Neglected Miata

**somguy2u** · 08-27-2010, 04:56 PM

My good friend bought a new car - a Saabaru, and wants to sell his old miata.

His idea of Car Care is putting gas in it. I pained me to see his car so i offered to shine it up for him.

i forget what year it is, but it's only got 56k on the clock (it sits in a parking garage for months at a time, he travels a lot for work)

forgive the camera focus please - it's on the fritz

start:

washed a bit of the "protective layer of dirt" away and found this:

interior:

So i got to work - first sanded the one headlight, and polished it up with the 3m plastic cleaner and polish- i need to go more agressive, all i have is 2500 grit, then gave it a wash with some DP xtreme foam and my new foam gun (not the pressure washer one).

it cleaned up alright. when you get close it gets worse and worse:

i clayed it and it kept getting better. it did eat an entire meg's clay bar though, and there's not a lot of paint on this thing.

i have to go get my girlfriend at the airport so the rest will have to wait for tomorrow or sunday. this is my frist real correction work outside of moderate swirls so i am excited.

I have a plethora of products and it's surprisingly difficult to pick which one to use.

i am impressed with black though - i have always steered away from them because of the work that goes into them - but when you clean them up they sure look good.

Mike Phillips · 08-27-2010, 05:17 PM

What year is that?

Early Miatas were single stage unless they were metallics...

Looks like you did a great job!

**somguy2u** · 08-27-2010, 05:32 PM

it's the 2nd gen i want to say 2002 - but i reall don't know for sure. i don't think it's a metallic - but it's too swirled to tell.

**ToySupra727** · 08-27-2010, 05:35 PM

Not too bad from what I can make out. But if that red altezza in your avatar is yours please post clean pics of it!

**somguy2u** · 08-27-2010, 11:52 PM

it is mine! a lot of work went into that......not sure where you are from, but it's technically an IS300.

500 whp of turbocharged goodness

that miata really makes you appreciate the simple things, like power steering...

**ToySupra727** · 08-28-2010, 08:07 AM

Bah Intelligent Sport 300.

I'm in the states. I've been searching for an IS for a DD for sometime now. Still haven't found one I like just yet.

**somguy2u** · 08-28-2010, 05:25 PM

well day 2 and i got the hood done and the trunk done - it took some work. The hood turned out great, the trunk - it turned out alright, but not really to my liking. Compounding Single stage paint scares me a bit. I got it very very smooth to the touch, but it's still got a number of blemishes, i think it needs to be repainted personally.

The hood apparently has been repainted as it has a clear coat - and incidentally it turned out amazing.

so the weapons of choice for the hood:
Megs ultimate compound (i have grown to really like this stuff)
3m 39009 finishing glaze (used to be marketed as a swirl remover)
GG 6" DA and LC 6.5" Course green, and white pads
3m liquid wax
and because my friend is British, autoglym HD to top it off

half done with MUC on coarse green pad:

done compounding:

3m finish polish/glaze:

sealed and waxed:

the trunk turned out alright, the paint is in pretty rough shape and being single stage, i was nervous about compounding it with no experience with the stuff. i didn't document this as well:

MUC on orange pad and 3m finishing on white pad. PB BlackHole, 3m sealant and Autoglym wax:

not to bad for the pictures but up close you can see the flaws. i was impressed the PB BH really helped with the appearances of those imperfections - a great deal actually. i was pleasantly surprised.

**ToySupra727** · 08-28-2010, 05:28 PM

night and day difference from what I can tell! Great Job!

**somguy2u** · 08-28-2010, 05:38 PM

thanks man!

i ahev all my awesome-o products from AG but i figured i would use some other things i have as he's going to sell it when i am done.

the WG twins get saved for my car

.

I have always used 3m in the past and never had a problem, the 39009 is starting to show it's age, i was surprised how hard it was to remove compared to MUC and the WG twins. but i still love the results just as much

**ToySupra727** · 08-28-2010, 05:43 PM

Same as you man. I've used the Perfect-It line for years with a rotary and it's never failed me. This year I've gotten a DA and picked up a load of things off of AG and a few other places and sometimes I've wondered how I've gotten by.
I've got much love for 3m