# Honda Civic from Hell(as)



## Kotsos (May 7, 2011)

Hi everyone

Few weeks ago a good fellow civinfoer asked me if I could help him to make his car regain its former glory after 6 years. Before doing anything he informed me that the car suffered from many scratches. I was more than happy to accept this challenge

As per usual car de-tared de-ironed foamed washed clayed dtied

Few pics of the preparation process









First job on the list was doing the interior

ADS leather and fabric shampoo did great job ( please excuse me for my water bottle appearing lol )











As interior finished it was time to proceed to the difficult part

Few pics of initial paint condition

















Obviously car had never been treated again so paint reading was quite healthy

Scholl s17 used to remove heavier defects from the paint

Bonnet









Right fender









Right door was a real challenge



My trusty Shinex did it again







Rear right door









Rear roght fender







Pillar





Moving on the rear door



I couldn't fully removed couple of deeper but improvement was dramatic after couple passes.



Left side could not be in better shape

Left fender









Drivers door







Please ignore my hand print bighand loooool



Bighand works fine 



As it wasn't a 8 hours work I had to do many energy breaks. Worked many days on this mostly late night after finishing my job



Rear left fender





Left rear door



Looks like redbull helped a lot







Another energy break before starting refining the paint



After finishing jewelling car moved outside and washed to remove polishing dust



Wheels cleaned at this point



Dried and spies hecker 7010 panel wipe make sure than paint was totally oil free.

Time for protection has come and 3 layers of ADS Artdekotsos ( so proud having my name given to such an amazing wax ) wax applied



Since everything was ready I had to wrap the car until my friend pick it





Next day and two NGPS layers later I present you the finished product









































Thanks a lot for reading this

All comments are welcome

Kostas


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Huge difference, I enjoyed looking at that


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## andymp85 (Jul 21, 2013)

what the hell do he do to the paint work that was awfull but great results


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## Goodfella36 (Jul 21, 2009)

Much improved i bet he was one happy owner :thumb:


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## khurum6392 (Oct 11, 2012)

great work dude


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## LSpec (Apr 7, 2013)

the car looks perfect, great


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Very nice bet your friend was well chuffed. Nice write up as well.


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## Wout_RS (Jun 13, 2012)

What a nice detail!

The car suffered indeed from serious scratches and wash swirls!
But you managed it nicely! The car is again in its former glory!

Nice work!


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## Le_Momo (Nov 25, 2011)

Impressive turnaround, it looked like it had been maintained with fairy liquid and a pan scourer, well done!


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## Mrizzle (Aug 11, 2012)

Your buddy must have been over the moon!! Fantastic work...well done you!!


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Great work:thumb:


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## Z4-35i (Jun 12, 2012)

Great improvement, I hope the owner looks after her now.


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## Spyco (Mar 24, 2011)

Well done Kosta. Very impressive work there and thank you very much for your compliment, even though you did not realised it. 

This very car has been polished by myself about 3 years a go, if I recall correctly, and it was nearly as bad as you show in the pics. Now for you to say that it has healthy readings (like no one machined it before) it is a great compliment for me and I do thank you. You 've also done Civics that had been professionally machined before and you know the difference.

The car must have been in a really bad shape with a lot of above surface contaminants for the use of a clay cloth on such a soft paint. Congrats mate.


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## bazzlem (Aug 31, 2013)

Excellent work


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## profoundoblu (Jan 30, 2013)

Stunning. I do love nighthawk black on civics, one of my fave colours


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Great Job...:thumb:

Oh the joys of trying to maintain a black car...:wall:

Must say that is a heck of a large wax pad the Monster/205 and festool are standing on.

Good idea they put handles on the base of it as its a bit too big for single handed holding....:lol:


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Absolutely beautiful Kostas!

Very nice 50/50's inside and out! I can see lots of effort went into this one!

I see an intercooler hiding in the front too! It must be fun to drive!


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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

Great job!


