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Thread: Dan's Garage - 2005 Mazda RX8 - Red

  1. #1
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    Default Dan's Garage - 2005 Mazda RX8 - Red

    This weekend's car was shaping up to be a reasonable challenge. Upon initial inspection it was clear that the paintwork had been thoroughly thrashed. There were swirls and scratches all over it. It was also quite obvious by it's look and feel that there was quite a severe level of oxidation. The paint had the feel of coarse grade sandpaper and had none of that nice metallic pop you see in Mazda metallic reds. It was very dull as the photos below show.














    Headlights badly oxidised. Almost to the point of being dangerous





    [img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/Caffeine_Fiend/Detailing/Huan%20-%20Red%20RX8/IMG_1660.jpg[img]

    Lots of build-up across the car, especially around the exhausts





    Chem decontamination on the wheels and across the paintwork to help loosen off some of the oxidation



    Foam wash with a heavy APC mix



    After claying with the surface prep towel, i pulled the car into the garage. Immediately I noticed pinholing in the roof, an indicator of some low paint levels.

    A check with the paint depth gauge confirmed suspicions











    Considering the depth of the swirls and rids in the paint, I called the owner and explained my hesitation with completing a full correction based on these paint levels. We agreed to a light single pass machine to do some minor levelling and bring some gloss back, and then glaze with Amigo to help fill some of the marring. Prima Epic would then be used over the top as the LSP sealant.

    I also polished up the headlights and Opti-Coated them to restore some UV protection. Unfortunately there was a tiny hole in the passenger side headlight which was allowing condensation through to the inside of the lens.





    Exhaust tips were cleaned up using a combination of hand polishing and the Dremel

    Before



    After



    Tools used



    The rear exhaust surrounds and trim were also brought back to life with Carpro DLUX

    Caff Mobile Mk1 - 2010 Aluminum Gen II | 2XS SRI | H&R Lowered Springs | cpe 75 Duro Engine Mount | Whiteline Rear Swaybar | Moog "Problem Solver" Rear Endlinks | 3M Carbon Black Tint | Lakin Custom Plates | Opti-Coat Paint Protection | Paint Correction by Me - SOLD

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  2. #2
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    Some final outdoor pics

















    Caff Mobile Mk1 - 2010 Aluminum Gen II | 2XS SRI | H&R Lowered Springs | cpe 75 Duro Engine Mount | Whiteline Rear Swaybar | Moog "Problem Solver" Rear Endlinks | 3M Carbon Black Tint | Lakin Custom Plates | Opti-Coat Paint Protection | Paint Correction by Me - SOLD

    Caff Mobile Mk2 - 2008 BMW Z4M Coupe - Sapphire Black Metallic | Stock....for now

  3. #3

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    Nice. What's the standard amount of paint depth for the rx8s?

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Dan's Garage - 2005 Mazda RX8 - Red

    Cheers Daz.

    Between 100 and 140 microns is reasonable for an RX8

    Sub-100 on any 2 stage car (base and clear coat) can start to become an issue

    This particular car had obviously had a hard life. The owner has only had it for three months and it was clear prior to that, from the amount of oxidisation present, that the car had lived most of its life outside.

    Also going by the paint levels it had had a number of very aggressive paint corrections over the last seven years.

    I chose to err on the side of caution, as attempting any sort of reasonable correction could have resulted in striking through the clear coat and into the base coat underneath. I figure it's better to have a slightly swirly, but glossy car with some life left in its clear coat, than otherwise.

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
    Last edited by Caffeine Fiend; 03-12-2012 at 12:33 PM.
    Caff Mobile Mk1 - 2010 Aluminum Gen II | 2XS SRI | H&R Lowered Springs | cpe 75 Duro Engine Mount | Whiteline Rear Swaybar | Moog "Problem Solver" Rear Endlinks | 3M Carbon Black Tint | Lakin Custom Plates | Opti-Coat Paint Protection | Paint Correction by Me - SOLD

    Caff Mobile Mk2 - 2008 BMW Z4M Coupe - Sapphire Black Metallic | Stock....for now

  5. #5
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    the difference between before and after photos do show through here. The sparkle off the hood and badges evident. Pays to be cautious at times and still get a good result.

