2004 Acura EL - my first car/detail/write-up (long)

**AcuraYYZ** · 03-28-2009, 08:11 PM

I finally had the opportunity to detail my first car (I bought it in mid-December with 38K on it). The EL is a Acura`s version of the Civic and it is only available in Canada. Mine is the premium model with sunroof, leather and heated seats.

I didn`t take any before shots since the car wasn`t too bad and I wanted to jump right into detailing it. My arms are KILLING as I type this as I am not used to extended (4-5 hour) vigorous use of them. It feels like when I start working out after months of not going to the gym. I went out to the car at about 10:30am

My process began with me preparing my two buckets. One to rinse/one for soap. I didn`t use a grit guard but did my best to clean out the mitt each time I rinsed (every half panel or so). Periodically I dumped the rinse bucket and filled it with clean water. I mixed about 2 cap-fulls of Meg`s Deep Crystal which I foamed up with some more water. The car was rinsed fully to remove any visible dirt. I set to work by soaking the mitt in the wash bucket and wringing the foam out onto the panel I was cleaning (my improvised "foaming") before I started to gently clean the panels with the mitt. I did the car in 5 sections (hood, drivers side, passenger side, roof and rear). I rinsed the soap off each side before I started on the next. Following the wash, I dried the car by draping my MF cloths over an area and blotting the water. It worked fine and the sun did the rest by drying residual water (no spots).

Next I cut my meg`s clay kit bar into two and began to clay the rear trunk lid in about 3 sections. My lube of choice was Meg`s QD. After each section I`d wipe off the area with an MF towel. I used 3 dry towels to do the whole car. (each is maybe 12x12 inches). The clay is really amazing stuff. I thought it would marr the surface but surprisingly that wasn`t the case. The car wasn`t too dirty in most areas but I was getting some GREEN stuff off, like a dark green color in some parts. I guess this is pollen sticking to the car? The smooth surface after claying was amazing and it felt like glass. One thing I did note was when I did the roof the clay started to scuff due to the roof being heated by the sun overhead. I moved the car around (front to back , etc) to try and prevent certain parts from getting too hot. At this point it was about 1pm and I took a break for lunch.

When I came back to the car I gave it a quick wipe with a MF to remove any dust that might have got on it while I was away. I had a sample of Meg`s Scratch X which I used on a white pad in some problem areas. It did a good job of hiding some small hairline scratches which I was happy about. Since my car doesn`t show swirls too much and I don`t let it go in any soft cloth washes the surface wasn`t too bad. Yes, there are swirls but they`re so minor I doubt anyone (including myself) would notice them unless looking for them in proper lighting. I spent more time on the actual scratches I found but still did a quick pass on all surfaces of the car to see if I could do anything (even minor) to whatever swirls there were. I was pleased with the results after removing the swirl-x residue.

My Meg`s clay kit came with a sample bottle of their Cleaner-Wax. I decided I`d try this stuff. Again, with a white pad I applied it to the car in 5 sections. After each section I cleaned the residue with one of an MF towel. At this stage I was getting tired (4:30pm) and I decided against doing an LSP at the time. The car looked AWESOME. So smooth and clean. When I went for an oil change a few weeks back they had an identical model to mine, but a year newer (2005) with 71K. I admired this car as it sat in the showroom. I know knew what a car could look like.

The rims were only on the car for a few days and I had put a coat of Nu-Finish on them before getting them mounted again (they`re for summer). I cleaned off the water spots/brake dust. The tires were dressed with a foam product applied with these Eagle1 swipes I picked up at Walmart. I cleaned the interior/exterior windows with an MF cloth and a foaming cleaner similar to Stoner`s which we had on hand. It worked very nicely. A small foam paintbrush was used to clean in the small crevices where wax got into (door handles, emblems, etc)

Since it is supposed to rain here tonight I put the car in the garage and depending on the weather and condition of my arms/back I might put on a coat of Nu-Finish (the only LSP-like product I`ve got). Do you think the cleaner-wax would be enough for now? I am not looking to buy any more products for a little while and the NuFinish is the closest thing I have besides the now-half empty bottle of Meg`s Cleaner Wax. Next week, if the weather is ok, I am going to do the interior and I`ll try to take some before/after pics. The drivers side is pretty bad in terms of dirt/salt due to the crappy rubber mats I had for a few weeks till I decided I needed a mat that held the water better and kept my pant legs dry. I found a great set of Rubbermaid`s for $30 at Canadian Tire on sale which were deep enough to contain the water. The OEM mats are fine and I cleaned them 2 weeks ago.

Now for the pics!