Honda Accord - final detail for 2008 (done on 31/12)

[Woodie]

I decided that the best way to finish a year was with a detail. This is a vehicle that belongs to a work colleague - it is a late 2007 model 2.4 Exec with 28000km on the odo. I'm sure that the Honda fans out there would know what the colour is, but it appears black when dirty, but comes up as almost dark brown metallic when clean and polished.

The process:

Interior - wiped down with Meguiars APC at 10:1 dilution. Dash and trim dressed with 303 Aerospace protectant which left a clean, natural finish. I did not treat the leather at all as the interior was a bonus for the owner. Loose mats were vacuumed and cleaned with Meguiars Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner (aerosol) from the Detailer range.

Engine Bay - sprayed with Meguiars Super Degreaser and rinsed off with high pressure cleaner. Wiped down with a MF and then sprayed with Meguiars Hyper Dressing at 3:1 dilution. (Unfortunately I didn't have time to get after photos of the engine, so I haven't bothered uploading the before shots).

Exterior - washed with M62 Professional Shampoo, using a MF washmit and two bucket method. There was quite a bit of surface contaminant, so the whole car was clayed with Meguiars Medium Blue clay using Last Touch as a lubricant.

Correction - Several combinations were tried, but I finally settled on M83 with a orange Lake Country pad on the G220. This was followed by M81 Professional Hand Polish which worked fantastically well on the dark finish.

LSP - M21 2.0 applied by hand

Tyres & Wheels - wheels cleaned with Sonax Xtreme Full Effect wheel cleaner followed by Meguiars Wheel Brightner for some stubborn marks. After cleaning, the rims were treated with Smartwax RimWax. The tyres were dressed with Meguiars Endurance Gel. A product that I'm really impressed by is the Adams Invisible Undercarriage Spray. This was sprayed on to the wheel wells and left to dry to a silky black finish. I highly recommend this product.

Glass - cleaned with Meguiars Glass Cleaner Concentrate at 10:1 dilution using my favoured Addis Glass MF.

Some photographs.

Before















Anyone have bug spray?









The mat cleaning - before





The mat cleaning - after



The magic product



After washing & claying



















The after shot of the wheel showing the finishing effect of the wheel well dressed with the Invisible Undercarriage Spray



Unfortunately time was against me and I was working hard to get done so that I could deliver the car before the owner went to his New Year Party, so I only snapped a few after shots as the light was fading.













Thanks for looking and best wishes to all for a great 2009 detailing year

[freerider]

Great work there Woodie, I love the reflection in the 2nd last pic!

I cant believe you where detailing on old years day! that is so unfair... I was sitting in the office, bored out of my mind!

[Carn]

Nice work Sean, looking good as new

How was the paint on the Accord btw (hard/soft, easily marred, etc ? )

Oh and all the best for 2009