Blackout04RX

I bought my car with the understanding that the you dont always know how well the previous owner took care of the outside. I have had the car a few months at this point, and notice a few things. theres carbon buildup on the exhaust tips, which means he didnt clean them. And the clearcoat seems to be... well terrible. I had heard that mazda provided a poor factory paint job (not very long lasting) and hope this isnt the case. When I was the car, there is still very noticable swirls and imperfections alllll over the car. Especially the hood. I tried spending a few hours with the ice, and this solution does do a decent job of covering up the horror on the rear end of the car, and doors but the fenders, hood, and bumper still show this horrible scratching or swirling. I am at a loss... do I need to repaint these panels (if so I will wait until I have a body kit to do so ) or is there a solution that I can permenantly fix this without spending hours and hours waxing (I live in New England, wax jobs almost never last more than a day or two. and NEVER even a day in the winter time.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Before you consider a repaint do the usual:

Wash with Dawn detergent (to remove all wax), in the shade, and dry rapidly to avoid water spots - chamois, high quality towel, or leaf blower.
Claybar, with detailing spray as a lubricant, to remove any other contaminants.
Polish with a mild abrasive, using a random orbital buffer. Only increase the aggressiveness of the abrasive if absolutely necessary.
Wax with a quality, high content carnauba.

Detail spray often between waxings with a soft, high quality, lint free cotton or microfiber towel. Take it easy tho' as toweling is the number one swirl-inducing culprit, next to 'full contact' machine washing of course (which we would never do).

My wax jobs last quite awhile in NE this way.

ps: the owner of the car behind your '8 obviously doesn't care about swirls/scratches given the jean jacket carelessly thrown on the hood!

Leesha

I don't know how many times I've suggested this but look in my Meguiars sticky thread and click the link to videos. There they will show you suggestions on how to remove scratches with Scratch X and so on...

There are example pics in my thread of a test job I did on my car with excellent results...

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-show-shine-26/meguiars-products-excellent-126138/page4/

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Meguiar's Scratch X is great for very superficial scratches/swirls [of your well kept '8] Leesha, but his looks like it needs the full detailing. On the plus side, it can definitely be brought back with a good session of TLC.

btw: the '8 doesn't have a poor paint job. It is softer than some which is a pro for longevity, but does mar easier. Toughness vs. hardness. Life is compromise.

NgoRX8

iTrader: (1)

definitely need a full detail. the least you should do is have it inspected by a professional detailer if you really want to repaint it. but from the looks of it, a full detail will take it right out.

05rex8

iTrader: (7)

yeah, scratch x is not the cure for this--big waste of time IMO. Black cars are a lot harder to take care of. At this point you need someone with experience to buff the entire car with a ROTARY buffer. Not orbital--will only hide it for a bit until it rains. This is the only way for it to permenantly go away.

--Jonathan

NgoRX8

iTrader: (1)

a random orbital buffer would work fine. it just takes way too long to work its magic. a rotary fixes it a lot faster. granted it takes much more care to use. A professional would probably use a rotary anyways. lol.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Yep, a rotary buffer is definitely quicker, but in inexperienced hands a lot of damage can be done in a heartbeat. A random orbital buffer can be used with confidence by pretty much anyone.

RK

iTrader: (1)

Yer just noticing these things now?

No. It's not the case. As noted above it's annoyingly soft but it stands the test of time well. The flakes in my '04 nordic green mica still sparkle after every wash. Plenty of rock chips on the front bumper and scratches here or there but that happens when a car gets driven.

If you think you can keep your car well maintained without spending 'hours and hours' when you waxing/polishing it then you're not maintaining your car well and the guy who buys it after you will post on this forum with the same complaint you're posting. I spend an hour+ just washing my car. A full session, top to bottom, with multiple coats of Zaino requires at least 6 hours and if I'm able to devote more I will. The time you spend on the initial coats of polish is time invested on not needing to polish again for a long, long time.

You're using the wrong stuff or applying it wrong. Unless you're along the Atlantic New England is no different from Cleveland and I did a full application of Zaino on my car in May and it's lasted several months without showing much wear (I'm just now thinking about doing another coat). I keep mine off the roads in the Winter but plenty of folks from Chitown to New York drive there's and manage to keep them looking great.

You are probably going to have to have your car detailed or painted to fix your issues (they seem pretty significant) but after that is done take some time and prep your car right. Regardless of the product you end up choosing (and there are plenty of good recommendations on this forum) they all require time and effort to get it right.

onefatsurfer

If you're gonna do it yourself, do it right. Getting a detail shop to do it will cost at least $150. In my opinion, and, since I enjoy working on my car, I'd rather save the $, or spend it on very good products.

