Honda Paint/Polish

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imported_fugaz15

New member
Hey guys - I'm new to the forum here so bare with me a bit! I have a 2008 Honda Accord Coupe - polished metal metallic. I keep reading that Honda uses a very soft paint,, so i had a couple questions.



1) I have Sonus' SFX-1 and SFX-3. When it's recommended that cars are polished twice a year, should I stick to only the SFX-3 for the bi-yearly polishes instead of using SFX-1 and then SFX-3? (And then reserve the SFX-1 for use only when I need to fix scratches?) Is there a better polish I can use for routine polishing?



2) Along with polishing twice a year, it's recommended that the car is clay bar-ed twice a year also. That's all well and good for routine maintenance, but for bugs, etc it's required more often. I have clay bars and I just purchased Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover - Bug Tar Sap Removers. If I clay bar, I need to polish as well... if I clay bar as needed, won't I eventually run through the clear coat? In using the Autoglym, do I still need to polish after?



3) I need to repair a scratch and a couple of rock chips. I have the OEM paint, and everything else I need to repair, but am looking for a good urethane-based clear coat... any recommendations? I've seen the Spray Max 2K Clear Coat... but not sure if that's what I should get. Is the clear coat absolutely necessary? If I don't use the clear coat, will the repaired paint eventually chip? Thoughts?



Thanks in advance!



Dave
 
I can confirm as an Accord owner that Honda paint is soft.



"It's recommended"...well, it's really about your desires. It doesn't take much to get swirl marks and scratches, so you might want to go easy with the polishing. If you don't have swirl marks, scratches, other imperfections now, perhaps a good paint cleaning will be fine.



I wouldn't agree that you have to use a clay bar regularly to remove bugs et al. With a good sealant/glaze on, you shouldn't have too much trouble removing bugs during washing. I have Danase Paint Sealant and Wet Glaze on our Accord and have no problems getting the bugs off. I rarely have to use a bug and tar remover, I find that if I have enough coats of good sealant/synthetic wax on, I can remove tar and other spots with strong effort on the sponge while washing. The paint on the front bumper cover chips very easily, that to me is a bigger problem than bugs and other road crud.



I don't know about owner-applied clear coating. It would have to be very tough to prevent the soft Honda paint from getting chips.



The pleasure of owning a Honda is in how it drives, how well it's made, how long it lasts with good care. I wish the paintwork was better but it is what it is. I decided to work with it, keep it looking good and well layered with good sealants/synthetic waxes and glazes, and enjoy the ride.
 
Thanks for the advice. I'm coming up on a year with my car, but still very low mileage (about 6500miles). Since I haven't driven all that much it's taken me a while to get the a significant number of paint chips on the front bumper. My front end is definitely taking a beating - and it seems like it's gotten worse over the past few weeks than in the last 10 months.



I haven't been glazing or sealing... I guess I should start. After washing, I've only been waxing with the P21S Carnauba Wax... I know it's more work than the synthetics, but I definitely like the look a lot better.



You would recommend the Danase sealant and glaze over other products? How many layers of sealant do you typically apply?
 
STSInNYC said:
I can confirm as an Accord owner that Honda paint is soft.



"It's recommended"...well, it's really about your desires. It doesn't take much to get swirl marks and scratches, so you might want to go easy with the polishing. If you don't have swirl marks, scratches, other imperfections now, perhaps a good paint cleaning will be fine.



I wouldn't agree that you have to use a clay bar regularly to remove bugs et al. With a good sealant/glaze on, you shouldn't have too much trouble removing bugs during washing. I have Danase Paint Sealant and Wet Glaze on our Accord and have no problems getting the bugs off. I rarely have to use a bug and tar remover, I find that if I have enough coats of good sealant/synthetic wax on, I can remove tar and other spots with strong effort on the sponge while washing. The paint on the front bumper cover chips very easily, that to me is a bigger problem than bugs and other road crud.



I don't know about owner-applied clear coating. It would have to be very tough to prevent the soft Honda paint from getting chips.



The pleasure of owning a Honda is in how it drives, how well it's made, how long it lasts with good care. I wish the paintwork was better but it is what it is. I decided to work with it, keep it looking good and well layered with good sealants/synthetic waxes and glazes, and enjoy the ride.
Click to expand...



I too am loyal to Honda for the same reasons; unfortunately the clear coat quality is a weak point in their build. It will swirl if you look at it hard :grrr. The best thing you can do is work on your car wash techniques to limit swirling. Then you will only need to use a light polish on occasion to restore your clear.
 
There are many fine products out there, lots of choices. What has worked for me in this climate:

Winter: Collinite 476/885, several coats, I try to get at least three coats on before winter. I try to wash the car at least 1-2x per month in the winter, we drive up in the mountains. Wash thoroughly underneath as well with high pressure spray (I do that year-round, but most important in the winter.)

Spring through Fall: Currently have three coats of Danase Paint Sealant followed by a coat of Danase Wet Glaze. Will add another coat or two of sealant and glaze over the summer, mostly for looks.



I used Finish Kare 1000P on my mother-in-law's Accord, three coats last October, in April it was till beading and shining beuatifully, and it hadn't been washed from November-March. I may go to 1000P year-round when I do the winter prep this coming October. Collinite is very durable, also goes through the winter and beads in the spring, tougher to get off the car, does seem to hold a little more dirt et al. But very reliable.



The full program for me is: thorough washing, try to get as many "spots" off with the wash as is possible; then Meguiar's Crystal Paint Cleaner; then put on the sealants and glazes. I stopped using carnauba waxes some time again, don't last long, dirt gets embedded. The sealants look fine to me and last longer.



I agree with Toblerone - careful washing to limit self-inflicted marking is important.



We also suffer with frequent chipping on the plastic front bumper cover. I may have it removed and repainted in a few years, don't care if it's a perfect match.
 
im another honda owner. and like everyone else says, if you stare at it long enough you'll swirl it... ive never had a big issue with getting bugs off of the front of my car, just keep a fresh coat of something there, my car usually has a couple coats of a nice sealant, followed by 845, i put some sort of a spray down every other time i wash. bugs donw just fall off or anything.. but they come off without too much of a fuss when im washing. couple rubbs of the thumb n its all good.. .. spend more time in your wash and spend less time polishing... ive had my freshly polished (with ultrafina! woo!) for almost 2 weeks... 3 ish washings (duragloss901), and still going, im suprized, but i know if i get lazy when washing then i gta break out the PC again, and i dont want to. i got a fresh coat of poorboys and 845 on there ha so i guess id reccomend what everyone else says, get a good sealant on there, cuz ive never realy had an issue.
 
My '08 car with FK1 1000p:



77344678.jpg




67556396.jpg





  • Cautious washing is essential
  • Sonus Final Polish works well unless you're attempting "correction"
 
and to answer your Q, ive never used SFX, so i cant comment on it, but ultrafina finnishes down very well and is not very agressive at all.. and meguiars number 9 works pretty well, it does a lot of filling though im told, so mabye an alcohol wipe down, or sealant to seal them in..either of those would be good for twice yearly polishes, because you want to get ur results while removing as little clear as possible. with ultrafina, i was put off by the price of it.. about 40 bucks, but its a huge bottle, i eventually got it, and im glad i did.



heres a pic of my car i posted on here previously

Picture004.jpg


i believe that was just klasse (just aio) with 476 on top.. but thats the typical sealant look.. i really like poorboys ex-p now.. it gives the same awesome look, and it a million times easier to use than klasse... durability doesnt matter to me because i top with 845, and redo it more than i care to admit haha. BTW that red accord looks awesome^^^^
 
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