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## martin_46 (Aug 7, 2012)

Nice work! :thumb:


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## rhyst (Feb 17, 2013)

Great job


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## V3nom (Oct 31, 2012)

That's an amazing improvement buddy! Top job


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## AGRE (Sep 25, 2008)

Great work 

Some great shots & results :thumb:


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## Demetrios (May 8, 2011)

A very tired car, anyone can easily see that even exterior plastic trims have been swirled :doublesho

But the magic hand of yours did it again; fine finish, deeper scratches are either gone or became much less noticeable, Kotsos wax has looks to kill and I am eager to test it myself over the upcoming weeks.

Well done my friend, excellent work :thumb:


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## Zolasbackheel (Feb 11, 2013)

Great turnaround. Looks like it was washed with sandpaper or something lol


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Massive improvement! Great job! I also tried the wax last weekend thanks to a kind DW member and I really enjoyed it. The beading is amazing!

ATB
Jon


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## James Bagguley (Jul 13, 2013)

The other guys have used every positive description in the book, and rightly so, a stunning level of correction, a real pleasure to behold.
Thanks for sharing, great work :thumb:


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## wanner69 (Mar 14, 2010)

Stunning results again Kostas, the woes of crap Honda paint


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## GrantB5 (Nov 6, 2011)

Youre a good friend haha


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## Socal Brian (Dec 4, 2011)

Night and day improvement. Beautiful job!


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

What a mess before, Stunning turnaround.


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## shaunwistow (May 13, 2011)

Well done Kostas, beautiful turnaround & great pics & write up. Now slap your mate for letting it get in that state


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## Acepage (Apr 29, 2013)

Great job mate very good!!


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## xonxon (Nov 3, 2011)

Well done!!!


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## Lewis_ (Jun 29, 2013)

Impressive turn around!


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## GarveyVW (Jun 28, 2013)

Fantastic turnaround, the paint looks like glass!! The 50/50 shots show the massive difference. Great write up as well.


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## efib (Sep 18, 2012)

Amazing kotsos , 50-50 are awesome .
Stunning work as always :thumb: !!


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## minnnt (Mar 5, 2007)

Was it kept in a hedge? You've done a brilliant job mate.


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## steve from wath (Dec 12, 2008)

lovely rescue there kotsos

some nice correction work,as it was in a bit of a state

looks brand new

i hope you educated the owner on how not to let it get like that again


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## 636 (Oct 23, 2012)

Seriously impressive!


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## 636 (Oct 23, 2012)

minnnt said:


> Was it kept in a hedge?


Hahahaha


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## DOBE (May 4, 2012)

Wow again Kostos. 

Hope you have told your mate on how to look after it and not let it get in such a state again. 

Gotta love the NHB when its looked after though.


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Great turn around , looking very nice


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## Autogeek (Mar 3, 2011)

Great job big difference!


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## jamesgti (Aug 9, 2007)

Wow great work.


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

Impressive work. What did you use on the tyres, they look damn near perfect to me


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## diesel x (Jul 27, 2013)

Great work. Impressive 50/50.


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## jamie crookston (Aug 30, 2010)

Fantastic work. Great read


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## PIRHONEY (Aug 11, 2009)

nice work


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## 123HJMS (Mar 13, 2013)

what tyre dressing did you use buddy?


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## Matty77 (Nov 7, 2012)

Amazing transformation. Thanks for sharing!


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## Kotsos (May 7, 2011)

Thans everyone for you kind comments



Le_Momo said:


> Impressive turnaround, it looked like it had been maintained with fairy liquid and a pan scourer, well done!


Owner is father of two small kids so dont have lots of time to spend on the car



Z4-35i said:


> Great improvement, I hope the owner looks after her now.


Hope he does. As far as i know he has a qd shampoo and decent towel to do the basics



Spyco said:


> Well done Kosta. Very impressive work there and thank you very much for your compliment, even though you did not realised it.
> 
> This very car has been polished by myself about 3 years a go, if I recall correctly, and it was nearly as bad as you show in the pics. Now for you to say that it has healthy readings (like no one machined it before) it is a great compliment for me and I do thank you. You 've also done Civics that had been professionally machined before and you know the difference.
> 
> The car must have been in a really bad shape with a lot of above surface contaminants for the use of a clay cloth on such a soft paint. Congrats mate.


