What did you do to your MX5 today ?

[Pops]

Only a 50klm trip today

5CF4F066-11F0-4DEF-A92A-B95A5DFA8063.png

A sunny Galway bay

[mrges]

I'd say you're making a lot of us jealous - it's great to see you are enjoying the car.

[Pops]

Thanks, yeah, good to finally start making use of it.

[TOM 5252]

DIY Ceramic paint protection kit.

I washed my ND this morning and then Clay Bared down one side,
across the back end and up the other side, below the waistline (about door handle height)

After lunch, I got out the Caramics paintwork protection kit, I had bought in Halford's and
set about applying it. After I had wiped all the painted areas of the car with the Prep Spray
that comes in the kit, it struck me that I had not found even one stone-chip, having driven
over 66 hundred kilometres over 20 months ! There is a lot of chat on the US Miata.com forums
about my Soul Red paint choice being the most vulnerable to stone chip damage.
It seems that the tip in the car's manual that suggests increasing the distance to the car
in front of you, actually pays off.

When I had finished applying the ceramic coating, I had 4 of the 8 sachets left and I had
used less than one of the two prep spray bottles. So because it's a small car with no roof
to coat, I can repeat the treatment next summer for the price of one kit.


Very pleased with the result. Tom

[mrges]

Sounds good. After using the clay bar and wiping down do you apply polish/wax before applying the ceramic layer - or does it add shine and protection by itself? How long is it meant to last?

[Pops]

Mrges, you beat me to the question, how long does it last was in my mind and also does the ceramic coating have to be removed chemically , another question is why claybar from door handle down and not the bonnet etc.
Like to see pictures of it finished

[TOM 5252]

The info on the box it comes in says it lasts up to 12 months. I found this video, after I had
bought the kit and was looking for a 'how to' vid. I would agree with his comments about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cyl5i1XbXI

I only claybared the lower areas because after doing the fingertip test all over, I found that
all the other areas were totally smooth but I could feel contaminants of some kind especially
behind the wheels. I have been keeping it waxed from new.

I last waxed the car 8 months ago and it was still beading water. All I did after the clay baring
was to wash the car again with clean water (no soap), dry it off leave it an hour or so to air dry
while I had lunch. One of the 'Do Nots' in the instructions, is do not apply to a wet car.
The prep spray Is an Isopropyl Alcohol solution that you spray on to a microfibre cloth and wipe
over the paint. The cloth didn't seem to collect any of the 8 month old W5 wax (from Lidl) or
anything else.

This stuff did add shine to an already good looking surface. It made a surprising difference to the
piano black mirror casings and windscreen surround pieces.

There is nothing in the instructions about removing the coating, or whether or not you could put
a different product on top of it when it needs replacing.

[Pops]

Looking at the video there’s pretty good results and easy to apply, hopefully it will keep the stone chips away.

[peteh]

Fitted these vinyl "Eunos Roadster" seat stickers to my freshly recovered seats, got them from a chap in England, sent him on the logo and he printed them, cost £18 shipped here, I got 3 stickers just on case I made a balls of one of them. Be interesting to see how long they last.....

[mrges]

Looks good, and adds a nice touch to the seats.

[aquarian5]

Nice seats too.

[Len]

Yeah, seats look great. I've never heard of those stickers. Look good in that font.

[TOM 5252]

Hi Pops

Like to see pictures of it finished

This photo was taken after 250km. on main roads, about 60 per cent in the rain, and unwashed.

Caramics Shine 1.jpg

These photos are from after washing the car today. I can say that drying the car off was
quicker and easier than previously.

Caramics Shine 2.jpg

Caramics Shine 3.jpg

Caramics Shine 4.jpg

Caramics Shine.jpg

[Pops]

Wow, even in its unwashed state it looks good.

[TOM 5252]

Here is another photo from before I washed it.
The dirty area between the wheels and behind the rear wheel is actually
the main area that needed clay-barring before application, (best seen by zooming in)

Caramics Shine 5.jpg