Marc@AutoLavish
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Honda's NSX had a major impact on the exotic car market when it hit the American shores in 1991. The first all-aluminum body car meant reduced weight while Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electric Control helped to provide extra power to the naturally aspired engine. Today the car remains relivent because of its timeless design, bulletproof reliability, historic relevance, and ability to still give a modern car a run for their money, especially after being modified.
This particular '97 NSX features a turbo system from one of the best NSX modifying companies, Michigan's own LoveFab, that puts horsepower to nearly 500 at the wheel. In addition to the go-fast goodies from LoveFab, the brakes have been upgraded with a Stoptech big brake kit grabbing onto slotted and drilled rotors, lightweight Fiske wheels wearing summer Bridgestone's provide contact with the road, and a conversion has been installed changing from the pop-up headlights (which many feel are a signature of the 90's) to fixed headlight housing with projector High Intensity Discharge lamps that the Acura NSX began switching to starting in 2002.
Because we originally met with the client prior to the work start, we knew we'd be scheduled for as much work as we could schedule in a single day. With a planned 10-11 hours of work planned, we hired a photographer to come along with us and document the work. This would allow us to concentrate on the work at hand, maximizing the amount of work we could complete (and bill for), while getting great pics of how things came along from an outsider's point of view.
Arriving at 9:30AM, and here's what we have; a Spa Yellow NSX is terrific over-all condition. Less than 25k miles, with a very informed and caring owner who does an outstanding job with maintaining both the mechanical and aesthetic aspects of his vehicle.
Please excuse our dirty lens, and focus on the reflections of the lower right of this pic. This is part of the front bumper, and while shiny, you can see how the reflection is slightly distorted. The shop that repainted the front end of the vehicle worked hard to do the best job possible to match the OEM color, but they blended from the bumper and hood onto the fenders, then clear-coated over the entire front end (not an unusual or bad practice), resulting in slightly more orange peel than the OEM finish. One of our goals on this day was to minimize any apperance of excessive orange peel to give the car a seemless transition in texture.
Wheel faces clean... but not inside the barrel or lugs.
Piano black trim doesn't camoflauge swirls.
Light swirling as a whole, and of course, because of the color, it was hard to see.
Exhaust tips clean... but not on the inside.
Reflections... but not absolute clarity.
Hinges lightly dirty.
Underside of the door... slightly dirty. It's a hard to reach area that rarely gets love. Luckily for her, AutoLavish would provide that love on this day
Wax residue.
We first pulled the car out of the sun to cool off. Despite the light color, the surface temp still quickly absorbed a lot of heat.
Ten minutes later, the max temperature dropped over 20 degrees Fernenheit. Water / soap won't dry as quickly lessening the chance of water marks.
P21S Gel Helped to clean the wheels.
While I worked the wheels with a boar's hair brush, a Swissvax wheel brush, and an EZ Detail brush, Jacob used P21S Total Auto Wash and another boar's hair brush to gently lift off dirt, grime, and residue off the jambs.
A toothbrush helped to relieve grime from various gaskets and hinges.
Q-tip used to remove gunk from behind the side mirrors.
When coupled with P21S Total Auto Wash and a boar's hair brush, the grime can easily be flushed away from the surface.
Thoroughly rinsing brushes directly after use insures that cleaners AND grime are quickly and effectively removed for the next use. Here you see afters of the two-brush method where one brush is kept straight while the other is kept bent to clean quicker with less stress to the metal material used at the core of these brushes.
There's no reason to have this much gunk on the hood latch. Excess was removed for a cleaner look that wouldn't attract excess dirt in the future.
Removal of the wax residue and other build up under the "Second hood" with soft brushes and cleaners.
The benefits of a two-man system: two sets of eyes to spot anything that needs attention, and twice the cleaning power.
Other various cleaning pictures to include the foaming pre-treatment process.
The fuel door is another often-forgotten area that many times needs attention. I was able to clean this area while Jacob was flushing the pre-foam treatment from the car, prior to being washed.
Washed, then blown dry.
Once dried, painter's tape was used to mask off delicate areas as caution against damage or polish residue. This doesn't just make the work we perform safer, it makes clean-up much quicker, which saves time in the long run.
Welding shades dim down light so the eye isn't stressed and can better analyse the paint's surface and how it is responding to different Pad+polish+machine+speed+pressure+backing plate combinations.
Front end thickness measurements. Doesn't match the typical readings of 120-140 from the OEM paint.
Above the tape line has slightly tigher reflections. Notice the subtle difference in the reflection form the top edge of the garage.
Jacob continued to finesse away the clear on the front end while I continued to polish out the OEM paint.
Even the plastic tail lights would be massaged back to absolute clarity.
The owner was very concerned with the condition of the leather seats, which actually were great but needed some light cleaning. As Jacob continued to refine the finish, I cared for them using Leather Master products; mainly Strong Cleaner and Protection Cream.
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About done!
[img]http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr220/jacobbunyan/1997%20Acura%20NSX%20Detail/nsxdetail087.jpg
We turned the halogen lights off and got the NSX ready to pull out for the final wash to remove dust and oils from the paint.
During the final wash, we made sure the clean the key holes and then kept on to the final engine bay cleaning and wipe down.
Dew setting in past 9PM as we finish the engine bay.
Tips coming along...
Jacob pulling off the rest of the metal polish from various engine bay pieces...
...while I dress the tires with Optimum Tire Shine.
Finishing while Blackfire Wet Diamond sets on the paint.
Cleaning the inside glass, and appling Aquapel to the rear window and windshield once pulled in to avoid the dew point.
Sealant cured, the paint is wiped clean, and the metal sealant is buffed off the exhaust tips.
Final inspection with the client to show the difference made and to check for any residue not wiped off. The true reflections of the finish and the pearl in the paint coming alive was amazing.
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