  6. #6
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    Thanks Den. There would have been at least a good 4-5 years of oxidation on it. Not the worst I've seen, but in the top 5 for sure.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Dan's Garage - 2005 Mazda RX8 - Red

    Scary, stuff what people can be do, unknowingly, I suppose.

    None the less, nice job there Dan. The headlight correction a great improvement. Can a novice try something along the same lines? A colleague at work, her black Crewman, and it's head lights are in similar condition.

    Sent from my Huge Samsung Note 2

  8. #8
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    That's a brilliant effort to rejuvenate the paintwork Dan, the aftershots definately show the paint with a deeper shine & colour! A really good transformation, i bet the client was very happy with this result!

  9. #9
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    Thanks Guys. It does go to show that a reasonable result can still be achieved without a full correction. Which is the main reason I did this write up really.

    Funnily enough, you'd think that there would have been less time involved, considering that a full correction wasn't done. In fact I still ended up spending about 12 hrs on it. Mainly owing to the fact that it had obviously been years since it had received any sort of decent rejuvenation. The exhaust pipes alone took around an hour of polishing due to the crud that was quite literally etched into the metal, almost like rust.

    Hopefully the new owner won't let it get back to the way it was. I did say to him though that as far as the paint is concerned, if he wanted to ever see a truly corrected surface, it would need a respray. There's just not enough to work with anymore without seriously compromising the long term protection of the clear coat.

    Brad, in answer to your question, there are headlight restoration kits you can buy for your power drill, however they are of a basic quality level, mainly because you sometimes need the forced rotation abilities of a rotary polisher to be able to get a truly clear finish.

    You can still get a reasonable level of correction though.

    There are also kits that include sandpaper for you to use by hand instead of any sort of machine polishing. I don't generally like these as I feel they don't tend to finish down well enough. There still invariably ends up being sanding marks that aren't able to be removed by hand, even using the 2nd stage polish many include.

    This is a personal opinion based on how hard I know it is to remove sanding marks with anything other than a machine.
    Last edited by Caffeine Fiend; 04-12-2012 at 02:59 PM.
    Caff Mobile Mk1 - 2010 Aluminum Gen II | 2XS SRI | H&R Lowered Springs | cpe 75 Duro Engine Mount | Whiteline Rear Swaybar | Moog "Problem Solver" Rear Endlinks | 3M Carbon Black Tint | Lakin Custom Plates | Opti-Coat Paint Protection | Paint Correction by Me - SOLD

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  10. #10
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    The aftermath looks great!
    Out of curiosity, do you do this for a living?

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by CharlieDay View Post
    The aftermath looks great!
    Out of curiosity, do you do this for a living?
    Thanks for that

    I guess I'd call myself a semi-pro/hardcore enthusiast.

    I've done more cars than your average detailing enthusiast, but I don't do it full time......if that makes any sense?

    Three out of every four of my weekends are taken up with detailing different cars. Sometimes more

    I limit myself to a single car per weekend. I don't try to churn them out. I like to take my time and try to achieve the best result I can. That's the "enthusiast" in me.

    I do charge some money to cover my costs plus some for my time/expertise, however I think, out of those who have come to me for work, most would say I'm reasonably cheap for what I do.
    Last edited by Caffeine Fiend; 04-12-2012 at 03:19 PM.
    Caff Mobile Mk1 - 2010 Aluminum Gen II | 2XS SRI | H&R Lowered Springs | cpe 75 Duro Engine Mount | Whiteline Rear Swaybar | Moog "Problem Solver" Rear Endlinks | 3M Carbon Black Tint | Lakin Custom Plates | Opti-Coat Paint Protection | Paint Correction by Me - SOLD

    Caff Mobile Mk2 - 2008 BMW Z4M Coupe - Sapphire Black Metallic | Stock....for now

  12. #12
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    Default Re: Dan's Garage - 2005 Mazda RX8 - Red

    It's his weekend self inflicted suffering hobby

    Awesome work as usual dan

  13. #13
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    Haha, sounds like you get plenty of interest! Do you advertise?

