Detail on 1999 Twilight Blue Miata **No way 56K**

A few weeks ago I jumped into my first Miata... a 1999 Miata w/ 68k miles! :D

The prior owner even through in a huge Miata shop manual, he was eager to get rid of it because he had a new GTO to care for.

Anyway at the onset I knew that my PC was going to get a workout... the car had some issues with the paint at parts.

Yesterday I tackled a drivers side door weather-stripping and put new Sony 5"X7" speakers in the front door... then I washed her in preparation today.

My process:

Wash w/ Blue Coral
Clay
Pinnacle Intermediate Swirl Remover 3 on an Orange Pad
Menzerna Power Gloss on a Yellow Pad (only for mirror.. you will see below)
Menzerna Acrylic Jacket on a Blue Pad

A total of 5 hours spent today including a break for lunch.

I will take a bit of time out here to give a short sales pitch on the Porter Cable 7424. It is simply the best $130 I have ever spent on my car. You can do paint correction or if you are in a hurry you can wax an entire car in < 30 minutes.

I also want to give props to Menzerna Acrylic Jacket. The protection last for 6 months, it has a polishing substance to tackle light swirls and it saves two steps on a follow-up detail. Again it lasts 6 Months! I know it seems like a bunch of money $44, however after 6 cars detailed I have about 1/2 bottle left. At $44 a bottle it is a bargain and will easily last 3-5 years for most of you, then you factor in the time savings and to me its a deal.

Some more info: http://www.properautocare.com/meonacja.html

Ok now to the before and after pics. This is the first time in the 10 months I have had a PC I have taken before and after pictures. I forgot to take the after shots on a bunch of my before pics. However you get the overall feel.

I am still learning with the Porter Cable... I still need to get better at fine swirl removal. I can tackle big stuff and normally can take care of 90% of larger swirls and scratches.

These pictures are untouched.. I have spent enough time away from the wife today. :)

Before Trunk

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...eforetrunk.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...foretrunk1.jpg

Trunk 1/2 Complete

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...etail/half.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...tail/half2.jpg

After Trunk

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ftertrunk1.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...aftertrunk.jpg

Before Passenger Mirror, oxidation big time!

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...rbeforesun.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...rrorbefore.jpg

During Passenger Mirror

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ail/mirror.jpg

After Passenger Mirror

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...irrorafter.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...termirror2.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ftermirror.jpg

Before Passenger Side Door Mark

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...doorbefore.jpg

After Passenger Side Door Mark

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...edingafter.jpg

Before Trunk Keyhole Scratches

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...l/IMG_1121.jpg

After Trunk Keyhole Scratches

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...yholeafter.jpg

General Shots

A few of these still have some residue that I did get of later.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...frontafter.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...tail/front.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1.../afterrear.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...etail/rear.jpg

Nice!!

Nice work. It's great to have the pictures to compare!

Great job! A good PC clean-up is on my winter project list too.

Nice job, I've heard the pc is really good. Before i got hail damage i was thinking of getting one, but now i don't really care so much. :( One day i'll fix the damage and the chips in the front bumper but thats ages away.

Great jpb! When should we come over to have a tech day! :-)

I need to get a Porter Cable! :(

+1 on the Porter Cable!!! I have been a huge fan of Zaino Waxes, etc. I think I may try Menzerna products. Your car looks great. Think of all the car dealers who if they spent 6 hours on a car in that shape, could make a few hundred dollars, if not thousands!!!!!!!!!! Great job.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gabkwong

Great jpb! When should we come over to have a tech day! :-)

---

Seriously! I would like to know the where you get the pads and menzerna as well as the technique for applying. Looks great.

That looks fantastic, I'll bet some people here would be very interested in paying you to do their car ;)

Tutorial! How-to Class! What are your rates? :)

Nice work!

I need 5 (uninterupted) hours to work on my car, that would be so nice.

I've been meaning to buy a pc as well. Should've pulled the trigger when it was 20% off at autogeek for the holidays.

Well it sounds like a tech day will be coming soon.

We could have it over my house, I live in Irving so I am pretty central however I have a cramped 2 car garage

I can borrow a friends tent to hold two more cars in the driveway though.

If someone has a bigger garage that can hold many cars it may work better there.

XM_Rocks the car looks great!! Added the PC to my wish list ;)!

You motivated me to get off my ::Bum:: today and clay bar and wax the wife's Miata!
http://www.harrisonindustrial.com/im...iata%20004.jpg
http://www.harrisonindustrial.com/im...iata%20006.jpg
We even put the hardtop on it so I could get it all cleaned up also, we think it is the first time in 2+ years it has been on the car.
http://www.harrisonindustrial.com/im...iata%20005.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by POS Racing

XM_Rocks the car looks great!! Added the PC to my wish list ;)!

You motivated me to get off my ::Bum:: today and clay bar and wax the wife's Miata!

---

Do it... the PC is great.

Last night my buddy came over and I minimized a scratch on his rear bumper.

When we were doing it we reminisced about the last detail job on his Jetta. The PC slipped when he was one handing it and caused a bit of a scratch. We joke about it today because it actually caused a greater scratch than the one he was trying to remove.

One thing someone could market for the PC is a silicon boot for the end.

BTW your Miata looks brand new!

Seeing your clean garage makes me want to clean mine... nah nevermind. :D

Got to meet XM_Rocks and see what he's done with his 99 Twilight Blue. Absolutely amazing, looks like a showroom finish! You wouldn't believe it was the same car in the before pictures. And this from the guy who says he's still learning!::Banana::

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cam76034

Got to meet XM_Rocks and see what he's done with his 99 Twilight Blue. Absolutely amazing, looks like a showroom finish! You wouldn't believe it was the same car in the before pictures. And this from the guy who says he's still learning!::Banana::

---

Thanks!

Cant wait to try and get the scratch on your pass side out.

I will be ordering my orange pad tonight so lets do it soon.