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08 Formal Black MDX Tech after some TLC.

5K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  J-Spec DJS 
#1 ·
Just picked up the 08 MDX Tech in Formal Black a few weeks ago. It Looks like the previous owners didn't care about the car too much. It has a Lot of little dings here and there and the paint was full of scratches and swirl marks.
Since, I love cars, it looks like this MDX came to the right home.
This last weekend I had a couple days off where I decided to attempt to "fix" some of the damage. I'm not a pro by any means, don't own a buffer or a polisher, so I had to use some elbow grease
Here are some pics.

At the dealership when we got her.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecolombian/10712800295/" title="image by THECOLOMBIAN, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7300/10712800295_467883d673_o.png" width="595" height="381" alt="image"></a>

This is how the whole paint looked like before some deserved TLC
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecolombian/11027061476/" title="image by THECOLOMBIAN, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5521/11027061476_e0c22690a9_o.jpg" width="1440" height="1920" alt="image"></a>

This is the after. I know it still needs a lot more work but at least it looks a lot better than before.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecolombian/11027185993/" title="image by THECOLOMBIAN, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3791/11027185993_ffdcec284f_o.jpg" width="1440" height="1920" alt="image"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecolombian/11026975085/" title="image by THECOLOMBIAN, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7372/11026975085_f7b0afcd3c_o.jpg" width="1920" height="1440" alt="image"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecolombian/11026986525/" title="image by THECOLOMBIAN, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2835/11026986525_a5512f3584_o.jpg" width="1920" height="1440" alt="image"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecolombian/11026998235/" title="image by THECOLOMBIAN, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7314/11026998235_cb63bd6222_o.jpg" width="1920" height="1440" alt="image"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecolombian/11027161964/" title="image by THECOLOMBIAN, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2818/11027161964_b8ab1a262d_o.jpg" width="1920" height="1440" alt="image"></a>
 
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#5 ·
I just picked up a 2007 black on black. It has a lot of swirl/scratch marks as well. Did you do by hand or a dual action/orbital polisher?
What kind of compound did you use for the polishing pad? Foam? Terry?
I also used Scratch-X and got the swirl marks out but there are some slightly deeper scratch marks that are not coming out.

Here's a piccy:
 
#6 ·
Hey nice pick up man :29:
I did everything by hand using the meguiRs foam applicators and costco microfiber towels.
If you have deeper scratches I would probably clay the paint first and then I would use the meguairs ultimate compound to get rid of deeper scratches.
Good luck.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the tips. I spent a couple hours going over the car today. Boy my arm is tired. It looks a lot better but there are still light swirl marks and few deeper scratches here and there. I may need to break out the heavy compound to address some of the heavier scratches...
This car has light scratches all over it. Never owned a black car before, so not sure what is normal for a used black car, but still a long way to go before it looks as good as I want it to look. It looks great at night or in the shade, but when the sun comes out it's ugly to look at...
 
#10 ·
Those are the sport running boards, OEM, go for about $450 from dealers. It's a bolt on and looks the best of the boards available for the '07-09 years, IMO. They're definitely not the most useful though (shallow step), so I don't use them as much as I'd like to. There are others that have a much wider step and are more practical, but they also sit a bit lower so don't give as much of a boost to see over the vehicle to access cargo.

-adam
 
#9 ·
Great job. I'm big on detailing myself. The only small caveat to remember is a lot (if not most) of the products contain oils and polishes which mask the scratches. Sometimes you think the scratches have been buffed out but a few car washes later they reappear. I've always used a polisher on low speed with Meguiar's Swirl Remover to get past this issue vs. doing it by hand. (Lighter colored paint is far more forgiving as you might imagine.)

The process I follow:
1. Wash/Dry
2. Clay Bar (Always cut the clay bar into a few pieces. If you were to drop one you don't lose the entire bar but only that piece. Once dropped you have to throw it out)
3 Blue Painters tape on the grey trim (if applicable)
4. Meguiar's Swirl Remover with a buffer - I recently switched to a generic version sold by a detail supply store and get the same results
5. Wax by hand
6. Rewash to get all the wax and polish residue off
7. Reinspect for missed scratches - fix if needed
8. Spray Wax / Detail Spray and do the jams too

I recently corrected the paint on my dad's 5-series following these steps. I had the benefit of it being Silver which along with White are among the easiest to work on.


http://s195.photobucket.com/user/dhrusree/media/photo3_zps77844ca3.jpg.html
http://s195.photobucket.com/user/dhrusree/media/photo3_zps77844ca3.jpg.html








http://s195.photobucket.com/user/dhrusree/media/photo3_zps77844ca3.jpg.html
 
#12 ·
They are the OEM boards and an mdx without them looks naked to me. I love the way they look. I don't think anyone in my family actually steps on them. They are glorified mud guards.
 
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