Sometimes you just need to bust out a rotary! (96 Mustang Cobra)

J

Justin at Final Inspection

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Like the title says. Every so often I get a vehicle that is so neglected that I have to bust out the trusty dusty Makita. That was the case with this 96 Mustang Cobra. Unfortunately it has been neglected a bit with SAP stains from sitting under a tree, hard water stains etc.

Before shots.



















After seeing this I knew that I had my work cut out.

Damp sanded the hood and trunk lid with Mirka Abralon 3000 disks. Compounded the whole car via rotary, LC purple foamed wool, McKee`s 37 compound. Finish polishing was handled mainly with my g21 and polish angle master polish, BOSS yellow perfecting pad.

Test spot after sanding.



50/50 showing how bad the trunk really was! The unpolished side had not been sanded yet.



Cleaning up the holograms after compounding.




Car was finished off with WDGPS and topped with Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz sealant.














 
Dang Justin! What in the world did you get yourself into!? I agree, when outright power is needed nothing touches a rotary.

Outstanding transformation good sir. Those afters look incredible. You showed that paint who is boss.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Excellent work! It good to see a rotary being used.
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Dang Justin! What in the world did you get yourself into!? I agree, when outright power is needed nothing touches a rotary.

Outstanding transformation good sir. Those afters look incredible. You showed that paint who is boss.

Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks Mike! Exactly what went through my mind lol! There is a back story to this car. It belongs to the my parents neighbor. They have known him for over 30yrs. He has had the car since 1998. When I left to move to Florida he kept and eye on my elderly parents. Would always come over and snow blow the driveway etc. When I came back he asked if I could tackle the Cobra and he wasn't concerned about cost. This job was more about giving back to him. Even though I did charge him a relatively small amount I didn't charge anywhere near what it would be for a off the street customer. Plus I really wanted to save as much as possible for him so he could enjoy it again.

java said:
Excellent work! It good to see a rotary being used.
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Thank you! I truly believe that everyone should develop the skill to run a rotary. The cutting stage was cut in half.
 
Justin@FinalInspection said:
Thanks Mike! Exactly what went through my mind lol! There is a back story to this car. It belongs to the my parents neighbor. They have known him for over 30yrs. He has had the car since 1998. When I left to move to Florida he kept and eye on my elderly parents. Would always come over and snow blow the driveway etc. When I came back he asked if I could tackle the Cobra and he wasn't concerned about cost. This job was more about giving back to him. Even though I did charge him a relatively small amount I didn't charge anywhere near what it would be for a off the street customer. Plus I really wanted to save as much as possible for him so he could enjoy it again.
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Good on you Justin. :props:
 
The Cobra looks awesome! Keep up the great work :)
 
Bigry18 said:
Great job man, do you the g21 would of done a good job as well? or just longer?
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It would of removed the 3000 grit no problem. But the rest of the car was so bad that I would of been there forever trying to get the same cut as I did with the rotary. Just faster to get the initial cutting done then refine it with the DA.

Jaretr1 said:
Wow, you gave that car a new paint job!
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Ha-ha not quite! thank you!

Bobby B. said:
The Cobra looks awesome! Keep up the great work :)
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Thank you sir
 
That's quite a transformation and i like the back story on it. It feels good to do that for someone who did some good things for you. I bet he was blown away!
 
A 1996 Mystic Cobra, one of 1999 built! One of my favorite Mustangs ever - you really did the paint justice. Great work! Although I didn't think they made any convertibles in that color...

Edit: maybe that's just black and I am seeing reflections.
 
Great save on that paint. Reminds me of my first correction work... on a cabernet red '89 GT convertible that was so oxidized that when the original dealership's logo decal was removed you could still read it in the paint underneath due to it being two shades darker.

Btw, what kind of lift kit is on that thing? ;)
 
Justin@FinalInspection said:
Thanks Mike! Exactly what went through my mind lol! There is a back story to this car. It belongs to the my parents neighbor. They have known him for over 30yrs. He has had the car since 1998. When I left to move to Florida he kept and eye on my elderly parents. Would always come over and snow blow the driveway etc. When I came back he asked if I could tackle the Cobra and he wasn't concerned about cost. This job was more about giving back to him. Even though I did charge him a relatively small amount I didn't charge anywhere near what it would be for a off the street customer. Plus I really wanted to save as much as possible for him so he could enjoy it again.



Thank you! I truly believe that everyone should develop the skill to run a rotary. The cutting stage was cut in half.
Click to expand...
You will need it in New England ,cars get really hammered there.
 
Nice work man!!

I had the Flex PE14 out for some testing yesterday. Felt good to have the rotary back in my hands.

I've never experienced using a rotary with such small (my d/a) pads, and it's a welcomed change from the 8" monsters I used in the 90's.

Thanks for sharing, and documenting the process!
 
Uranium235 said:
A 1996 Mystic Cobra, one of 1999 built! One of my favorite Mustangs ever - you really did the paint justice. Great work! Although I didn't think they made any convertibles in that color...

Edit: maybe that's just black and I am seeing reflections.
Click to expand...

Yeah this is just plain black!

brettS4 said:
Great save on that paint. Reminds me of my first correction work... on a cabernet red '89 GT convertible that was so oxidized that when the original dealership's logo decal was removed you could still read it in the paint underneath due to it being two shades darker.

Btw, what kind of lift kit is on that thing? ;)
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Thank you for your kind words!

GSKR said:
You will need it in New England ,cars get really hammered there.
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Yeah the home of good old automatic carwashes!
 
you killed it Justin! Glad to see you're getting settled in your new spot.
 
Justin@FinalInspection said:
Thank you! I truly believe that everyone should develop the skill to run a rotary. The cutting stage was cut in half.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree with you more Justin, sometimes people get carried away with every step having to be LSP ready. Cut the cutting time in half . . . home early to chill with the family. :xyxthumbs:

Stunning work on the Cobra mate, truely great turn around. Fantastic story behind it too, I'm a fan of the "pay it forward" type attitude. Bet the owner was pretty happy you breathed some new life into her. Top work!

Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:
 
Nicely done, just today I battled with a black Jeep with 3401 and hybrid wool, took out the PE-14 and problem solved.
 
dlc95 said:
Nice work man!!

I had the Flex PE14 out for some testing yesterday. Felt good to have the rotary back in my hands.

I've never experienced using a rotary with such small (my d/a) pads, and it's a welcomed change from the 8" monsters I used in the 90's.

Thanks for sharing, and documenting the process!
Click to expand...

Thank you! Yeah I grew up using the big 8in pads. The pad and compound technology today makes rotary use very enjoyable.

fly07sti said:
you killed it Justin! Glad to see you're getting settled in your new spot.
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Thank you!

Aaryn NZ said:
Couldn't agree with you more Justin, sometimes people get carried away with every step having to be LSP ready. Cut the cutting time in half . . . home early to chill with the family. :xyxthumbs:

Stunning work on the Cobra mate, truely great turn around. Fantastic story behind it too, I'm a fan of the "pay it forward" type attitude. Bet the owner was pretty happy you breathed some new life into her. Top work!

Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:
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Thank you sir!

Zubair said:
Nicely done, just today I battled with a black Jeep with 3401 and hybrid wool, took out the PE-14 and problem solved.
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Rotary FTW!
 
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