Stu

Hey all.

Got the windows tinted a while back, but havent had a chance to post any pics with my car being so dirty. So I cleaned it up today & this pic is only with the claybar/wash/Z2. Haven't gotten to the 2nd coat,or the Z5. I am working on that in the garage after a few hrs to eat.

Anyways... The tint is 5%, and looks okay, I guess.

lefuton

gonna get some black rims too? if i didn't get a yellow one, i would have gotten black for sure.

RX8FanMan

how deep is that tint, man it goes so good!

Outlaws eXtreme

If a car was that dark was driven here in So Cali, instant pull over. The CHP are so **** about dark tint.

Stu

Thanks guys for the comments.

lefuton, you know I actually thought about getting some black wheels, but without something to break up the solid black wall of a car, I think it would look rather stupid.

RX8FanMan, The tint is 5% black Lumar gloss I think is what it's called. A friend of mine just opened up a custom car shop, & of course, started out with tint, and is building inventory to do pretty much anything.

Outlaws eXtreme, yeah. I have not been hassled yet, and I am not sure I will. I had 5% over 5% on my other car for years, with a front strip that was about 12in wide that was UNTINTED on the windshiled, the rest was black. I never got pulled overfor it, but a couple of officers would tell me I needed totake it off, if they saw me in a parking lot somewhere.

My clear corners & fender strakes are on the way to me from Japan, and I have my rotary accents @ my local dealer if I can find time to swing by & grab them. More pics then, when I get everything on.

mrtux

man that reflection looks so nice with the tint blends it all in.

true about cali...a-holes. should design some cameras outside in replace of the mirrors and two screens left and right of the steering wheel so we can tint the side windows all we want! ...with the navi screen working as the rear

brothervoodoo

Wow that's dark, your new name is now "night rider"...

You may have some difficulty backing up at night, be careful.

cptmorgan2000

U used Clay bar on a brand new car .... Are u serious.. from what i have heard Clay bar is not good to use on ANY NEW CARS....
I went and bought Mother's clay bar and someone told me never to use it on my car b/c it's so new.... ? Did u use the clay bar on the entire car or just where u needed it...
Car Looks good.. I have 35% tints on mine and put a post up asking if anyone had 15% but no one posted pictures.. now that i see yours i am definitely getting them redone ...

VRRocket

Stu -
Don't know if you bought your accents yet, but I got mine in two days through Trussville Mazda. Excellent service and much better pricing (even with shipping) than my local dealers could do. Probably saved 25-30 bucks.

Smoker

According to the experts, using clay bar on a brand new car is the your vesy best option since what you are doing is trying to get the paint the most most pristine shape and then use Zaino to lock that in for good. And with a new car, the work is minimal so it is the best time to do it.

Pinhy

looks nice!! just got my black 8 2 days ago...getting tinted in the morning i think. i want to go 5% also. had that on my first black car and looked great. had 20% on my last car and it wasnt dark enough for me.

willhave8

Same reaction I had but clay is your friend. Yeah it is scary but the results are worth it and I saw no downside. Get your car very clean, keep the area you are working wet with soap and water or a detailing spray and move the clay around with little to no pressure and there should be no issues. Disclaimer --- at least I found no issues with mine - your results may vary.

Stu

Hey all.

Thanks for the comments. All are much appreciated. VRRocket, have not ordered the accents yet, but I am planning to do so either today, or tomorrow.

With regard to the clay bar, that has already been answered, but... I did use it, and it was relatively clean, with minor grime on it after getting behind the wheels, where everything splashes up.

I did have a couple of nics in the paint though, from driving through the construction on I40 I am sure.

Anyways, I didn't get a chance to post these yesterday because I went for a motorcycle ride after finishing my car, but here are some shots of it, after another coat of Z2, then the spray after every coat, and a final single coat of the Z5, then another once over with the detailing spray. I am VERY VERY impressed.

RX9

Your car looks awsome!

EstonRX

I just claybar'd a 10 year old car a few weeks aftering doing the new RX-8, and I definitely felt more comfortable on the new car than the old.

Like everybody has said, keep the surface well lubricated and the clay slides very easy, just picking up a few tidbits here and there.

The old car felt like sandpaper though, I had to refold my claybar like ten times because I felt like I was just grinding around debris.

Also did the second Zaino run on a year old car last weekend. Claybar and polish were very easy since we had the car Zaino'd when it was brand new.

So far only been using Z5 for polish, getting the Z2 shortly to see how much of a difference it will make.

Rev It Up

Thats it Im getting Zaino! Just took my black 8 out of storage and it should look that nice too. Are there any automotive stores that sell Zaino or can you only order it?

Stu

To the best of my knowledge, though you will need to checkyour area as well, it is only available for purchase online.

I checked every place that I knew of that sells automotive products & none in the Nashville area had it. However, I ordered the kit from Zainobros.com & it was here in 2days. They are awesome on the shipping!

MBL-RX8

I'll second that. I ordered on a Sunday night and got it Tuesday-Wednesday. As soon as I get some free time (and a decently warm weekend), I'm going to give my car one helluva a Zaino makeover! I can't wait to see if I can get my car to look that good.

OdDbaLL0789

You know, you can get nice black rims that aren't TOO dark, with maybe a chrome tip/lip(?) going around it at the end....nothing to ricey, but nice....

love the pics... how about black caliper w/ red RX-8 on it eh?...A++

Stu

OdDbaLL0789,

Those are very similiar to what I was thinking about. I looked at the MazdaSpeed black wheels, but I think they are solid, no chrome lip.

And, Yeah... I think my calipers are my next task. I got my clear corners a few days ago, which are now installed, waiting on my strakes. I think once I get those, I will order those templates from the guy on the forums & G2 caliper paints & either go black with a red 'RX-8' or solid red, with a silver-chrome sprayed 'RX-8' & then paint the main engine cover to match.

All still up in the air at the moment. I will know for sure once I finish