# Mazda RX-8 - Refining Perfection



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Perfection is a strong word, but the condition in which the car of today's detail turned up has to be the best I have seen - there was hardly a mark on the car, just a light hologram on a rear 3/4... Nearly three years old but only a few thousand miles, the current and previous owner clearly know how to wash the car...

The RX-8 as it arrived...



















Once the wheels were cleaned with Bilberry and the arches with Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner, the car was foamed using Supa Snow Foam...



















Rinsed, washed with two bucket method and Meguiars Shampoo Plus. Rinsed and then clayed.

The claying stage is where the transformation of this car began... the paint at the start, although looking swirl free, felt like sandpaper. Bilt Hamber Soft Clay effectively smoothed the paint...










The clay after just quarter of the bonnet, giving an idea of the level of contamination on the paint!










Once fully clayed it was time to assess the paintwork. It was clear at this stage how well looked after the car was - swirl free, the only issue was a slight lack of clarity and gloss to the finish:




























Paint depth readings on this car were very typical of an RX-8: all under 100um, most around 80um:



















Consistent paint though indicating that the car had not seen repair work or previous aggressive polishing.

No aggressive polishes were to be used today - with no swirls, only a refinement of the finish was required to bring out the gloss, enhance the clarity and allow the paint to ping a little more. Meguiars #205 Ultra Finishing Polish on a 3M Blue finishing pad fitted the bill ideally for this, applied as follows:


Spread at 600rpm
Begin polishing at 1200rpm, increasing the pressure and ensuring the polish well spread
Increased speed to 1500rpm, moderate pressure over the head, lightening off after a couple of minutes
Refine at 1200rpm, light pressure, slow machine movements
Burnish at 900rpm, supporting the weight of the Makita for lightest possible pressure and slow machine movements for three or four passes

Here I focussed on the end passes on the soft Mazda paint, where the refining stage would be most important. Work time at 1500rpm was varied according to what the paint required, regions slightly hazy got a few extra passes to remove the haze before stepping down the speeds to refining.

This resulted in an increase in clarity on the paint, allowing the paint flake to ping through a bit more clearly - there was now a yellow edge to the paint that could be seen...





































Lovely gloss being brought up on the finish...



















Driver's side, again only very minor hazing to be removed...




























Paint thicknesses on the upper regions as normal...










But on the lower regions of the rear doors (aluminium) the readings raised a lot more concern!










34um?!! This was consistent as well, and very very thin paint. For this reason, I opted on this specific lower region only to cleanse the paint with Jeffs Prime Acyllic to ensure no mechanical abrasives removing any paint.

The thicker regions machine polished as the side of the car, giving the following:





































I was enjoying the look the paint was taking on - the improvements, though subtle, were allowing the flake features of the paint to come through at their best:



















Only region on the paint that wasn't swirl free on arrival, the rear 3/4...










Yup, there are light machine tails there...










Easily removed using same process with #205 as rest of the car:










Passenger side afters...





































FK1000P used as the Wheel Sealant...










Paintwork was wiped down with IPA, cleansed using Jeffs Acryllic Prime for a durable base layer and then followed with two layers of Collinite 845 IW for durability and ease of washing and drying for the owner. Tyres were treated to Meguiars Hot Shine, buffed afterwards to ensure a matt rather than blingy finish. Plastics with Meguiars All Seasons Dressing, applied with foam applicator and worked into the plastics and then residues buffed clear to avoid streaking. Glass with Autoglym Glass Polish.

Indoors, the car was looking good:




























But it was outside in the sun we would really see the benefits of the detail and the beauty of the finish and for once, the Scottish weather was playing ball! 

Sunny after pics :thumb:































































































































Very enjoyable day today working on a well cared for car with a beautiful paint colour - metallic greys really starting to grow on me now


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## martin slaven (May 27, 2008)

Very nice looking car that and the finish on the paint is awesome, nice job.


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## Versoman (Jan 6, 2006)

cracking work Dave, nice compromise colour away from the balcks dark blues etc


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## Vyker (Sep 17, 2008)

Its very fair to call that Perfect paint!

Excellent work and car


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## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

Stunning!


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Gorgeous Dave!

As soon as I saw the excellent condition of the paint I just knew you would be using #205 and I wasn't dissapointed! 

Am currently trialling it on some soft black paint so will reveal my own thoughts shortly!


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Truly fantastic Dave.
So scary lower section readings though. And I thought my bonnet was low in areas. :lol:

Some great after pics also. :thumb:
Good job as always.
Gordon


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

looks superb afterwards Dave, as always - great colour for the curves on that car as well :thumb:

Dont remember you using 845 as an LSP before - any reason? I like it a LOT for the ease of use/durability combination, but it doesnt seem to get that much airtime really on here...


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

looks fantastic, very glossy


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Cheers guys :thumb:



Brazo said:


> Gorgeous Dave!
> 
> As soon as I saw the excellent condition of the paint I just knew you would be using #205 and I wasn't dissapointed!
> 
> Am currently trialling it on some soft black paint so will reveal my own thoughts shortly!


Look forward to hearing your thoughts on it  Those attending my machine polishing class are going to be introduced to what is becoming the famous "Kevin Brown Method" or a variation of it that I have been using with this #205 and #105 so we'll see what folk's thoughts are as well - its a different polish, a different style but I love how it rewards a little thought from the user 



caledonia said:


> Truly fantastic Dave.
> So scary lower section readings though. And I thought my bonnet was low in areas. :lol:
> 
> Some great after pics also. :thumb:
> ...


It made your bonnet look like a respray repair, this car! :lol: 30 - 40um inside the door shuts, 35um average along the seam and lower sill section pointing to a lot of care being taken!



