Getting a bit left behind with some of my write ups but as the weekend is here got a bit of free time to get another done. This RX7 was in the sort of condition where a respray was needed. There were a lot of really deep scratches and parts of the body kit had seen better days, with paint flaking off. It was a case of go all out and see how good it would come out. There was a lot of orange peel on the car as well. Sections had been resprayed and the really soft paint caused problems as discussed later on.
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Some of the deep scratches:
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Water stains that wouldn't shift with normal washing:
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Interior looked a bit tired as well, mainly the doorcards:
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Few pics of the paintwork damage:
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Lower panels soaked in AB Citrus Degreaser and AB G&T for the tar spots. Car foamed with SSF then washed with Megs #62. Car was then clayed, when for the standard Megs as the paintwork was showing signs that it was marring easily.
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Wing after claying. All the water marks which had etched into the paintwork were removed:
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Deepest scratch was started with first. Started with 1500, to 2000 and then to 2500. The panel was then polished up with Megs #83 on an Edge light cutting pad then #80 on an Edge polishing pad to see how the panel reacted to the work:
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There was a lot of orange peel down one of the rear quarters although this picture doesn't show it too well:
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Whole panel was wet sanded, working through the same process as above. Car was then masked up, included the section done earlier as the top coat had got very thin in this section:
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The same polishing process as above was then applied to this section as well:
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The deep scratches around the front arch and bumper area were then wet sanded and polished as above. No afters straight away as polished along with the rest of the vehicle:
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Whole car was then polished with #83 and #80. When trying to finish off with #80 a very light marring was being left and was found to be down to the pad marking the paint. Even with a finishing pad this was still an issue. After trying numerous combination by hand, Megs DC1 was settled for as it has a very light cut as a paint cleaner. Car was then topped with two coats of 50/50 as this gave the wettest look to the solid black paint:
First pass:
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After 2 #83, one #80 and one DC1:
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Interior carpets and fabrics were wet vac'd and all interior surfaces treated to 303 protectant. Leather was cleaned and treated with Gliptone products:
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Engine was given the once over with Megs APC and then 303.
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Finished shots. The fancy ones are courtesy of Bill Hargreaves:
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Think that's covered everything. No doubt I've forgotten something. Thanks for reading.
Nad
P.S. Yes it was pretty nippy when you put your foot down
Some of the deep scratches:
Water stains that wouldn't shift with normal washing:
Interior looked a bit tired as well, mainly the doorcards:
Few pics of the paintwork damage:
Lower panels soaked in AB Citrus Degreaser and AB G&T for the tar spots. Car foamed with SSF then washed with Megs #62. Car was then clayed, when for the standard Megs as the paintwork was showing signs that it was marring easily.
Wing after claying. All the water marks which had etched into the paintwork were removed:
Deepest scratch was started with first. Started with 1500, to 2000 and then to 2500. The panel was then polished up with Megs #83 on an Edge light cutting pad then #80 on an Edge polishing pad to see how the panel reacted to the work:
There was a lot of orange peel down one of the rear quarters although this picture doesn't show it too well:
Whole panel was wet sanded, working through the same process as above. Car was then masked up, included the section done earlier as the top coat had got very thin in this section:
The same polishing process as above was then applied to this section as well:
The deep scratches around the front arch and bumper area were then wet sanded and polished as above. No afters straight away as polished along with the rest of the vehicle:
Whole car was then polished with #83 and #80. When trying to finish off with #80 a very light marring was being left and was found to be down to the pad marking the paint. Even with a finishing pad this was still an issue. After trying numerous combination by hand, Megs DC1 was settled for as it has a very light cut as a paint cleaner. Car was then topped with two coats of 50/50 as this gave the wettest look to the solid black paint:
First pass:
After 2 #83, one #80 and one DC1:
Interior carpets and fabrics were wet vac'd and all interior surfaces treated to 303 protectant. Leather was cleaned and treated with Gliptone products:
Engine was given the once over with Megs APC and then 303.
Finished shots. The fancy ones are courtesy of Bill Hargreaves:
Think that's covered everything. No doubt I've forgotten something. Thanks for reading.
Nad
P.S. Yes it was pretty nippy when you put your foot down
