PBL Full Coating, Paint, Glass, Wheels – 2012 Mazdaspeed Hot Hatch and an All Nighter!

[derek0609]

Nice car! Great work!

 

[damaged442]

Great story and awesome pics!! Way to clean up that paint!

It's great that your wife helps out. If you asked my wife where my buckets were for washing the cars (or anything else related to vehicular maintenance), she couldn't tell you!

 

[cardaddy]

SAWEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTT!!!!!!

OK Tony why you didn't call your buddy DAD to assist I don't know.......

Great Turnaround to say the least!

next time I'm only 4 hours away....ya Know?

GREAT JOB Buddy!

Tell ya' what Tim. Don't be surprised if I call ya' up on that.

OTOH you must drive like the Hendrick guys to get here in 4 hours! (Me loves me some "Team Hendrick" btw.)

A thoroughly entertaining read as usual! You and the mrs. really spent some "quality" time together it seems Great work!!

You know, when we met it was because we were both into drag racing, working on cars, and the like. We used to do most of our own work on my rollbacks (for 18 years), anything that wasn't warranty work. Brakes and stuff are the easy stuff, but start doing clutches and trannys with PTO's hanging off the side and things get busy. We could do Ford Super Duty clutches from start to cranking and driving in 5 hours, (WITHOUT AIR TOOLS).

Excellent work restoring the car and thank you for the entertaining read!:xyxthumbs:

I also appreciate your input on the PBL coating system, as I am planning to give it a whirl in the coming weeks (hooray for holiday free time and warm SoCal winters). :buffing:

The PBL "system" as it is... 'works'. Still don't know why we have not 1, nor 2, nor 3, but FOUR different products, with at least 3 of them doing the same thing. (With the idea in mind that the glass coating is different just because it's glass.) :dunno:

Also don't believe you'll EVER get 4~5 vehicles with the 4 ounce bottle of paint coating! As I said, I'm using the CarPro suede cloth (and YES I've tried it with the foam applicator as well). In fact, the foam applicator will 'squeak' as it's moving across the surface, unless it's REALLY WET, which again is why I think it's 'suggested' as it causes you to use a TON of product. Being frugal, AND getting good coverage is very possible with the suede cloths, (especially when you make 160 of them for $19.99).

Extremely good work, keep it up! Thanks for taking the time compiling the write up and added a little humor into it!

Hey, if we can't have fun doing this, then why do it at all, right? :dunno:

Great work. One would think a body shop would better understand paint. Perhaps time is more important to them, because time is money.

No doubt they understand paint, probably much better than I ever will truth be known.

But you can BET time is money alright! The thing is, this shop is GOOD! Their assembly, fit quality, even the paint itself is right up there. The BS Manager I've known for years, was the Asst at their biggest competition for a number of years. Both of these shops are HUGE dealerships in the metro area. Plenty of people know the name Heritage and Hennessy. Both sell luxury vehicles as well!

But when it comes to finishing, the paint may not have trash in it, the color matches, and the flake looks right but that's about it. They are NOT doing detailed finishing. (Either one actually.) If it can't be done in 15 minutes with a DeWalt and a wool pad then it just isn't getting done. Photos are going back to the shop to show what it CAN and SHOULD look like, you can bet on that!

Outstanding work Tony! Thanks for taking the time to put this one together!

This one kept me up not just through my day and night... but yours as well dude! :laughing: (All the way in Germany and all.)

Came out better than new!

That's what we shoot for, every single time.
It's a shame that SO MANY PEOPLE just don't have any idea what their NEW cars should look like. They take what they get and think that's the way it's supposed to be. NOT!

 

[cardaddy]

Thanks for sharing, Tony. One thing that caught my eye: you said you put Opti-Coat on the tires. Is that correct? I didn't know it could be used on flexible rubber (however I have used it on trim.)

Look forward to the next one you decide to share!

Ooops.... you caught that Ryan! Meant to say Opti-Gel on the tires. Did end up with PBL wheel coating on the rocker panels all the way down as well. While you shoot for UTTGP on the main stuff, especially the mirrors.... I told the wife not to put it around the windows. We ended up with PBL on most of the trim anyhow, doesn't hurt that's for sure. Then just from the wiping process if nothing else you even it out.

As always another great job and fantastic write up.

Hey hey hey... a boy's gotta' try and earn his keep sometime around here, ya' know?

Speaking of wiping. By the time it was all said and done there were 4 applicator pads including the fancy German 3-layer one. Buffer pads used were 11, (mostly orange) all 5½", then either flat or CCS to finish with in white and green.

Then I counted 31 towels! Almost half were (shall I dare say) Costco Kirkland Golds! There were half a dozen random el-cheapo ones for wheels, jambs, etc. The rest were anywhere from 2 "16x24 Miracle Towels, to 530's to 700's. :dblthumb2:

All have since been sorted, washed, re-sorted, folded and stacked; ready for duty yet again.

You did a great job Cardaddy, good for him that you liked him for sure! Hope the MINI is a breeze, atleast its small, right?

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online

Small? Yeah.... we'll see. For the most part he wants my help on the interior of the MINI. Then he says he wants me to "teach" him how to work on the exterior. Sounds like a long freaking day to me!

Nice car! Great work!

Ah Derek, another "Mazdaspeed" lover.

Guess what, think that "crash part" (hood) came off a 2010. It was SOOOOOOO swirled out. And the 'inner scoop' that sits inside the hood on top of the intercooler, is really faded and even has a broken part on one of the uprights. I told him he needs to file a claim with them for a NEW one!

Great story and awesome pics!! Way to clean up that paint!

It's great that your wife helps out. If you asked my wife where my buckets were for washing the cars (or anything else related to vehicular maintenance), she couldn't tell you!

Thanks for the props brother. :xyxthumbs:
Being totally honest, my wife isn't completely up to date with my detailing tools. (Old dog new tricks might come into play about now.) :laughing: She literally HATES handling microfiber towels! I mean she HATES IT! But if you start talking about other vehicle tools, scan tool (for instance), changing out plugs, doing oil changes, working on brakes, driveshafts, axle seals, you name it.... she's there.

Now HOUSE TOOLS, working on drywall (and all those tools), where is my electrical pouch, laying tile (and all those tools), where are all the tools needed for building a deck, etc. The difference between a router and a skill saw, a radial arm saw and a miter saw, she gets it. Knowing what paint brush to use, and the difference between a $2.50 and a $25.00 brush... yep she's good there too.

Most stuff, (project wise), she'll jump right in.
Now house CLEANING versus helping do a CAR cleaning.... THAT my friend is a totally different story! :laughing: