Cameron's 'new' MX-5 Na6

chamcham196 · Postby **chamcham196** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 7:46 pm

Hey guys,

so I'm new to the MX-5 forums and just wanted to introduce myself and my car

i bought myself (last week) a Na6 for $4k with 200k on the clock. The car has had a pretty dirty history with no previous service records and not the best body.. however on the mechanical side on things she runs beautifully and i cant seem to wipe the smile off my face! The previous owner didn't know anything about the car so i cant report any car history besides the fact a previous owner wanted her to be a 'drift car' and hence the coil-overs and wheels. Unfortunately the wheels scrap when slight bumps are dríven over so i'll have to adjust the height of the coil-overs for the time being. Apart from that there is also a upgraded radiator, aftermarket steering wheel and crappy head-unit but that's about it.
Like i said the paint work is is faded on the bonnet and on the boot (see pictures) and above the MX-5 logo is a massive circular crack (no idea how that even happened). I'm looking to possibly spray the wheels a matte black (not a fan of the shiny wheels) and will eventually get a replacement panel for the crack (p-plates currently cover it so no rush).

Thanks, Cameron (South Coast, NSW)

KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:41 pm

Welcome Cameron ...

Pretty common for the rear garnish to crack on the NA6, they were pretty brittle. The after market replacements are much better, but more expensive than just replacing with a used one.

Not surprised there's a bit of scraping on the guards :mrgreen:

speed · Postby **speed** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 9:16 pm

Welcome!
Maybe try polishing or buffing to see if the paint shines up a bit. Best of luck!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:12 pm

My experience of cutting and/or polishing faded or pink red paint is that is goes back to faded or pink soon afterwards. Hopefully you'll have better luck.

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:14 am

Welcome & congrats!

chamcham196 · Postby **chamcham196** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 1:25 pm

hey guys, thanks!

Yeah i've been looking at aftermarket replacement panels as i feel that would be a better solution. Do you recommend any dealers? and ill also have time over the easter break to give the paint i bit of a polish/cut back and ill let you all know how it goes!

Rob · Postby **Rob** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 7:08 am

Welcome, Cam, and have fun with it. NAs are cracking bang for buck.

CPekel · Postby **CPekel** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 12:27 am

So long as you cant push that hole in at all I'd just fill it up with 2-part car filler, sand, prime and respray that area from a rattle can. Then cut it with cutting compound, polish with a rag. You should be able to cut the faded paint and buff, then maybe hit it with some wax and it'll bring the faded parts back to life. It's actually really easy with non-metallic paint to do.

Looks good, I just got myself a white turbo'd NA6. Need to figure out how to register it in NSW now haha

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 10:32 am

chamcham196 wrote:i've been looking at aftermarket replacement panels - Do you recommend any dealers?

Believe there are a lot of options out there these days, so you might have to blaze the trail if no one else has done this recently. Second-hand might also be an option, but I think rear garnishes or beaver panels get snapped up pretty quickly.

CPekel wrote:I just got myself a white turbo'd NA6. Need to figure out how to register it in NSW now haha

Sounds like spaztikcamel's which was on ebay some days ago & also on here:
viewtopic.php?f=73&t=54479

chamcham196 · Postby **chamcham196** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 5:22 pm

so I've done some work over Easter and i cut and polished the boot and it turned up well but unfortunately isn't doesn't last too long before it fades back..

ill eventually wrap my car so paint at the moment isn't all that flash.

I also used some two part filler on the beaver panel and filled the smashed bit. i then resprayed with colour match paint and clear coat. I've done about 5 coats of the clear coat and gave it a cut and polish but it doesn't have the shine of the other panels and stands out.. I was wondering if this was normal for spray can jobs or am i missing something?