'02 Honda Accord, advice needed...

Yeah, people seldom clean those out-of-sight areas, especially not well enough to take care of how the foam/etc. can retain nasty stuff. I have two "spongy foam" areas on the Tahoe that are a big hassle every time I wash it, especially during the winter.
 
On the Honda's, it is not possible to wash out the area I am referring to.

It is even difficult to get the "atomizing wand" that is used with the rust inhibitor gun to get to the area.

That is why the use of the gun is important, as at 80 to 90 PSI, it "fogs" on to all of the cavatity areas, doesn't take much material, as it is a very light fog and creeps to all inner parts.
 
Ron Ketcham said:
On the Honda's, it is not possible to wash out the area I am referring to..
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Oy vey :rolleyes:



Oh, BTW...do you think that generic/JC WHitney gun that I have is gonna atomize as well as the pricier one at AI, or at least well enough? Or should I spring for the setup that AI sells?
 
pwaug said:
Rcrew--don't mean to high jack Dellinger's thread, but how have your experiences been with Hard Body?? Was going to give it a try but then read quite a few posts on other forums that it really didn't offer as much scratch protection as advertised and wasn't that durable. BTW--love it up in your area of the country--spent quite a bit of time in Seattle when I was working and my son lives in Portland so we get up there every now and then.
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pwaug, i think HB has its place and has a lot to offer, especially in terms of aesthetics.



Next time you are visiting your son, don't be a stranger!
 
They have a less expensive gun availalbe and it is not shown.

The Whitney gun is junk, and I know from experience.

It is so much better than the one you are referring to, it is the gun that they provide to Hyundia, Kia, etc.

Call Beth to ask about it.

The internals, the wands, the ability to "create the fog", superior to the one you are looking at.

I don't have the over priced Sata, I use the one that Beth can get to you.
 
Just an update...



I drove down to Oregon City on Friday morning to meet up with Rcrew (Shane) of Aspire Detail, as he had a good 'garage sale' going on. Really great guy and he took the time out of his day to not only go over the products he had for sale with me but also looked over my wife's Honda and answered all my questions that were still lingering in my mind.



It was such a NICE weekend here in the Pac. NW (no rain, in the high 50's) and you just don't get that many sunny days in March. So I got back home around 10:30am on Fri. morning and was getting the two bucket method going... and what do you know. The wife is calling. So, her old college roommate sent her an email, inviting her up. So, no Honda correction this weekend.



Oh well, I guess I'll get on my truck. Besides, I would assume my '03 Dodge truck ( dark metallic grey) has harder paint and it would be more 'forgiving' to learn some technique with the new DA before jumping on the soft Honda black paint.



Well then the father-n-law called me... he wants to aerate his lawn. No problem, I have one and he comes over, we pack it up, take it to his place, unload, help him for a while. Get back at 5pm. "Oh well, I'll start 1st thing in the a.m."



Get up Sat. morning at 7am. It frosted. Oh well, I'll let things warm up a touch. Prepped all my stuff, set up a table, organized...blah...blah...blah.



10am rolls around, the frost is off the truck, roll out the pressure washer. Fire it up (first pull after setting for 6+ months, couldn't believe it) and go to reach for the wand, pull trigger, cuts off. Do this 4 more times... same thing. Then on the 5th try, I go to pull the chord. It broke! Ok, no biggie, I've got a back up.



Roll it out re-attach the hoses and wand. This one didn't start first pull. Kept fidgeting with choke on, choke off, kept pulling, nada. Take off air filter, get starting fluid, spray into carb...after a pull or two, it fired up. After a minute or two, the carb cleared up and was running good. So, it's about 11:00am.



Pressure wash entire truck. I started washing the wheel wells with a brush and cotton towel. Then I move to cleaning wheels and tires (not with same water/soap/brush/towel as wheel wells, lol)... 1st round was with Meguiar's Wheel Brightener. Then I hit the wheels (chrome, stock 20") with Mother's power ball and Mother's chrome cleaner (they were on hand). Then washed wheels and tires off again, however, this time I used Castrol purple soap for the tires... man at the brake dust and whatever else came of the tires. As a final cleaning step, I whipped off the wheels and tires with a 4:1 IPA solution.



Ate lunch (it's now 2:00pm) then went to clay the truck. Oh boy, what a process... it took 3hrs. to get everything done. For reference, if you don't stay on top of cleaning your vehicle here in WA & OR, you CAN get MOSS buildup on any vehicle badges/ inside, lower parts of mirrors, even rubber window seals...basically any place where water will lay).



