Polishing, washing and cleaning

[Agm]

Hey guys,
(I have searched for a thread regarding this but did not find anything. Please share link if you know of one)

I have recently purchased a very clean red na. The paintwork is near immaculate but does have some small chips and some small clearcoat peel.

I am looking for an economical but effective cut and polish product that I can use to shine up the car but to also control the cleaecoat peel and contain it from spreading.

Any products that you use to wash and polish your car would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Regie]

the only way to stop clear coat peel is to respray

myself and a few others have used a meguires product for paint correction and polishing (link below) - best stuff I've used. you do need a orbital polisher though

http://www.autogeek.net/da-microfiber-s ... t-5in.html

Im sure it can be purchased locally, Megiaures released it late last year

[NitroDann]

My friend said that this will buff right out, can anyone suggest the right buffing compound?

[smy0003]

[davekmoore]

Needs large white race number backing, available from yours truly.

[Odd]

Where is the clear coat peeling....which panel/panels?

My understanding....from the factory Red NA's did not have a clear coat

If you polish the panels and there is red on the polishing cloth then it's original, if there is no colour then it has had a clear coat

It may have been repainted and all panels have a clear coat or repaired and only one panel has clear coat

First work out what you are dealing with on each panel....;)

[JBT]

My understanding....from the factory Red NA's did not have a coat

[Odd]

Any of the high end products work....just takes patience and a bit of elbow grease....I bought an orbital polisher, but have never used it
Car's not that big....;)

Maintenance is the key, once you've got it where you want it....weekly wash....monthly polish/wax..
Carry a waterless cleaner and wipe off any contaminants as soon as you see them

[hks_kansei]

Meguiars do decent waxes for off the shelf, there are nicer, but none as easy to get. With waxes a lot comes down to personal preference in the end.

Wheel cleaner, I used to love Power Wheel Cleaner from Final inspection, but frankly I found it difficult to find the time to get over to their shop.
I've since started using the Bowden's wheel cleaner, and it's almost as good. Also a lot easier to get since my local supercheap stocks it.

Wash soap, frankly I just use whatever is there.


For polishing, I've used Meguiars ultimate compound on a faded red NA and it came out great, also used it on my metallic blue NB and it worked really well.
It's a pretty mild polish, so you need to work hard if the car is faded.
Frankly, there are better polishes, I just use this because it's convenient and does a good enough job for me.



As far as your car, the peeling/bubbled clearcoat is the killer there. Unfortunately there's nothing you can really do to fix that, or really stop it from progressing.
Ideally you'd have the panel stripped and painted again, but if that's out of the budget you MAY be able to give the edges of the peeling clearcoat a wetsand to sort of taper and feather it so it's less obvious.

Personally, i'd say the best option is to buy a secondhand panel of whatever one is peeling and replace the whole panel (will usually be cheaper than labour for painting it)

To prevent the rest of the clearcoat peeling eventually, wash it, try and keep bird poo etc from staying on too long, and try to use a good wax with plenty of UV protection.
I've used Poorboys sealant on a red NA and it looked good, and lasted a good two months (parked outdoors)



And yeah, what the others said is true, if it's got clearcoat on it it's been repainted at some stage.
Mazda paint at that time was just a single stage red with no clearcoat.