Maintaining single stage paint on an MX5/Miata, or "Help! My paint is chalky!"

[AzzurrA]

Hi all,



Forgive me if this topic has been covered previously - I did have a quick look, but couldn`t find anything...



I Have recently picked myself up a 2001 Mazda MX5 (Miata for those of you playing in America) in red...



The red paint on these cars is notorious for going `chalky` and losing its shine/lustre, and was wondering what I can do to keep it in good condition/looking great?



I polished it approximately a month ago, followed by a sealant (Poorboys EX-P), topped with some Tech Wax 2.0 (I only used these products as it`s all that i had laying around at the time)... It looked `decent` for about a week or so, but then the `chalkiness` started creeping back in, to the point where it now looks very dull...



I`m wondering what I can do to stop the paint reverting back to this condition, as I don`t want to have to be continuously polishing it every weekend!



Thanks in advance

[Woody Wax]

Hi Azzurra,



The first point I think you need to look at is what did you use to polish???



I’ve always found with most single stage paints and especially red you need to use a quality compound/polish to thoroughly remove the oxidation.

There are a lot of options available that I believe will help to slow the chalking (oxidation) returning as quick. Now granted I haven’t used PB in some time so this is my opinion based on my experience only, however I never seemed to get good longevity out of PB EX-P and especially on single stage paints so



IMO I would look at a different sealant that the PB EX-P.



HD Poxy, Nitro seal, Zaino, DG or go the next step and use a coating like OC 2.0 etc



I did a red mx5 a few months back that had the same problem that you’re describing. And the customer had been using a paint cleaner and not a true polish or compound. I found a lot of cleaners etc do not remove enough of the damage well enough and the oxidation returns quickly, again this is totally dependent on the initial condition of the paint etc. After corecting and polishing followed be a quality sealant it has been good for months.





Hope it helps





Cheers Daniel

[Darkstar752]

Polished it with what? Most likely you didn`t cut through the oxidation, and the oils simply gave the appearance of the oxidation being removed until they wore off about a month later. You`re going to want to thoroughly cut through the oxidation and check with IPA wipedowns, then follow with a finishing polish. After, you`ll want to thoroughly clean the paint and apply Opti-coat to act as a type of clearcoat.



Good luck!

[tomstin]

I have a white Honda with single stage paint. The best product I have found to clean it up and remove that "chalky" feeling was Optimum Poli-Seal after that use your favorite wax. However, none of that seemed to last very long. Back in November, I used the Poli-seal and then an alcohol wipe down and used Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!! I finally got to wash it again last weekend and for the first time since I had this car everything rinsed off and I didn`t have the chalky feeling. It`s almost like clear coated paint. And I probably have enough Opti-Coat for three or four treatments if I need to. I am very impressed with Opti-Coat.