My First Detail! (Satin Silver w/ PICS)

maecrispy

Obsessed... who me?
So I finished my first detail after getting help from some great people on this forum!



Started off easy: 2 month old 2004 Acura TL (Satin Silver) w/ *very* minor swirls and scratches.



Tools: (all by hand)

Dawn Wash

DACP

WG Polish

WG DG Sealant x2

Z-12 Glass Polish

Z-16 Tire GLoss



Wanted to use WG QD but didn't know if reformulation was out yet and I ran out of Z-6.



Pics aren't great but in my defense (other than being my first time), seems hard to get good depth and reflections from silver and I'm not that good of a photographer. :D



(pics are below)



Tips/suggestions on how I can do better next time are greatly appreciated.



Next project: friend's 2002 NPB (black) Honda Civic with extensive swirling (shudder)
 
Detail looks awesome!



I absolutely love that car! Please give me your honest opinion on it...Any problems? How many miles? Any mods planned?
 
GSRstilez said:
Detail looks awesome!



I absolutely love that car! Please give me your honest opinion on it...Any problems? How many miles? Any mods planned?



Thanks for all the nice comments all!



As far as the TL, I absolutely love this car. No problems whatsoever for me. Earlier vin's had rattle/queaks/memory seating problems but I've seen none on mine.



I've got about 3K miles on it. Great handling and wonderful interior with all the techno toys I could want. To give you an idea, I test drove and researched the G35, 330cxi, IS300, and the CTS. The TL came out on top. :p



Minor mods only since this is my daily driver and my wife and I share the car. Only mods done so far are replacing door/dome lights with LED's, replaced stock EL-42's with gForce KDWS. Will tint 35% all around. Might spring for A-Spec package but that's about it.
 
Nice detail and car!



I have to admit, I didn't like the new TL when I first saw it but it's really starting to grow on me.
 
Recent Motor Trend ranked TL, g35, Saab 93 aero and CTS - g35 came out on top TL came in #3 (hmmm...not what i have been hearing).. I have an 03 TL-S and would kill for a 6 speed on this engine :) - luckily I can get that in the new TL when My lease is up
 
Looks good, glad you're gonna tint! I tinted my CL-S 6speed this weekend. I test drove a 6 speed 04 TL, the dealer was trying to sell me one but I wanted a coupe, finally found this CL6speed with 7500 miles and Navi. The TL6speed drove similar. I assume you got the automatic, most people do, but this engine screams to be hand rowed.
 
Wow, amazing car, i also was scheptical at the new TL, but now, i'm in love ... kinda like that RX-8 commercial where the guy is hugging his car ... yeah ... like that.



can you tell us (well, me) what DACP was like by hand? you obviously got amazing results on your car! i was considering DACP by hand but wasn't really aware of anyone except Scottwax using their hand (but he's the exception ... everything he touches is amazing ... lol). Did it break down well enough? or was it hard to remove?
 
groebuck said:
Recent Motor Trend ranked TL, g35, Saab 93 aero and CTS - g35 came out on top TL came in #3 (hmmm...not what i have been hearing).. I have an 03 TL-S and would kill for a 6 speed on this engine :) - luckily I can get that in the new TL when My lease is up



I tend to use mags like MT and C&D as a start to my research but that's about it. I mean really, most of us buying these high-performance cars aren't going to be pushing them to the limits like the mags do so the RWD bias that these mags have don't mean a lot to me.



What sealed the deal for me was all the tech goodies, the interior (*way* better than the G35), and the Navi.



Would have gone for 6MT but my wife prefers AT and she drives the car about 20% of the time. Ah well.
 
waxacura said:
Looks good, glad you're gonna tint! I tinted my CL-S 6speed this weekend. I test drove a 6 speed 04 TL, the dealer was trying to sell me one but I wanted a coupe, finally found this CL6speed with 7500 miles and Navi. The TL6speed drove similar. I assume you got the automatic, most people do, but this engine screams to be hand rowed.



Yeah, 5AT for me. My wife doesn't like 6MT. That would have been my first choice as well. The SS is a decent compromise as it does let me redline in 2nd and above. Turn off VSA and you can give a 6MT a run for it's money (assuming the 6MT driver is a lousy driver :D
 
Back
Top