Didnt know that you had previously polished that. Truth is that i have done few cars after they supposed to be polished and all of them were mess. Burned paint on edges buffers trails low paint readings to name a few. This one had nothing of the above only swirls and deep scratches.



profoundoblu said:


> Stunning. I do love nighthawk black on civics, one of my fave colours


NHB is an amazing colour and flake is awsome but pita to keep it mint 



james_death said:


> Great Job...:thumb:
> 
> Oh the joys of trying to maintain a black car...:wall:
> 
> ...


As an owner of black civic aswell i can feel that keeping it in decent condition is a pig.

Thanks for my monster 205 rotex photo, i reckon is a bit inspired from Gordons munchy boxes lol



-Raven- said:


> Absolutely beautiful Kostas!
> 
> Very nice 50/50's inside and out! I can see lots of effort went into this one!
> 
> I see an intercooler hiding in the front too! It must be fun to drive!


Thanks a lot bro. Nice someone mention the interior too, owner couldnt believe his seats were that dirty, or as I told him '' they are not very dirty but now they are very clean lol ''

Yes you saw correct , it is turno charged and runs under few modifications :car:



Demetrios said:


> A very tired car, anyone can easily see that even exterior plastic trims have been swirled :doublesho
> 
> But the magic hand of yours did it again; fine finish, deeper scratches are either gone or became much less noticeable, Kotsos wax has looks to kill and I am eager to test it myself over the upcoming weeks.
> 
> Well done my friend, excellent work :thumb:


Thanks a lot for your kind words Dimitri.

TBH i m very lucky was dealing soft Honda paint and deep scratch removal was a bit easier. Difficult thing about Hondas is not correction but finishing without scratching fresly polished surface lol

I m waiting for you feedback about the wax i m sure you ll love it



JBirchy said:


> Massive improvement! Great job! I also tried the wax last weekend thanks to a kind DW member and I really enjoyed it. The beading is amazing!
> 
> Thanks a lot Jhon, Artdekotsos is lovely wax to use very easy and looks are great
> ATB
> Jon





James Bagguley said:


> The other guys have used every positive description in the book, and rightly so, a stunning level of correction, a real pleasure to behold.
> Thanks for sharing, great work :thumb:


Always room for positive and kind words Thanks a lot



Grante36 said:


> Youre a good friend haha


Cheers i m trying to keep them happy



shaunwistow said:


> Well done Kostas, beautiful turnaround & great pics & write up. Now slap your mate for letting it get in that state


Cheers Shauno, no i will not he promised me he will look after it from now on



steve from wath said:


> lovely rescue there kotsos
> 
> some nice correction work,as it was in a bit of a state
> 
> ...


Thank you Steve, hope he is wiser now 



DOBE said:


> Wow again Kostos.
> 
> Hope you have told your mate on how to look after it and not let it get in such a state again.
> 
> Gotta love the NHB when its looked after though.


Thanks Dobe he knows the basics now ball on his field.

We all love NHB but i m fancy swapping mine with a Champion White 



lowejackson said:


> Impressive work. What did you use on the tyres, they look damn near perfect to me


Thanks a lot. I used ArtDeShine hydrophobic tyre coat. I m big fan of it tyres look so fresh and natural



123HJMS said:


> what tyre dressing did you use buddy?


As above i used Artdeshine hydrophobic tyre coat here is an older pic you can see the nice finish it provides


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

Outstanding work Kostas, unbelievable finish now.
Grear correction throughout and good to see playing safe in certain areas as far as removal rates are concerned.

I enjoyed the write up, another from one of GR's finest detailers.


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## bazz (May 15, 2007)

great job fella and it looked in a right state before


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## OldMX (Nov 5, 2007)

Looks fkin awesome, excellent work!!


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## sicko (Jun 20, 2009)

nice!


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## mgpdoc (Nov 21, 2012)

Amazing work and a very nice presentation. Well done my friend. 

Just stop drinking these energy drinks if you love your heart, at all. 

Cheers


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## Artdeshine (Aug 21, 2012)

*abnormal skill use abnormal ads*

Hi kotsos i yook 15 mins to view but i can say only one word. Abnormal skill use abnormal Products.

:wave::wave::wave:



Kotsos said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> Few weeks ago a good fellow civinfoer asked me if I could help him to make his car regain its former glory after 6 years. Before doing anything he informed me that the car suffered from many scratches. I was more than happy to accept this challenge
> 
> ...


