1999 Metallic Green MX-5 Miata *Swirl/Epic

[OctaneGuy]

Ok this is going to be a short thread because my original writeup is very lengthy, so it's probably better if I just show you a few pix, then you can go read the whole thing at your leisure.

The full Writeup is here

This Miata came to me courtesy of NAM member Longboard MINI. Thanks!


This Jpeg was emailed to the customer as a Progress Shot.





I used Prima Swirl on a Prima Orange Pad with my rotary, a Prima White Flat Pads with Swirl, then a PC with the same white pad and Swirl, then a Prima white pad with Amigo, then, a Prima Black Pad with Epic Synthetic Polymer Wax applied with the PC and wiped down with a Monster Fluffy followed by several Starfish Mitts.

[ScottRiqui]

Looks beautiful, as usual! Especially impressive considering the amount of swirling you started with.

I noticed you started off with the rotary before switching to the PC. On one of your future writeups, could you include a picture of how the paint looks after the rotary work, but before you start in with the PC? I'm trying to get a feel for how much hazing/micromarring is okay to have left when I'm done with the rotary and switch to the orbital.

Unfortunately, I don't get as much practice as I'd like, since most of the defects I deal with are mild enough that I just start off with the orbital and don't even use the rotary.

[lotsie]

OG, could you also show us sometime what a RO does without the rotary first. Some of us don't wield a rotary.

Mark

[Modnar]

Most impressive.

Let's not get into how easily those before shots could be my current car. It's even the exact same color.

If I wasn't selling it in a month I'd considering having someone take a rotary/PC to it, but my new MCS should hopefully be on a boat heading across the Atlantic right now.

Plus I don't know if my car deserves to be polished. It's lucky I tried out the Hydro on it. After a full day of battling Christmas crazed consumers in which I got all my my shopping complete my trunk decides it's not going to open anymore. With all of my Christmas shopping still in it! Thankfully the rear seats fold down. And I found the offending part. Which is only $0.78 (possibly the cheapest BMW repair ever).

Sorry for the vague thread sidetrack. I really needed to vent.

Update: I just read the full writeup. (Oh man, I would love to have a Miata of that vintage and color for use as a summer/weekend car. Maybe once the MINI is payed off. And I have somewhere to keep a second car.)

Very interesting use of the Black Wow on the beige vinyl top. I would have never even considered it. (You could make a mint selling it rebadged as Beige Wow. People would get two bottles.) I guess I always figured it did it's magic by somehow restaining the trim black. That's good to know.

I half want to ask how much a detail like that costs, but I probably don't even want to know.

[OctaneGuy]

Thanks Scott!

Sure, I can provide a picture. But when I'm done with the rotary, the finish isn't hazed or micromarred. It's actually flawless or nearly flawless before being hit with the PC except for buffer trails. I use the PC mostly to remove any machine instilled holograms or buffer trails/swirls. Sometimes on certain types of paints, micromarring isn't avoidable--they look like "rainbow swirls" and I'll use the PC to knock them out before going to wax.

The rotary is a great tool. Some people claim they can finish with the rotary and never hit the PC. Others say they can get to near hologram free results except from certain angles or lighting. For my work, that's too much of a risk, so I always follow rotary work with the PC to ensure that under all lighting conditions, and viewing angles, holograms won't be left behind.

Here's a spot with swirls


Polished out with the rotary and left behind are buffer trails. Ready to be finished with the PC.

Originally Posted by ScottRiqui

Looks beautiful, as usual! Especially impressive considering the amount of swirling you started with.

I noticed you started off with the rotary before switching to the PC. On one of your future writeups, could you include a picture of how the paint looks after the rotary work, but before you start in with the PC? I'm trying to get a feel for how much hazing/micromarring is okay to have left when I'm done with the rotary and switch to the orbital.

Unfortunately, I don't get as much practice as I'd like, since most of the defects I deal with are mild enough that I just start off with the orbital and don't even use the rotary.

[OctaneGuy]

The BW was more of a test than anything. I'm not recommending people use it in this way. I don't even know how long it will last--I just wanted to try it and see. As for the "restaining"--nope--BW is for any color trim--Black is just the most dramatic improvement and common, so thus I called it Black Wow--you're less likely to say Wow on a piece of beige plastic, lol.

As for the cost--the total was $475 which included the PDR work of removing 6 dents. The PDR work was actually more than half the price of the detail work, and in about 1/12th the time to fix it, lol.

Richard

Originally Posted by Modnar

Very interesting use of the Black Wow on the beige vinyl top. I would have never even considered it. (You could make a mint selling it rebadged as Beige Wow. People would get two bottles.) I guess I always figured it did it's magic by somehow restaining the trim black. That's good to know.

I half want to ask how much a detail like that costs, but I probably don't even want to know.

It's hard to do this. If you look at my earlier MINI details, most were done with a RO only. It all depends on the paint type. What's important is that I'm using Prima products and pads and that you could achieve these results with the RO as well--it will just take more time.

I've shown the differences in my clinics--the results are actually nearly the same. I used a black Corvette which has very hard paint. I showed that a PC using the Meguiar's system didn't even make a dent in the swirls, but the PC with Prima Swirl and an Orange pad go it nearly Swirl Free, and then I hit it with the rotary and Prima Swirl and White pad--or maybe it was an Orange--this was over 5 months ago---and got it swirl free in about half the time over the PC with Prima. Point being is that with Prima, it enables you to do quality similar to the rotary, just with more time involved.

Richard

Originally Posted by lotsie

OG, could you also show us sometime what a RO does without the rotary first. Some of us don't wield a rotary.

Mark

[lotsie]

Thanks Richard, I guess I was asking if the rotary did a better job, or if it did the same thing only faster than a RO

I too have wondered if BW would work on colours other than black I figured it would, so now I'm going to give it a go on some areas of the Cabrio's tan interior. It worked wonders bringing back the interior of my MC's boot where the dogs motor.

Mark

[Modnar]

Originally Posted by OctaneGuy

As for the cost--the total was $475 which included the PDR work of removing 6 dents. The PDR work was actually more than half the price of the detail work, and in about 1/12th the time to fix it, lol.

Wow, that's actually not too bad. If I was keeping my Beemer (and I lived even remotely close to California) I'd be paying you a visit. I was somehow expecting it to be more.

But I've been plenty satisfied with the way my car's looked so far. It wasn't until I started washing the car and using Hydro that all of the various imperfections stood out. Dents are a heck of a lot more noticable on a shiny car. I might have to let it get a bit dirtier before I sell it.

[lotsie]

Originally Posted by Modnar

Dents are a heck of a lot more noticable on a shiny car.

My wife said the same thing after I detailed her car last week. Sometimes ya just can't win

Mark

[OctaneGuy]

Although the Miata is small and has less paint, I did quote it slightly lower than I normally would because the owner also has a classic Porsche he wanted me to work on--if he liked my work on the Miata, lol.

Originally Posted by Modnar

Wow, that's actually not too bad. If I was keeping my Beemer (and I lived even remotely close to California) I'd be paying you a visit. I was somehow expecting it to be more.

But I've been plenty satisfied with the way my car's looked so far. It wasn't until I started washing the car and using Hydro that all of the various imperfections stood out. Dents are a heck of a lot more noticable on a shiny car. I might have to let it get a bit dirtier before I sell it.

[kenchan]

miata looks great!

or i should say the paint on the miata looks great. (Not a miata fan).