"Faded Glory" Grand Prix White Honda S2000

[imported_ONEFASTCL600]

Hey guys, I just moved into a new apartment and I no longer have a covered garage:( I live right near the beach and there is usually a layer of dew on my truck every morning. I realize I will not be able to maintain the previous standards I enjoyed with a garage, but does anyone have suggestions on how to keep clean when parking outside?

[JimO]

I don`t have a garage myself and I know what you mean by the dew. I make it a habit of washing the cars every weekend since that is my only option. A car cover would not work for me because I`d be trapping the dirt underneath the cover which could lead to scratches. Park away from telephone poles, trees, or anything where birds might want to hang out.

[imported_Intermezzo]

If you have the time and energy, do a daily QD. I find that DavidB`s method in his Autopia guide will allow you to QD quickly as well as use very little product.



Also, QDing daily would allow you to safely use a car cover. You can put the cover on without worrying about scratches if you do it right after QDing.



And yet another benefit to daily QDing is that your time interval between full car washes would probably double.

[Brad B]

I have lived without a garage (shudder!) and I covered my car every day and night. I washed weekly and QD`d often but NEVER scratched my car. Just be cautious when installing the cover. I would rather risk dealing with the cover than to accept the havoc the elements can take to your finish both inside and out.

[Don2000g]

I`ll second Brad`s view. Try a quality car cover and only use it after you wash your car or quick detail it. Laters

[ru1thirst]

I have the Noah car cover and love it. After putting it on and removing a few times, I now have it down to about 1 min. Alot of people seem to think that it is a pain to cover and uncover a car and just never get one. I was one of these people. But when I got a new car I figured it was worth it. Now after finding out how easy it really is, I wish I had used on for my old Ford Probe beater back in the days. Who knows what it could look like today if I had taken the whole 1 min to cover it at night. :D As far as dew it does a great job. Here in the Bay Area it doesn`t get too cold until recently (30-35 deg.) but in the morning the cars around me are covered with dew and frost at times and when I uncover mine its just fine. Got my cover for something like $140 delivered and its been well worth it.

[imported_ONEFASTCL600]

I thought about getting a cover but wondered how feasible it would be for me as I have a Tahoe.

I parked my car in the garage for years but winced everytime my family or kid`s friends or the dog walked between my car and my wife`s. I also fumed everytime I noticed that one of my kid`s friends did the old "feel the shiney car" thing and left finger prints all over. I finally bought a cover, just a standard $100 job, and have been so glad since. The cost for the peace of mind has been a bargain, I have to wash the car about half as much as I used to, and I can put the cover on in less than a minute. The only problem was convincing my wife and kids that the cover doesn`t make it OK to set the newspaper or jacket or whatever on the car now!

[imported_Intel486]

<blockquote class=`ipsBlockquote` >

<em class=`bbc`>Originally posted by dlw [/i]
<strong class=`bbc`>I parked my car in the garage for years but winced everytime my family or kid`s friends or the dog walked between my car and my wife`s. I also fumed everytime I noticed that one of my kid`s friends did the old "feel the shiney car" thing and left finger prints all over. I finally bought a cover, just a standard $100 job, and have been so glad since. The cost for the peace of mind has been a bargain, I have to wash the car about half as much as I used to, and I can put the cover on in less than a minute. The only problem was convincing my wife and kids that the cover doesn`t make it OK to set the newspaper or jacket or whatever on the car now! [/b]</blockquote>
LOL... That is the funniest thing I`ve read all day.


I too do not have a garage. I wash on the weekends and try to get one mid-week. I don`t mind because I need the exercise and I really get a workout trying to dry my F-150 in the summer heat before I get waterspots.

[Tru_Shine]

So I took a trip down to Murfreesboro Tn to clean up a couple of Honda S2000`s before the big IA meet in Nashville. And when I got down there I found a couple of nice S2k`s, but each had there own fair share of defects. The White one was Faded like no other, the previous owner had definitely mistreated the paint and the convertible top. So my client had requested the Tru_Shine treatment. I did the Paint correction and convertible top treatment, and here it is. So sit back and enjoy!