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## blackjz (Dec 23, 2008)

awesome result kotsos...i always admire your work


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## Black Magic Detail (Aug 17, 2010)

great save Kotsos ,great work and finish .
Stevie BMD


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## richtea78 (Apr 16, 2011)

alfred said:


> Hi kotsos i yook 15 mins to view but i can say only one word. Abnormal skill use abnormal Products.
> 
> :wave::wave::wave:


Did you really need to quote the whole post? :lol:


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Brilliant work Kostas! I don't think people appreciate just how hard it is to deal with Honda paint! You're the Honda master! :thumb:


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## spiros (Mar 30, 2010)

I am sure that this honda now has a place in heaven after your treatment :doublesho


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## Kotsos (May 7, 2011)

Thank you everyone for the very kind comments



AaronGTi said:


> Outstanding work Kostas, unbelievable finish now.
> Grear correction throughout and good to see playing safe in certain areas as far as removal rates are concerned.
> 
> I enjoyed the write up, another from one of GR's finest detailers.


Thank you my friend. Always try to play safe, swirls will appear again but clear coat will not 



mgpdoc said:


> Amazing work and a very nice presentation. Well done my friend.
> 
> Just stop drinking these energy drinks if you love your heart, at all.
> 
> Cheers


Thank you Michael

Once a doctor always a doctor, truth is I m not massive fan of these drinks but its the only thing you can find in after midnight hours.

Looks like our national frape will continue be my energy push



alfred said:


> Hi kotsos i yook 15 mins to view but i can say only one word. Abnormal skill use abnormal Products.
> 
> :wave::wave::wave:


Thank you Alfred I was a bit scary to quote your message as I didn't want to see write up once more lol.



blackjz said:


> awesome result kotsos...i always admire your work


Thank you David I also admire your work and a bit jealous about cars you are recently working.



Black Magic Detail said:


> great save Kotsos ,great work and finish .
> Stevie BMD


Thanks a lot Stevie



richtea78 said:


> Did you really need to quote the whole post? :lol:


I was going to ask the same lol



-Raven- said:


> Brilliant work Kostas! I don't think people appreciate just how hard it is to deal with Honda paint! You're the Honda master! :thumb:


Thank you Matty,

Truth is after doing couple of dozens of these I can say I have a wee experience dealing with them



spiros said:


> I am sure that this honda now has a place in heaven after your treatment :doublesho


Lol Spiros actually this Honda has a place in owners heart again


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## moono16v (Oct 12, 2010)

Brilliant!!


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## AudiKosti (Jan 28, 2013)

nice transformation! the paint of the car is like many over here in Cyprus!

oreos!


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Great job matey,
Couldn't have done it better my self:detailer:


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## Raga (Feb 14, 2012)

Enjoyed going through your write up! Plenty of before and after pictures , you have done a brilliant job!


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## Ongoing (Sep 3, 2012)

Massive difference great results


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## MitchB121 (Nov 23, 2009)

amazing improvement! well done mate!


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## Rainbow (Oct 30, 2013)

That's something I could call "World class" !


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## DanN92 (Nov 16, 2010)

Fantastic turnaround...fair play! :thumb:


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Sorry I'm late to this party, but it has to be said, STUNNING!! You are up there mate, truly


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## Kotsos (May 7, 2011)

Cheers everyone



AudiKosti said:


> nice transformation! the paint of the car is like many over here in Cyprus!
> 
> oreos!


Efharisto Kosti

looks lije its something really common in countries that detailing is an unknown word but i think time to time people here are getting more interested about their cars.



Raga said:


> Enjoyed going through your write up! Plenty of before and after pictures , you have done a brilliant job!


Thank you I do really like take many pictures. Truth is that many times pictures help me spot few slight imperfections that i cant see the specific time. So i call it my third eye


Rainbow said:


> That's something I could call "World class" !


Thats very kind of you but I think its far away from world class, i ve seen works here lot better.



stangalang said:


> Sorry I'm late to this party, but it has to be said, STUNNING!! You are up there mate, truly


Thanks bro looks like green cable machine does the job


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