2004 Acura RSX-S

C

cjv998

New member
Hey everyone; realized I never posted any pictures after I detailed the car a few months ago. Anyway, the car is an '04 Arctic Blue Pearl RSX Type S with 68k on the odometer when the pics were taken (71k now). Here's the process:



Wash with Meg's Gold Class

dry with PakShak WW MF (I need to get a bigger one)

clay with Clay Magic

Polish: 6.5" orange CCS pad and HTMC with the PC 7424

RMG (first time using a glaze, not sure I applied it thickly enough...didn't notice much of a difference)

waxed with CMW

Eagle One tire shine

Stoner's Invisible glass on the windows

Meg's ScratchX on the headlights, didn't seem to make a difference but they weren't too bad before



Interior was detailed too, don't have any pics of it though. Seats got Meg's Rich Aloe 2-step cleaner and conditioner, plastics got wiped down with 303 protectant (as did the exterior trim pieces), and steering wheel got cleaned with Woolite and water. Carpets were clean, as the floormats had just been replaced (metallic blue ones got replaced with OEM mats).



Anyway, enough talk...time for pics:



Swirling looked a bit worse in person

PICT0135.jpg




Washed, already has a decent shine:

PICT0133.jpg




After pics (sorry about the lack of "befores"):

PICT0145.jpg




PICT0146.jpg




PICT0147.jpg




PICT0148_revised.jpg




Already a little dust on the lip, haha:

PICT0149.jpg




Unfortunately I didn't get 100% correction, and since these pics were taken I've managed to swirl the paint again...stupid soft Honda paint, I swear my next car is gonna be an Audi, you look at this car wrong and it gets swirled.



The only "mods" to the car are a set of Axxis ULT brake pads and ATE Superblue brake fluid. The transmission fluid is going to get replaced with Amsoil MTF soon, and the windows are going to get tinted before summer gets here (I'm thinking 50% front, 35% rear). Also, I'm going tomorrow to get a set of Falken FK452's put on it, can't wait to have a set of real tires! Not to mention, ones that match...the car currently has 3 different types of tires on it, lol. Basically, I don't plan on doing anything else to the car besides that, although a set of Depo headlights would look nice.
 
nice job.



how do you like those pads? i was looking at either the Axxis/PBR Deluxes or Ultimates for my car (found a good price on them). Thanks
 
STownSaint said:
nice job.



how do you like those pads? i was looking at either the Axxis/PBR Deluxes or Ultimates for my car (found a good price on them). Thanks
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Unfortunately, I don't really have a fair baseline to use for a comparison, because the brake pads that the car had were worn way down when I got it. That said, the car stops really well (even with my crappy tires), and pedal feel is much better than before, probably mostly due to the fluid change.



However, the pads dust a lot (I can go 2-3 weeks without washing the car before it bugs me too much, and I drive 45 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week), and they squeal a little before they get warmed up (making 3-4 moderate stops is enough usually). They aren't that loud though, and washing the car isn't a big deal; in fact, I could just wash the wheels if I wanted too.



Overall, I'm really happy with the pads and fluid, and would definitely recommend them, provided you don't mind washing the car that often, and the initial noise doesn't bother you.



Actually, the brakes have already saved me once (somebody didn't see my car and pulled out in front of me, and I came within 3-4 feet of t-boning the side of their van). If I hadn't had the new brakes, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have slowed down enough to avoid hitting them.
 
^thanks for the input.



I'm thinking the Deluxes might be for me then. Since they're less aggressive/similar to OE pad compound (since theyre organic vs. the ULT's ceramic), I'm thinking they operate at lower temps better and maybe less dust (?). The ULTs seem to have great stopping power ,though...



I don't know, brake pads are like aholes and opinions it seems. Thanks again.
 
That glaze just filled all of the swirls instead of getting rid of them. So after a couple of washes I'm sure you started to notice them again.



Nice car.
 
STownSaint said:
^thanks for the input.



I'm thinking the Deluxes might be for me then. Since they're less aggressive/similar to OE pad compound (since theyre organic vs. the ULT's ceramic), I'm thinking they operate at lower temps better and maybe less dust (?). The ULTs seem to have great stopping power ,though...



I don't know, brake pads are like aholes and opinions it seems. Thanks again.
Click to expand...



From what I've heard, the Deluxes don't dust much at all. Sounds like that'd be a better bet for you if dust is a concern.



And about the glaze, I did use a polish (Hi Temp medium cut) before-hand, which cleared up about 80% of the swirls. Also, there was a wax (CMW) on top of the glaze, so I'd have to work my way through that before I caused any swirls I'd think...which I obviously have at this point, haha. The Walmart by me doesn't carry the Eurow sheepskin mitts, so I had to get a cheaper one with less nap, which I'm blaming for causing the swirls.



And these are definitely different swirls than before. These are one-directional (from either washing or drying, haven't figured out which), whereas the swirls before were pretty randomly oriented.
 
Are you noticing little micro marring swirls that were part of the 20% that you couldn't remove from the paint? If so, I have to finish my RSX with a black pad and (what I use) Menzerna Intensive Polish to get the soft paint perfect.



Then to keep it somewhat swirl free, it never sees a car wash, and I wash it as carefully as I can. Course my RSX is black, so it's a real pain in the ***, but looks great with care. :D
 
bwlucas said:
Are you noticing little micro marring swirls that were part of the 20% that you couldn't remove from the paint? If so, I have to finish my RSX with a black pad and (what I use) Menzerna Intensive Polish to get the soft paint perfect.



Then to keep it somewhat swirl free, it never sees a car wash, and I wash it as carefully as I can. Course my RSX is black, so it's a real pain in the ***, but looks great with care. :D
Click to expand...



The swirls that were left were smaller IIRC, 1/2" or so (you can see them in the 3rd from the last pic, where the sun hits the hood); it's like the previous polish couldn't completely remove each scratch if it was too deep or something.



Hmm, may have to give that a shot next time; thanks for the advice! Maybe I'm going the wrong direction - getting more aggressive when what I need is a less aggressive method to follow up the Hi-temp Medium Cut.



And yes, NBP definitely looks amazing when it's clean. I wanted an NBP RSX, but I stumbled across this one and snatched it up instead. ABP was my second choice anyway.



Thanks to everyone for the compliments.
 
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