Make It Shine: 5 coats of Opti-Seal on CWP Mazdaspeed3 = WET!

kaval · 09-25-08, 07:59

Hi everyone!

I present to you, a 2008.5 Crystal White Pearl Mazdaspeed3. This detail was rather unique for me, as I traveled 400kms round trip to do the work; first time traveling this far since I’ve started mobile services. The owner had seen my work on a forum that I sponsor, and wanted his new car prepped properly. Unfortunately something could be not be worked out with the dealer (which was located about 30kms from me), so the owner asked for me to travel to his residence to do the work after he picked it up. It was very enjoyable as I received arguably the best hospitality from any client since I started mobile jobs. With that said, a sincere thank you goes out to the owner and his wife for the hospitality, including lunch, dinner and the runs to Tim Hortons!

The Mazdaspeed3 is a performanced-based version of the regular Mazda3, putting out 263hp and 280 ft. lbs of torque (at the crank) to the front wheels. Exterior-wise, very slight but strong changes were made to identify this car as a mean-machine, which in my opinion also added a nice touch of class to a car that carries so much presence. It demands to be looked at, and I’m sure it demands to be driven too!

My goal with this detail was to remove all defects in the paint that were taking away from its new condition. I was worried that the paint would be marred as the dealer he purchased the vehicle from does not have a good track record with detailing. This detail would give me a better idea of what clients were talking about. Needless to say, I saw where these people were coming from, which you will also see as I take you through the inspection. I also strived to achieve a very wet and glossy finish from this detail and felt that 5 coats of Opti-Seal would help me achieve this. I learned something about this product that I will share later. This write-up has lots of pictures to show the true look of the paint in different lighting conditions. I tried to get creative with some of my shots this time around so I hope you enjoy them.

Inspection

Upon arriving, the car was parked in the garage waiting to be pulled out in the driveway to begin the washing process. As you will see, the paint looked fairly clean and healthy. Closer inspection revealed otherwise.

kaval · 09-25-08, 08:00

Wash
- Heavily soiled areas as shown above were presoaked with P21S TAW. My first time using this product and definitely not my last. It has great workability, lubricity and of course, cleaning power. TAW was left to dwell for approximately 5 minutes before being lightly agitated with a Zymol Wheel Brush (brand new, and started falling apart 5 uses later) and rinsed off.
- Following this, the entire vehicle was thoroughly washed with CWG Paint Cleanser using the double-bucket method & sheepskin wool mitts to ensure no further marring would be instilled into the paintwork.
- Car was sheet-dried, and blotted with WW MFs to ensure all areas were dried out.

Wheels & Tires
The wheels and tires were in good condition, just soiled from daily driving. Cleaning was a breeze, except for the dealer-instilled slimy tire dressing.
- Rims cleaned with Grime Reaper @ 8:1 using various brushes to ensure all areas of the rim were cleaned, including behind the spokes
- Tires cleaned with Grime Reaper @ 4:1. Tires received 3 thorough scrubbings before the dressing was gone.
- Rims dried with WW MFs.

Some before pics of the rims. I do not have afters of all the rims unfortunately. Note the plastic left behind by the dealership prep.

Before:

After:

Post-wash inspection
The pics below give a good indication as to how the car was delivered to the client. I myself would not have been happy at all. It just goes to show that even new cars need a lot of attention (as indicated in the recent thread where Todd detailed that black GTR).

The first picture was taken with the wrong focus mode, but it highlighted some of the defects quite clearly.

On to the contamination, which was quite honestly everywhere on the car. The worst areas were on the mirrors, and the rear hatch area. I had every expectation of this given the colour and that every new vehicle usually has some level of contamination. This should be reason enough for new car buyers to have their car professionally detailed, as a dealership prep won’t even come close to addressing these issues.

