My metropolitan gray mica Mazda - BLAH

[frito]

I bought a Mazdaspeed 3 last year with this paint and could really use some help getting to come out.



It is a dark color that has hues of blue and green depending on the light and has a lot of metal flake.



With my last car, a silver Subaru, I had very good luck after using Meg. Scratch-X by machine (had car for 5 years), followed by Adams revive polish then topped with Collinite. Looked great.



This car paint looks OK after clay, revive polish then Collinite (476 and 845) coats. It is a bit frustrating since I think this paint could/should look out of this world.



I wonder if orange peel is the problem with this car? I can`t get a really great shine and or the metalic does not really pop yet there is a ton of it in the paint.



This color was used on the 40th anniversary rx-8 as well as some 08-09 mazda speed 3`s.



Has anyone detailed this paint??



Any advice is appreciated.

[steelwind101]

I think machine polishing would really help. Its will not only remove defects you cant by hand but it will also bring the finish to high level gloss. Its not always possible to do that by wiping on products.



Collinite products are never going to win any prizes for looks, there are products will last just as long, last about the same time and look alot better (IMO).



Geoff

[mborner]

Collinite products are never going to win any prizes for looks, there are products will last just as long, last about the same time and look alot better (IMO).

Geoff

If just slapped on a car, yes, Collinite will not have it in the looks department, just the same as any premium wax. Time spent on careful and correct prep can make all the difference in the world. I`ve seen Collinite look like no other.

[Accumulator]

I`ve noticed something funny about Collinite that might be relevent here- it seems *very* dependent on prep on certain paints. I never noticed this before I tried 845 and 476S on my metallic black GMC.



It appeared that the Collinite was muting the flake a little. Nothing awful but it just didn`t "pop". The vehicle was very nicely polished with the last passes done with Menzerna 106FF, nothing seemed "wrong" but the overall appearance just didn`t wow me. I figured it was just that vehicle, told myself "hey...it`s a used truck".



After a while I redid the vehicle and *really* did a good job, burnishing the paint with 1Z High Gloss and then 1Z WaxPolishSoft. Spent forever on it. I reapplied the Collinite and :eek: *WOW* did it look great; the difference between "good" and "off-the-deep-end" prep made all the difference. Now I see cool colors in the metallic that I never saw before and I really appreciate that particular paint...sounds kinda like what`s going on with the MazdaSpeed 3 here (cool car BTW :xyxthumbs ).

[frito]

I think everyone is correct here. I also think that factory installed orange peel is not helping me.



I am hesitant to start wet sanding this car as I am not qualified to do so. Besides my wife would walk in the garage and clean my clock.



I do have a machine and while I don`t have a lot of experience I have done this with success on my last car.



Accumulator, you set me up with Collinite with my Subaru and I really like it and do not think a different LSP is going to do much like everyone said.



I need to look into getting some good pads that are not too aggressive and maybe a product to prep this for the Collinite.



I will take a pic of the car on Sunday as well and post it. Most people would think it looks great - just like a new car. To me it looks like a starting point.



Thanks

[NCZ13]

probably just needs a good polishing. Ive seen MGM in person, and it is an outstanding color. looks blue in some lighting, almost black in others, gunmetal, its a great paint color.



What machine and pads do you have?

[frito]

I have a Milwaukee rotary polisher. The only pads I have used are 3m gray (big dimpled things)



I might buy a DA for this car. I do not want to do more harm than good.

[Accumulator]

frito- I don`t think you`d need to wetsand (I didn`t on the GMC and it is just *AWFUL* in that regard) and that polishing alone oughta help out a lot.



If the paint (not just the clear) is as thin on that as it is on my MPV you gotta be sorta careful how much abrading you do anyhow.

[frito]

I wanted to follow up with this since others were kind enough to lend advice.

I picked up some of the new consumer products by Meguiars this weekend to give a try.



I am very happy to report that the results were good with no problems to note. I bought all the new compounds/polishes. Ultimate compound, Scratch-x 2.0 and swirl-x. All of these use the same non-diminishing abrasive technology that the new105 and 205 use.



I wanted to level the paint a bit and then get rid of a few light etched water spots and scratches. I started with the least abrasive but eventually settled on using UC follow by Swirl-x. I used light even pressure (handle used with standard meg 4" pads). UC finishes like an LSP and gave no scratches or haze.



The car is not yet crazy wet but I am half way. I am ordering a cyclo and I think that this with swirl-x will work very well.

[Accumulator]

frito- Glad to hear it`s working out well. Hope you like the Cyclo as much as I do!

[WhiteStripes]

Ummm, maybe not the 476s and 845, but the Collinite 915 wax actually beat out some of the extremely high end boutique waxes in a test over on DW. Just a thought if you want to stick with Collinite and have a gorgeous wax.