Felt Blessed On This One: 2017 Mazda CX5

**richy** · 04-30-2017, 08:05 AM

This vehicle is from a repeat customer. That is always such a nice thing, but in this case, this repeat customer drives 2 hours to bring his vehicles to me. It is an honour which I take seriously. He had dropped the vehicle off when I was at work and I was to begin it after my 12 hour shift at the PD. When I received a text from him instructing me to open the back hatch prior to beginning the job, I was confused. I replied "???Why?" and he did not respond which was out of character for him. Hmmm...mysterious indeed.

Well the mystery was solved when I arrived home and opened the hatch. This extremely considerate and kind gift was waiting for me along with a letter stating how he appreciated what I did. I was very touched indeed. Here is what the thoughtful gift was:

OBAN is a very nice single malt Scotch whiskey. Damn, this detail was off to a lovely start!!! The vehicle was a brand new Mazda CX5. We had discussed several different options. He wanted something very glossy and not crazy expensive. We settled on triple coating Gloss coat. I had tried triple coating it on my wife's Durango and it was out of this world glossy and it has held up very well. He brought some GTechniq to do the windshield. He also purchased some Opti Seal to apply before next winter. I think he's very well prepared. I like dealing with customers who do research and are willing to invest their time and money into keeping the vehicle at the level at which you returned it to them.

Anyway, onto its arrival condition:

The vehicle was washed with the wheels and barrels and wells being done first. The wells were cleaned with LATA. The tires were cleaned with Zep 505 and the faces and barrels with Zep Citrus and Megs HW using a demoted wash mitt. After they were rinsed off, the barrels and the plastic wells were shot with Aqua Bead which is a less expensive (but really good) version of Hydro. The car was foamed, washed with DG 901 and clayed with a clay towel.

Normally I do the paint first and then coat and typically do the trim last. Since he had to drive 2 hours after getting the car, I had to consider the forecast which was calling for rain. Since DLux doesn't like to get wet within 24 hours, I coated the trim and wheels first along with the wiper cowl. The paint got a one step polish using an orange BnS pad + M205 +3401. There were a few spots that needed black wool + M100, but not many. The last CX5 I did for him had ridiculously thin paint (80's or less if I recall). This one was better ranging from mid 80's to high 90's, but still not as thick as most manufacturers.

The paint, head and tail lights as well as side and rear glass were all triple coated with Gloss Coat followed by Opti Seal. The windshield was given a double coat of GTechniq. The tires were shot with Opti Bond via an air gun. This is how it looked when we got back from me picking him up at the train station:

He was thrilled. Thanks for looking.

**Marc08EX** · 04-30-2017, 08:23 AM

Great work as always Richy! Nice to see you're pumping out lots of cars again.

What did you use to prep the paint in between M205 and Gloss Coat? Did the M205/orange pad remove all swirls?

It's amazing how this person gave you a gift. Truly shows how much they appreciate your efforts. It's not like they're not paying you. Wish I could have customers like this. Truly speaks volumes regarding your work.

**ShinyRex** · 04-30-2017, 08:57 AM

Richy, did you get to take paint measurements on this one. I remeber you mention the thin paint a while back and I own a CX5 and since I don't have a paint gauge I have focused on keeping it protected but not perfect as there are some water spots from when we bought it that I have never polished out. Just wondering if thin paint if thin paint is the norm for this vehicle.

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**DMiglio** · 04-30-2017, 09:07 AM

Wow, looks great and all in a single polishing step! Absolutely love the two head light shots.

**richy** · 04-30-2017, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by Marc08EX

Great work as always Richy! Nice to see you're pumping out lots of cars again.

What did you use to prep the paint in between M205 and Gloss Coat? Did the M205/orange pad remove all swirls?

It's amazing how this person gave you a gift. Truly shows how much they appreciate your efforts. It's not like they're not paying you. Wish I could have customers like this. Truly speaks volumes regarding your work.

Marc, yes I was really blown away. He had to pay for the job, a train ride both ways and a cab ride back to the train station when he dropped it off. I was fair with my pricing to him (basically didn't charge him to do the 3rd coat which took an hour and product), but still, I was very moved.
As far as the paint prep goes, I gave it an ONR wipe down after the M205 and prior to coating. I work 205 a long time, so there is very little residue left when I am initially wiping it off. I wipe it using 2 different mf's too: a fluffy one followed by two folded micro suede ones. I know I'm getting good adhesion with the coating doing what I do. Any defects were dealt with by the wool. The orange pad was just to make the flake jump.

Originally Posted by ShinyRex

Richy, did you get to take paint measurements on this one. I remeber you mention the thin paint a while back and I own a CX5 and since I don't have a paint gauge I have focused on keeping it protected but not perfect as there are some water spots from when we bought it that I have never polished out. Just wondering if thin paint if thin paint is the norm for this vehicle.

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Yes, I did. I compared them here:
"The last CX5 I did for him had ridiculously thin paint (80's or less if I recall). This one was better ranging from mid 80's to high 90's, but still not as thick as most manufacturers."
They do look to have improved it somewhat. I remember there being some discussion about their painting process being somewhat different than others during the last write up.

Originally Posted by DMiglio

Wow, looks great and all in a single polishing step! Absolutely love the two head light shots.

Thanks. I really like how aggressive they've made the styling on it. I was trying to capture that.

**ShinyRex** · 04-30-2017, 10:33 AM

The styling is really nice and one of the reasons we bought one. Out of the options we had it was the best looking and best handling vehicle within our budget.

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**Sicoupe** · 05-01-2017, 07:39 PM

Outstanding job as always my friend! Thanks for sharing.

Kyle

**richy** · 05-02-2017, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by Sicoupe

Outstanding job as always my friend! Thanks for sharing.

Kyle

Thanks buddy! I always appreciate you taking the time to comment, I really do.

**wolfpacker92** · 05-02-2017, 03:05 PM

I see Canada's best detailer is still doing phenomenal work. Great job and you're right it is so nice to have a customer that understands what we all get so excited about.

**richy** · 05-03-2017, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by wolfpacker92

I see Canada's best detailer is still doing phenomenal work. Great job and you're right it is so nice to have a customer that understands what we all get so excited about.

Hey buddy! Great to hear from you. Love being back in the saddle.