So, I finished up around 5:30pm on claying... then a buddy stopped by riding his GSX-R and took more of my time. About 7pm (after dinner) I went back out and started to pick up my supplies and set up my shop for the compounding on Sunday. Set up my lights, arranged items, and then went back in to clean my towels and throw them in the washer.



Got up this morning.... it's raining, in the high 30's-low 40's... BOO! I read the ambient temperatures should be 50's+ for best product application. Sprayed some quick wax I had on hand on the truck and said, "Oh well..."



So, it'll probably be a while before I can bring resolution or pictures to this thread.



Sorry.
 
Dellinger- Well, at least you got things started. Your pressure washer luck isn't much better than mine is!



Hearing what a chore that claying was, I'm even *more* inclined to recommend chemical decontamination via "ABC" as an alternative. Which sounds easier- that three hours of claying, or washing the truck three times?



Q- Why did you IPA the wheels/tires after cleaning them?
 
Accumulator-



Including the pressure wash and 1st two bucket method... I only washed the truck twice... but I was going to a third time, just because I'm weird like that. I just always do it after claying. I guess I'm wanting to make sure the surface is as good as it can get for wax or whatever else should come next.



I did the IPA ONLY because, I noticed that the Mother's Chrome Polish left some weird streaking? Even though I buffed it off with a MF soon after it hazed I noticed weird streaks. I don't know? My bottle is pretty old but I wouldn't think it would have mattered? No biggie though, the IPA solution took it off and while I was hunched down there I just hit the tire with it too... brown stuff still came off, lol.



Yeah, I'm on the ABC stuff. I've got some coming in the mail right now. Thanks for the tip.
 
Dellinger- I think I was unclear...what I meant with the "three washes" thing was that using the "ABC" is like doing three washes, and thus easier than hours spent claying.



Oh, and yeah...I like to do some kind of wash after I clay too.



Now I understand about the IPA! OK, I was just wondering.
 
Accumulator said:
Dellinger- I think I was unclear...what I meant with the "three washes" thing was that using the "ABC" is like doing three washes, and thus easier than hours spent claying.



Oh, and yeah...I like to do some kind of wash after I clay too.



Now I understand about the IPA! OK, I was just wondering.
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Actually, lol, it was my reading comprehension! You were clear, I misinterpreted.



Anyway, when Shane (rcrew) was looking over the Honda last Fri., he recommended some MF pads because, as I said, that car is a mess!



If I were to order some LC 5.25" MF pads but how many do I need to do a car effectively? I have a feeling just one pair of MFs isn't going to make it around the vehicle.



Thanks as always...
 
Dellinger said:
If I were to order some LC 5.25" MF pads but how many do I need to do a car effectively? I have a feeling just one pair of MFs isn't going to make it around the vehicle...
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I've only used the Meguia's MF pads, and I've heard that others don't perform the same.



Ya know how I'm always saying to buy a bunch of pads? Well, with the MFs you can get by with *far* fewer as long as you have a way to clean 'em. I use a compressor and IMO that's *perfect* for this particular thing. Without the compressor, I think you'd need some more as it'd be a lot harder to clean them both effectively and efficiently (back to the same issues as with foam).



Other people say their MF pads wear out fast, or the foam separates, or...something. But my Meg's ones held up pretty well. Not as well as foam, but OK.
 
Accumulator- thanks for the notes. When the time comes for MF pads, I'll go with the Meguiar's. I had kind of an unexpected expense (see below) come up and the MF pads are going to have to wait.



And my story gets worse... it's like a soap-opera I swear. So the weather warmed up and cleared off a bit yesterday BUT I had to take my truck in to a muffler shop... the dreaded 0420 (Cat. inefficiency code) reared it's ugly head. Oh well... (that's going on my epitaph!) And my new job starts on Mar. 26th. My next week of free time looks to be circling the drain as far as working on the aesthetics of my vehicles.



We'll see if the next week is, in fact, filled with rain as the forecast tells. If so... man I may be looking at end of April before I can do any paint rehab.



THIS SUCKS! (I got all these new toys and products but can't use 'em)
 
This is an awesome car. I bought this car new in 2002 and haven’t looked back. I have 180,000 miles on it now without any problem. If you need any help and advice for this car then I would suggest you go to the mechanic and get it checked.
 
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