Go to the store and buy some decent car wax(I think Zaino is fantastic, but normal carnauba waxes are good too. The zaino stays for a VERY long time and looks great after every wash.)
Get a good, name brand scratch/swirl mark removing compound, some microfiber towels, a cotton/microfiber applicator, and some dawn dish soap.

Wash the car with the dish soap, this will remove all the prior wax and all the crap that's built up on your car. Then, going panel by panel, rub the scratch removing compound into the paint, following the directions on the bottle. Put a little muscle into it. Is this going to take a long time? YES! Is it worth your time to save yourself $100+? That's up to you to decide.

Buff the **** out of the panel, then wipe off all the compound, wash with dawn, dry, and look at the panel. Go over any problem spots again and again until you're satisfied. Continue this process for the entire car. When you're done, wash the car again, and dry it.

Touch up any chips WITHOUT USING THE BRUSH that's included in the touchup paint. Use factory mazda paint, other colors may not match. Use a paper match, dip it in the paint, and put tiny tiny amounts of paint into the chip at a time. Build up the paint until it's flush with the existing paint.

Guaranteed, you can get nearly all of the swirls/scratches out of your paint. Try using zaino, which, although it's expensive, does a spectacular job covering up swirls/scratches. Their product actually fills in the scratches, bonds to your paint, and lasts a very long time. And, it puts a shine on your car that is very nice, and the car feels so smooth it's unreal. Continue using Z-5 until you're happy with the finish of the paint, then use the Z-2 polish.

Zaino WILL last longer than a day, week, even a month. I live 2-1/2 blocks away from the atlantic in NJ, and the zaino lasted throughout the entire winter. Yes, the salt made my car look like crap, but all it took was a hosing off and the shine was back. The stuff is awesome.

Blackout04RX

I do live exactly there, very near the Atlantic coast in Connecticut. And my area has a love affair with sand during the winter as well as not liking the use of salt very much. But this is summer, and it should be noted that I had originally thought when I bought the car, and washed it a few times that these imperfections were poor qualities, and minor enough that I could wax it out. I don't know a whole lot about detailing because this is the first car I have owned that I really cared alot about to put the effort into.

I had definately considered a detail shop but I don't know any ones around here or if they are quality shops. I have read that clay barring would help alot, but I am rather unfamiliar with its practice. To date my experience with car cleaning has been vacuum, turtle wash, and dry with that rubbery absorber to help prevent water marks. Sorry if I am ignorant, but everyone starts somewhere right?

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Meguiars has all sorts of tutorial videos online; many others as well. You'll do fine. It's not rocket surgery.

http://www.meguiars.com/video/

joebennz

for proper techinque with videos, directions, etc. you can check out meguiarsonline.com or autopia.org. and if you do choose to have someone else do the work for you the right way, its definately going to cost more than $150

Blackout04RX

I spent about 3-4 hours washing, clay, and waxing it yesturday, Meguires clay kit definately made a big difference, there are still blemishes, things that only a rotor buffing will fix but I will not risk my paint job on a "lets try and hope I dont screw it up". I will wait till I can set aside the cash for a full pampering. heres the before and after.

onefatsurfer

lookin' good!

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Related: my roof had some "orange peel" in the paint so I did my usual 4-step process (post #2 above), notably the mild polish with my random orbital buffer and now it's again pristine. Most any scratch, swirl, etc. can be eliminated/reduced with patience and the right tools/products.

BRGREEN8

its looking a lot better than before.
now would be a time to look around for a decent buffer.

NgoRX8

iTrader: (1)

polishing will help. your wash, clay, and wax only temporarily helped. it still doesn't look good, and will eventually look the same as it did before. You should fix it now with a professional detail.

eberpimp69

I understand your problem and fear to use a rotary but that is why you can buy a PC and take care of all the swirls and scratches.
what you did was a waste of time because even though the car looks good you are only HIDING the imperfections.
NEVER use DAWN dish soap, it doesnt have enough lube and that can cause frictions stay with soap that is design for cars anyways you are going to need to clay before you polish.
Invest on a PC,pads,and Poorboys Products work great and are easy to use.
You cant burn paint with the PC so dont be afraid to use it plus the results are amazing. After you get rid of the defects then you apply your wax knowing that you have a perfect finish and that the swirls and scratches are not going to come back after a few car washes.

Now it comes the maintance, wash the car every week, use the 2 bucket method and use only quality microfiber. when you are done get a leaf blower and blow as much water of the car then follow with a good waffle towel. when you are done open a beer and stare at the 8

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Presumably you're referring to the Porter Cable (PC) orbital http://www.autogeek.net/poca746varap.html (nice to spell these things out/link for the uninitiated).

Dawn is great for a pre-polish wash (to strip old wax), but yes, otherwise use a dedicated car wash soap that won't strip the wax.