  14. #14
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    Default Re: Dan's Garage - 2005 Mazda RX8 - Red

    Nah, referral and word of mouth only

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

  15. #15

    Default Dan's Garage - 2005 Mazda RX8 - Red

    Quote Originally Posted by CharlieDay View Post
    Haha, sounds like you get plenty of interest! Do you advertise?
    Wow.... Could you imagine. @Caffeine Fiend would have to give up the day job and maybe the wife!

    He be booked out until the middle of next year... Oh wait.... He already is


    Peter "SLIXX"

    Snapped by Tangcla - FB Page
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    Lots of love from 2XS Racing & Dan's Garage Detailing

  16. #16
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    Default Re: Dan's Garage - 2005 Mazda RX8 - Red

    The day job is already on shakey ground. Found myself randomly perusing warehouse space today.

    Bah....too expensive!

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Caffeine Fiend View Post
    Thanks Guys. It does go to show that a reasonable result can still be achieved without a full correction. Which is the main reason I did this write up really.

    Funnily enough, you'd think that there would have been less time involved, considering that a full correction wasn't done. In fact I still ended up spending about 12 hrs on it. Mainly owing to the fact that it had obviously been years since it had received any sort of decent rejuvenation. The exhaust pipes alone took around an hour of polishing due to the crud that was quite literally etched into the metal, almost like rust.

    Hopefully the new owner won't let it get back to the way it was. I did say to him though that as far as the paint is concerned, if he wanted to ever see a truly corrected surface, it would need a respray. There's just not enough to work with anymore without seriously compromising the long term protection of the clear coat.

    Brad, in answer to your question, there are headlight restoration kits you can buy for your power drill, however they are of a basic quality level, mainly because you sometimes need the forced rotation abilities of a rotary polisher to be able to get a truly clear finish.

    You can still get a reasonable level of correction though.

    There are also kits that include sandpaper for you to use by hand instead of any sort of machine polishing. I don't generally like these as I feel they don't tend to finish down well enough. There still invariably ends up being sanding marks that aren't able to be removed by hand, even using the 2nd stage polish many include.

    This is a personal opinion based on how hard I know it is to remove sanding marks with anything other than a machine.

    Thanks Dan, I think I'd direct them towards Kim (Opticoat detailer) for some professional help. They're not THAT kind of car people
    Redbull is DEAD!!

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  18. #18

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    Awesome Job!

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yeldarb View Post
    Thanks Dan, I think I'd direct them towards Kim (Opticoat detailer) for some professional help. They're not THAT kind of car people
    I like Opti-Coating headlights after doing this sort of work. It's a "fire and forget" sort of thing. Should never have to worry about it again unless someone abrasively polishes off the Opti-Coat
    Caff Mobile Mk1 - 2010 Aluminum Gen II | 2XS SRI | H&R Lowered Springs | cpe 75 Duro Engine Mount | Whiteline Rear Swaybar | Moog "Problem Solver" Rear Endlinks | 3M Carbon Black Tint | Lakin Custom Plates | Opti-Coat Paint Protection | Paint Correction by Me - SOLD

    Caff Mobile Mk2 - 2008 BMW Z4M Coupe - Sapphire Black Metallic | Stock....for now

  20. #20

    Default Dan's Garage - 2005 Mazda RX8 - Red

    Good result coming off a rough base, Dan!

    Btw - thought you might appreciate this.....


    Click image for larger version. 

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