Following the post-wash inspection, I proceeded to clay the paintwork using Riccardo Clay and ONR lube. The tougher rust spots I misted the area with water, then sprayed P21S TAW, and clayed. This made quick work of the contamination and left zero marring behind. The areas that received TAW were thoroughly rinsed down and dried with WW MFs before being pulled into the garage to prepare for polishing.
Paintwork
This detail was composed of a 1-step polish. Since the defect level was moderate and the paint needed some gloss, I thought SIP on a white pad would be perfect for this relatively soft paint. SIP’s finishing characteristics made it a favourable choice as it also corrects very well.

- LC CCS and Flat white pads on rotary @ 1800-1600-1400-1000rpm.

A couple of shots of me polishing the hood.

While polishing, I was noticing a very significant improvement in gloss. I tried to capture it in this shot, but it was very hard. This is the best I could get. Left side is done, right side is not:

kaval · 09-25-08, 08:02

Engine Bay
Fast forward a few hours later after every inch of the car was carefully polished, and wiped down with IPA, I started applying Optimum Opti-Seal. I applied the first coat, waited for 30 minutes, then applied the second coat. While the second coat was curing, I popped the hood and decided to give the engine bay a quick detail.

Before:

ONR wipedown, followed by dressing from Shining Monkey.

After:

The bay appeared a bit too shiny for my taste, so it was buffed shortly after with an MF.

Following this, I applied 3 more coats of Opti-Seal. What I found really neat is that after applying the first 2 coats and waiting almost an hour, the paint actually looked dull. I decided to take a plush microfiber towel and buff the paint, which jacked up the shine immensely! I applied two more coats after this, buffed the paint, then applied the last coat and prepared for pictures. Right before the pictures, I buffed the paint again and performed the finishing touches - windows (IG), plastics (APC, 303), etc.

By now I guess you want to see some pictures. As always, I have lots, and lots of them. Please note that the white balance is very off in these pictures, but the gloss is definitely there. This is what 5 coats of Opti-Seal looks like on white....

kaval · 09-25-08, 08:04

Afters

kaval · 09-25-08, 08:05

Thanks for taking the time to look!

Kaval

Setec Astronomy · 09-25-08, 08:10

Holy crap, you need a cable modem warning for this thread! T3 recommended!

gravedigaditch · 09-25-08, 08:16

nicely done

dervdave · 09-25-08, 08:59

Lovely job !

dublifecrisis · 09-25-08, 09:27

love the white pearl on the newer speed 3. I was considering trading in my GTI on one of those as soon as the white became available.

Where else can you get sub 6 second 0-60, leather trim, xenons, bose etc for <25k???

Great job too. that thing is glossy for sure. Can you elaborate a little more on your experience with opti-seal, the buffing, the dullness that you experienced?

sal329 · 09-25-08, 09:51

Awesome work

Makes me wanna go out to my car and try OOS

kaval · 09-25-08, 05:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy

Holy crap, you need a cable modem warning for this thread! T3 recommended!

LOL my apologies. I love pictures!

Quote:

Originally Posted by gravedigaditch

nicely done

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dervdave

Lovely job !

Thank you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dublifecrisis

love the white pearl on the newer speed 3. I was considering trading in my GTI on one of those as soon as the white became available.

Where else can you get sub 6 second 0-60, leather trim, xenons, bose etc for <25k???

Great job too. that thing is glossy for sure. Can you elaborate a little more on your experience with opti-seal, the buffing, the dullness that you experienced?

Thanks for the comments. I found that about 30 minutes after applying Opti-Seal, the paint looked dull. So I took a plush microfiber towel and buffed the paint. It revealed a very deep and reflective shine. So I put on two coats, then buffed the paint again, and added another 30 mins after. Following the last coat, I buffed the paint one last time. I am wondering that this may have happened because I applied too much at once or maybe I did not let it cure enough, or a combination of the two. Either way, the shine, depth and reflectivity was there and the pearl really jumped out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sal329

Awesome work

Makes me wanna go out to my car and try OOS

Thanks! You should give it a try.

Lumadar · 09-25-08, 06:06

Top notch work man, very nice! Those cars sure are sweet sleepers...I would venture to get better than 9 out of 10 people wouldn't have a freaking clue those things are such beasts.

PS, that paint looks WET and glossy, very well done.