimen! Well now it is anyway :). Awesome buddy! You should have an email coming from me soon... :)







Agreed 100%!! The NSX, Supra, RX-7 and 300ZX of "that era" were all WAAAAY ahead of their times, which is why they all still look marvelous. There`s been a Supra on my "to do" list for many years now and the time is approaching...



Thanks buddy...look forward to your email. I have a soft spot for the Supra of that era myself!




Great work on that black paint. Those early NSX`s are hard to find.







John



Thank you.




Excellent job Todd. The clarity in the final pics is outstanding. I love NSX`s.



Thanks Shaun, I thought it turned out nice as well.