1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

[chethewitt]

This is my dad's super clean 91 CRX Si with 116k miles on it. He's the second owner and acquired it in 2000 from the original owner. At the time the car had around 90k miles on it.


The paint had never been corrected which meant it needed some attention.


On to the pictures!


The paint was corrected with a combination of pads and meguiars m105 and m205. In most places, I was able to get 80-90% correction with m205 and a green pad. In a few areas I used m105 with yellow pad before switching to m205 with green pad. Overall, the paint turned out really nice and really transformed the car.






































And on to the finished results.


Car was finished with Blackfire Wet Diamond Sealant. Given time constraints, I was unable to put wax on top of the sealant. Interior was given 303 aerospace protectant.


overall, I think the car looks great for being an all original rust free CRX Si w/ 116k miles.




















Interior is all there and is in excellent shape. My dad purchased the car with damaged driver side panel and has another mint condition door panel...but has debated switching them because he's been trying to keep the car 100% stock.














I also didn't have time to detail the engine. As stated earlier, its 100% original. For those who notice the missing battery tie down, the battery was on charge and it just hadn't been reinstalled.




and a few more pictures...

[STRIFE]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

great work on a 20 yr old car!
How long did it take you to do the whole car?

[chethewitt]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

A few more points.

One, I used a combination of 6.5inch yellow and green LC pads with m205. In a few spots i mixed in m105. Older honda clearcoats are SOFT and a yellow 4inch pad is way more than enough. I used very little pressure with the yellow pad and would have used a green 4inch pad if I had one...but I had left it by accident at my shop in florida.

Also, its important to recognize the fact that the clearcoat is often thin making it very easy to work through. Be careful!

Most older honda's are not in the condition my dad's car is in. A fender had been repainted (and sanded with 3000 grit) by a body shop which does pretty good work. After polishing it would be pretty difficult for someone without experience to notice a difference between the painted and repainted panels.

[chethewitt]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

great work on a 20 yr old car!
How long did it take you to do the whole car?

Its hard to say...because I was talking with my dad and showing him the process I use throughout much of the correction.

If I werent distracted and alone at my place, I'd say the total correction would take around 6-8 hours. I work slow and I take my time. I never rush and I take breaks often to see how things are going. I probably work slower than most guys in here and I don't care about how much money I make. For me, its about the process and getting decent results.

[Marc08EX]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

Great work on reviving the CRX! I love the shine and look of properly polished red paint job.

CRX is one of my favorite cars of all time.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

What a fantastic little car, and it now has great looks to match the fun driving experience it offers! These are becoming harder and harder to find in unmolested condition, so to have a totally original example must be a blast. Great work all around on it, your dad must be thrilled.

[chethewitt]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

Thanks Mike, I appreciate the compliments. My dad loves the car, but never drives it and worries about it constantly...so I think he may be selling it. He's owned 18 or 19 crx's in his lifetime and has two other red ones...one with 65k miles.

Here are a few more pictures...


I took over 100 pictures total...with a few which show how damaged the clear coat was.

[Drunkinskater]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

I love that little car, it turned out great. I agree, the red paint looks fantastic with some correction and care.

[velocityccx]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

Hey great work, 18-19 CRX's wow but I understand they are great cars.

[aris]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

nice work

[Garage Troll]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

Wow! That is one great looking CRX Si. I hope your dad holds on to it. Those things are getting very hard to find, especially in great condition.

[Carolina08]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

Looks awesome. I have a question. So with the 105/205, did you only use the M105 if the M205 didn't seem to have enough cut, or correcting the swirls as you'd like? I guess you were using the least aggressive method by starting with the M205? Just wanted to check!

[chethewitt]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

Looks awesome. I have a question. So with the 105/205, did you only use the M105 if the M205 didn't seem to have enough cut, or correcting the swirls as you'd like? I guess you were using the least aggressive method by starting with the M205? Just wanted to check!

Yes, I always use less aggressive combinations first and try to complete the job by removing as little paint as possible. I once had a former boss in college who would say "that's one less" after using reverse on his tractor to bring jetski's off the beach...and I always hear him saying that when sanding or polishing.

[AndrewBigA]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

nice! these lil cars were badazz back in the day. your father has a nice cherry that he should hold onto for many more years to come! honda tried to bring back the crx body style in the new model but i think thats a fail! always the orig car wins out! nice work again!

[ethereal45]

Re: 1991 CRX Si: Paint Correction w/ many pictures

What a nice simple, uncrowded engine bay. The audi engineers could take a page out of their book.