Preserving soft, thin Honda paint

I'm new to the EP3 but not to Hondas or to detailing. Honda paint and that of most Japanese cars tends to be both quite soft and not overly thick. It takes very little to introduce swirls and not much more to create scratches. The most robust solution is a full correction followed by quality (e.g. Xpel Ultimate) clear film but it is far from inexpensive. IMO the next best alternative are paint coatings. I can recommend Optimum Opti-Coat (now on v.2) or CarPro CQuartz UK* from personal experience. While they are not a magic barrier against swirls and scratches they are more protective than waxes or conventional polymer sealants. Also, because they are long lasting (multiple years for Opti-Coat and up to two years for CQ UK) and somewhat dust and water phobic they reduce detailing demands. The less you touch the finish the less chance of introducing swirls. Gtechniq, ArtDeShine, Echelon, Max Protect, Wolf's Chemicals, Nanolex, 22ple and Element 119 System-X are some of the competing brands. I have not used these but ArtDeShine, Max Protect and Echelon have excellent reputations. Some of these you would have to self import as they have no distribution in North American at present. ArtDeShine will be entering the US market in a month or so.

Another option is CarPro HydrO2. This is less long lasting and forms less of a barrier but has a nearly touchless application.

Yet another option are the WOWA (wipe on, walk away) sealants. Optimum Opti-Seal is perhaps the best known of these but Ultima, Zaino, and Blackfire also have WOWA sealants. They involve more touching that HydrO2 but much less than waxes or sealants that have to be buffed off.

One final option are the Prima Hydro series of products. They are not WOWA but they are low touch compared to most traditional sealants, very limited buffing.

*CQ UK was developed in response to application issues in the cool English climate but for those of you in hot climate states you may prefer the original CQuartz which has a much less volatile carrier. Optimum and CarPro also offer professional application only products: Optimum Opti-Coat Pro aka Opti-Guard and CarPro CQuartz Finest

point of the thread? You've got a wealth of info up there, just hope you aren't trying to sell something, haha.

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Point of thread: The best way to maintain Honda paint is to minimize contact. If you are not going to use clear film pick an LSP that is durable and/or is low contact in application and removal. For EP3s that are daily drivers as opposed to garage queens I would simply argue that short lifespan products like Pinnacle Souveran or products that require a lot of effort to buff off aren't the best choices. Wiping your car down with quick detailers every few days also isn't doing the paint any favors. How any of that could possibly be construed as as effort to sell something escapes me since I cited a long list of competing products and no single vendor sells all of them. A few of them don't even have US distribution. I only detail for friends and family so I'm not pimping any services. It is simply my opinion based on years of detailing experience and the exchange of ideas and experience with detailers in North America, Europe and Australia.

You'll have to forgive us, but nobody has come around here in a while with fully capitalized and punctuated sentences without trying to sell something. Times have been tough.

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Originally Posted by LostHighway

Point of thread: The best way to maintain Honda paint is to minimize contact. If you are not going to use clear film pick an LSP that is durable and/or is low contact in application and removal. For EP3s that are daily drivers as opposed to garage queens I would simply argue that short lifespan products like Pinnacle Souveran or products that require a lot of effort to buff off aren't the best choices. Wiping your car down with quick detailers every few days also isn't doing the paint any favors. How any of that could possibly be construed as as effort to sell something escapes me since I cited a long list of competing products and no single vendor sells all of them. A few of them don't even have US distribution. I only detail for friends and family so I'm not pimping any services. It is simply my opinion based on years of detailing experience and the exchange of ideas and experience with detailers in North America, Europe and Australia.

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Well then sir, it's very nice to meet a like-minded individual such as yourself :mbiggrin: Your points are very well heeded by me as I agree. I love to see other peoples point of view on the subject, so thanks for the input. I hope we can help other members take good care of their EP's as well.

I was having hard time explaining to someone on the FB page why it would be more economical to buy a product such as Gtechnique exo, to protect a CF part, rather than to have it sprayed with automotive clearcoat. Glad to see someone else on ephatch who shares this amount of knowledge and passion for detailing.

I detail for a living, it's a struggle, but I love to love what I do.

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Originally Posted by Draw7Seven

You'll have to forgive us, but nobody has come around here in a while with fully capitalized and punctuated sentences without trying to sell something. Times have been tough.

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Oh yeah, that.