Wash Process:

I began by spraying down the wheels with some P21S Wheel gel. This stuff was incredible wheel cleaner, and it is way better then the Diablo wheel gel but it cost a little more. but it`s worth every penny.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0088.jpg

You can let this stuff dwell for 5 minutes to 2 hours. it wont harm any type of wheels or brakes. it is totally pH balanced and has incredible cleaning abilites.

here it is eating at the brake dust and tire grime.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0090.jpg

Next while that is dwelling I used my Karcher Mini 1400psi pressure washer with a Foam cannon and I first sprayed Chemical guys Tar & Bug remover on it, Then I let it dwell for about 5 mins, and rinsed it off, and then I applied DAWN detergent via Foam canon to wash the car with to remove any waxes or anything.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0093.jpg

Wash tools:
5gal bucket
Grit Guard
100% sheep skin Wash mitt

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0094.jpg

After that I got back to the wheels Scrubbing them with various brushes inclubing the EZ-Detail brush At this point it was getting dark out side and the pics were getting hard to take. So I finished up the washing stage by Scrubbing the convertible top very thoroughly with some APC(all purpose cleaner) and agitated very thoroughly to get a real deep cleaning. the top must be completely dry before applying the RaggTopp Vinyl top treatment. so This was the end of Day 1 and I let the Top dry over night.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0096.jpg


Day 2

I woke up the next morning and inspected the vehicle post washing, and now that the top had thoroghly dried I could apply the RaggTop Vinyl top treatment.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0097.jpg

And here was the Tru Surface.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0100.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0101.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0102.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0103.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0113.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0118.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0120.jpg

It was VERY faded and had lots of buffer trails from the previous detailer.

I took measurements of the paint thickness to make sure it was healthy enough and to kind of get an idea of what this paint has been through? This thing had all kinds of readings all over the place, 5.4, 5.3, 4.3, 3.1 but there were a couple of 2.7`s which I knew that I needed to be extra careful around those areas because that is VERY thin paint and I dont want to burn through it.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0122.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0123.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0124.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0125.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0128.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0127.jpg

But either way this thing needed some serious lovin!

So next is the convertible top care. I used the Raggtopp Vinyl Protectant because the S2000`s top is of course.....Vinyl. and the top was very faded and dry looking. this stuff was really nice to work with.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0105.jpg






http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0107.jpg

and here it is Good as new, You could really tell a big Difference in person but I think the camera captured a good enough image of how shimmery and clean it is. this stuff will repel water and last 5-8 weeks. to keep it looking like this you just have to re apply every couple of months.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0109.jpg

Next I brought it back in and started the polishing process.

Tools and Products:

Flex 3401
Lake country Cyan Hyrdrotech pad
LC Tangerine Hydrotech pad
Surbuff R-Series pad
LC blue finishing pad
Meguiars M105 compound
Meguiars M205 polish
Black Fire Wet diamond


Here are a Few in progress and 50/50 shots.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0136.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0134.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0137.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0138.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0140.jpg

Here is the Driver door.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0142.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0146.jpg

Its a whole different Shade of white!!!

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0147.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0149.jpg

Here is a 50/50 of the front Fender

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0152.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0153.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0156.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0158.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0154.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0157.jpg

After all of the buffing and polishing I brought it back outside and sprayed off all of the dust and wiped all of the crevices and sealed it with Black Fire Wet Diamond

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0159.jpg

Once I wiped off all of the BFWD Sealant, I walked around wiping the car with some Black Fire Gloss Enhancing Spray to make sure nothing was missed.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0205.jpg

I polished the tips with some 0000# steel wool and Bushes polish. but forgot to take after pics.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0206.jpg





So now here are the Glossy After Shots. Enjoy!

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0209.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0210.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0212.jpg

The Owner standing in Awe! lol j/k

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0213.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0218.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k126/ericwitt04/TruShine%20detailing/2003%20S2000%20white/DSC_0219.jpg

Thanks for looking and Have a blessed day!

[GreyGoose]

Nice work!!

[bmw5541]

Great turn around Eric. The owner must have been thrilled!!:hurray::thumbup::hurray:

[staro0989]

Nice work! Just curious, is it Grand Prix White or Taffeta White?

[Tru_Shine]

Nice work! Just curious, is it Grand Prix White or Taffeta White?

GPW:hurray:

[staro0989]

GPW:hurray:

Oh okay, the two colors look extremely close in pictures. Is GPW a single stage paint like Taffeta white?