2007 Toyota Matrix brought back from deaths doorstep

[TTQ B4U]

A fellow member of a local racing club board I'm a part of contacted me about his wife's 2007 Matrix in efforts to remove several years of neglect, most of which were due in part to the previous owner as the vehicle is "newer" to them. It has 95k+ miles on it but over in decent shape.

The good news is that Toyota's white much like Honda's tends to be single stage paint, thus no clear coat to fail. Instead this one was as chalky as a grade school eraser....back when they used chalk boards The other fix that was needed to was to restore the headlights which had moderately bad UV failure and crazing. The upside is they were still fixable, but the downside is they were neglected long enough for the damage to cause a slightly clouding inside and stress cracks to appear.

The cure here involved a three step process. Compound, polish and then seal. Being single stage paint isn't compatible with most ceramic coatings, I sealed this one up with some of the best out there. The headlights were sanded, polished and sealed with two coats of UV sealant specially designed for headlamps.

The weather was warm for January but sprinkles wouldn't leave and kept me from garnering any real good outdoor photos. White is tough enough to capture, let alone when I'm stuck with poor lighting and a cell phone. Here it goes anyway.

Before:

Notice the hood bare even shows the reflection of the two sets of T5 High output bulbs in the fixtures above. The headlamps look like they are suffering from Jaundice too.




You don't get any more chalky and dull than this:





So chalky and oxidized you can almost feel it in the photos




After washing the vehicle completely it's time to chemically decontaminate it. This baby was so dry just about ever spec of ferrous partials to touch it found a home embedded in into paint.






I use a mix of compounds to allow for longer working times. The left has is oxidized, the right has seen first crack at removing it.




Here's a shot of the rear door after basic compounding




Once polished though, all is good again




The roof finally reflects once again




Windshield Cowling Restored from UV Damaged gray to black




B-Pillars back to the satin finish they were originally when new




All shined up and the lights are clear again. The slight haze drives me nuts but it's on the inside thus requiring them to removed and opened up to fully fix.






Wheels are just plastic covers but I cleaned them up and sealed them with Sonax Wheel and Rim Shield. I'm not a huge fan of Endurance but I had some and wanted to use it up and it does hold up well to the rain we're getting.





Ready for pick up by customer




Overall I was pleased with the correction and the outcome and if his texts can be quoted, the word "Amazing!" popped up a few times. I do appreciate Adam's trust and look forward to helping him with his 2008 Accord.

• Meg's Gold Class Wash
• Bleach White for the Tires
• Griot's Garage Wheel Cleaner
• Flex 3401 with L.C. Hybrid Force Orange Pads for the Compound and Green Hexlogic Pads for HDSpeed and then L.C. Black pads for the Collinite 476
• CarPro Iron-X
• Nano Brand Medium Sponge for decontamination
• Meg's 101 Foam Compound and Ultimate Compound for the dirty work
• HDSpeed for the polish and initial sealant
• Collinite 476 for the LSP
• Adam's In and Out for the Trim
• Sonax Wheel & Rim shield
• Meg's Endurance Gel on the tires

[WillSports3]

I used to own a white matrix, great reliable car but the ones built up here in Canada are clear coated. Exact year too, it's great and nostalgic to see one detailed and restored. Great work man.

Edit:
Mckee 37 coating is compatible with single stage.

[Sizzle Chest]

Nice save! Looks very good! Thumbs up and the client should be very happy!

[Eldorado2k]

Everything looks so great my friend.
You used Adams in & out on the B pillars?

[TTQ B4U]

Everything looks so great my friend.
You used Adams in & out on the B pillars?

Thank you sir. The Adams I used on the windshield cowling and the grills on the front of the car. The Pillars and window trim I simply polished with HDSpeed and then coated with 476. They appear to be the same vinyl overlays like many cars tend to have.

[Eldorado2k]

Thank you sir. The Adams I used on the windshield cowling and the grills on the front of the car. The Pillars and window trim I simply polished with HDSpeed and then coated with 476. They appear to be the same vinyl overlays like many cars tend to have.

That's good info. I tend to not mess with those type of pillars because lots of products don't play well with that type of surface. I'll keep that in mind and hopefully test it out someday, thanks.


Sent from my iPhone

[TTQ B4U]

That's good info. I tend to not mess with those type of pillars because lots of products don't play well with that type of surface. I'll keep that in mind and hopefully test it out someday, thanks.

It works great. Just be sure like many pillars, to either use an old pad or learn to live with one that stays stained black/gray to some extent. I have a green pad that I keep and use on them. It cleans up okay but never to where I would use it on other surfaces again. Call me OCD.

[kevincwelch]

Great work! Looks exactly like my parents' white TACO and white CRV - parked outside 24/7 in Key West. I would love to tackle them some day.

[Thenissanguy]

wow great work

[backtees]

Very nice!


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