Bigpikle said:


> looks superb afterwards Dave, as always - great colour for the curves on that car as well :thumb:
> 
> Dont remember you using 845 as an LSP before - any reason? I like it a LOT for the ease of use/durability combination, but it doesnt seem to get that much airtime really on here...


We've had 845 for a while, Stu popped it on his BMW for fun and we all stood back and thought it may have just added a subtle extra gloss to silver... maybe - but what really got us was the ease of use, the water behaviour and its durability is proving to be as good as you would expect from Collinite. So it is seeing more use from us now because of this... This RX-8 got it, so did the grey S-Max we did a couple of weeks ago.


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## MoggyTech (Feb 28, 2009)

Very nice work. Those lower door paint readings are scary :doublesho


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## Qeffects (Mar 11, 2007)

Wow thats crazy, i see this car everyday down my street!

I always look at the paint and wonder how a (what i thought at the time) non-detailer could keep his car in such good condition. Looks lovely in the flesh, though can't believe the owner can face to keep it on the street in the city centre looking like that!


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## stifler (Jul 25, 2007)

Thanks for your efforts yesterday Dave, the car looks great and the clarity of the paint and finish are much much improved.

Almost a shame I'm taking it for a blast this afternoon but hopefully the bug guts will rinse of with ease with the wax you put on it 

Thanks again

-Mark.


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

nice work, if only they were all like that :thumb:


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## SimonW (Jun 3, 2007)

Great to see a well looked after car :thumb: 

Some nice after shots as well, top job guys


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## clcollins (Jul 30, 2007)

Brilliant work, car looks fantastic :thumb:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Really nice finished job Dave :thumb:


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## andye (Apr 15, 2007)

Cracking paint finish on that Mazda :thumb:


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Nice one Dave - astounded to see even with very low levels of CC to play with it still had dreadful OP in places.
Weird! And negates any point in telling the owner to consider getting a new layer of CC on it, as it'll still show through.


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## timthetinyhorse (May 25, 2009)

wow thats stunning!

wish i could get my car looking as good as that, may have to save and pay someone

rob


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## m0bov (May 2, 2007)

I use 845 on my Grey Mazda but I use RMG and YCW underneath, found the 845 can hologram a little but is very easy to apply and does'nt stain plastics. Oh and its CHEAP!


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

stifler said:


> Thanks for your efforts yesterday Dave, the car looks great and the clarity of the paint and finish are much much improved.
> 
> Almost a shame I'm taking it for a blast this afternoon but hopefully the bug guts will rinse of with ease with the wax you put on it
> 
> ...


Our pleasure Mark, glad you are happy with the results. Wash the bugs off before they bake on and it will be all good 



PJS said:


> Nice one Dave - astounded to see even with very low levels of CC to play with it still had dreadful OP in places.
> Weird! And negates any point in telling the owner to consider getting a new layer of CC on it, as it'll still show through.


Yeah, I've seen a few with OP and alas a detailer's hands a rather tied when it comes to a finish which is much thinner - to play room to remove it.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

See Bryan's still active in the old detailing then.


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Grizzle said:


> See Bryan's still active in the old detailing then.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

rmorgan84 said:


>






Grizzle said:


> See Bryan's still active in the old detailing then.


Yup he's still doing a few bits and pieces


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## Renmure (Jan 18, 2007)

Looks good Dave :thumb:


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

Hi Dave, a gorgeous piece of work indeed and some truly stunning shots inside and out :thumb:

Big Thanks for posting not only polishing applications but also methodology involved :thumb: 

Interested to know if you took paint depth reading both before and after polishing and what type of depth would you have anticpated removing if you didnt take any actuals ? (this isnt totally a hyperthetical question, a good friend of mine does have an RX8 in black that doesnt look that pretty anymore & I suspect it will be with us later in the year )

Thanks again, a great post and one very very wide :doublesho & happy RX8 owner I suspect:thumb:


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

stunning work as ever Dave. I too am playing around with 205


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Looks good there mate :thumb:


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## rx8passion (May 20, 2009)

Cracking job really made the flake stand out and wow with the clarity.


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## rx8passion (May 20, 2009)

Oh and scared the hell outta me with those paint depths


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

rx8passion said:


> Oh and scared the hell outta me with those paint depths


All RX-8s I have seen read pretty thin, this one had some of the thinnest though!! If you are machine polishing them, softly softly is the best approach as the paint is also quite soft.


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

That looks sensational! :thumb:

Another top job Dave, i really want to try the 205 out


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

MatrixGuy said:


> That looks sensational! :thumb:
> 
> Another top job Dave, i really want to try the 205 out


Give it a go, you wont be disappointed with it... I have been seriously impressed with it so far myself, and others are now reporting back similarly good experiences. Meguiars have really hit the nail on the head with this product


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## mark14787 (Apr 24, 2009)

nice nice


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## 51Sneyd (Nov 6, 2007)

Nice one :thumb: and a great job as well :lol:

(Rex gone but not forgotten)


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Stunning finish Dave


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## agaddini (Jan 24, 2010)

Good effort :thumb:


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## Jaws (Jun 20, 2008)

Lovely work, that colour looks really good when clean and in the light.


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## cfherd (Jan 14, 2010)

Nice finish Dave, goes to show what difference cleaning the car with the correct methods can do to prevent damage.


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## Select Detailing (Feb 19, 2009)

As always cracking job, love the write up, the other half is now nagging me to do hers instead of just washing it every now and then, just cant be arsed lol.

Gareth


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## mattjonescardiff (Dec 12, 2006)

Enjoyable read as always dave. Top stuff.


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## frank520 (Apr 9, 2008)

Great job. I like these cars


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## joesoap73 (Apr 5, 2010)

Very very nice - great finish


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