True Red Mazda 3 MPS - Detailed by Lawrence

lawrenceSA

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This car really needed some love.... 5 years of improper maintenance, parking outside 24/7, a horrendously bad repaint (front fenders and bonnet) and some fool with a rotary and this is what it looked like.... :fear:

The car was obviously dirty

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Has some obligatory bird droppings

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The wheels were left for too long and were never going to be perfect again

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If there was crack, it had polish residue and or wax in it

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Sanding marks and orange peel

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One very bad deep scratch on the front passenger door

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Dirt in the places that most don't usually wash

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Then a whackload of swirls, RIDS and buffer trails....

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The interior wasn't any better

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Neither was the exhaust tip

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Or the engine bay

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Arches, Tires, Wheels
-HP rinse arches, tires and wheels.
-Clean arches with APC using a Mothers Fenderwell Brush
-HP rinse
-Clean tires with Meguiars All Wheel and Tire Cleaner and a Mothers Tire brush.
-HP rinse
-Repeat tire cleaning
-HP rinse
-Wash wheels and brake calipers with VP Bilberry Wheel Cleaner @ 1:6, Daytona and Daytona Jnr brushes and Valet Pro Boars Hair Brushes
-HP rinse
-Dry
-Remove tar using Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover
-Spray with APC and HP Rinse
-Dry
-Remove bonded and embedded ferrous contaminants on wheels and brake calipers with Valet Pro Dragon's Breath Daytona and Daytona Jnr brushes and Valet Pro Boars Hair Brushes
-HP Rinse + flood rinse
-Later 2 coats of Chemical Guys EZ Creme was applied to the spokes of the wheels and topped with Menzerna Powerlock. The tires would be dressed with Gyeon Q2M Tire and the arches dressed using Shield Sheen

Engine bay
-Blow loose dust off with compressor
-Clean with APC, MF Towels and various Brushes
-Clean/Polish/Protect painted surfaces (AIO) using AF Tripple by hand (there was no clear coat sprayed here)
-Plastics dressed with Shield Sheen

Exhaust Tips
-Cleaned using APC, MF towels and various brushes
-Polished and protected using Mothers Power Metal

So this what the car looked like before I started washing.

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If you were to simply commence washing with your sponge / wash mitt now, all of that dirt (let's call it 100 units of dirt, for illustration purposes) has the POTENTIAL to inflict SWIRLS into your paint. So the first thing to do is get rid of as much as you can with a HP washer, leaving you with this - let's say you are now down to only 40 units of dirt remaining...

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Then if you hit the area with a pre-wash product and allow it a few minutes to dwell, when you HP rinse again, MORE dirt is released so now you have say only 30 units of dirt left on the car, and have quickly but effectively cut down your risk for instilling swirls.

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Wash
-HP rinse
-Applied Valet Pro Citrus Pre-wash via a spray bottle, left to dwell
-HP rinse
-Applied Valet Pro ANSF via a MTM Hydro, left to dwell

This is after a few minutes

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-HP rinse
-2BM wash using lambswool wash mitts and the same shampoo I was busy testing last weekend.
-HP rinse
-Flood Rinse
-Dried using ONR and WW drying towels

Decontamination
-Tar removed using Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover

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-Iron removed using Valet Pro Dragon's Breath
-Remaining contamination was clayed off using Shield Heavy Duty clay with ONR as lube.

Paint correction
-Paint readings (avg 112µ on the OEM paint / avg 428µ on the re-painted panels - I got a few up near the 600µ :eek: )
-Re-painted panel correction: Flex 3401 / Lake Country Purple Foamed Wool Pads / Menzerna FG400. Then repeated. Then Flex 3401 / Lake Country Crimson Hydrotech Pads / Menzerna SF4000
OEM panel correction: Flex 3401 / Menzerna FG400 / 5.5" Cyan Lake Country Pads.

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Paint protection
-Soft 99 Fusso Coat Dark

Interior
-Vacuumed
-Seats cleaned with APC then protected with Collinte 855
-Plastics and dash cleaned with Valet Pro Citrus Pre-wash at 1:30 then given a final wipe using Autofinesse Spritz

Glass
-Glossworx Glass Cleaner

Door rubbers, window rubbers, exterior plastic trim
- Cleaned using Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner
- Protected using Aerospace 303.
 
And this is how she looked after

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And 2 pics the owner sent me from the next day

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As always, thanks for looking and any comments or questions are welcome.

:hi:
 
Excellent work and write-up! Thanks for sharing :dblthumb2:
 
Really competent work, Lawrence. Very professional, to say the least. It looks like the kind of cars I usually receive in my shop, all trashed, neglected, like the owner wanted to make you sweat for his money. Keep up the good work :xyxthumbs:
 
What a fix Lawrence! You nailed that Mazda, outstanding work like always my friend:)
 
Really competent work, Lawrence. Very professional, to say the least. It looks like the kind of cars I usually receive in my shop, all trashed, neglected, like the owner wanted to make you sweat for his money. Keep up the good work :xyxthumbs:
Thank you very much. I truly appreciate your words :thankyousign:

Awesome work.
Thank you.

What a fix Lawrence! You nailed that Mazda, outstanding work like always my friend:)
Thanks Kyle. It is so rewarding to turn a car around like this, see the owners face, then know you did that.

The greater the challenge, the greater the reward:dblthumb2:
 
impressive work!!! :applause:
example of "From Trash to Show Car" lol
 
Bravo Lawrence!!! :dblthumb2:

As per normal - phenomenal work my friend! Really great turn around. Outstanding really!

I see you use Autoglym intensive tar remover. Autoglym has some good products - seems its not a real popular in the states though. I must get some Menzerna when i get to Boot Camp also. Been really impressed with results i have seen on here.

I must say - i don't read everyones posts on AG but a select few i can't wait to click on. You're definitely one of them Lawrence! Easy, clear, understandable & fun posts to read. Fantastic pictures & well - geeze - the workmanship is simply stunning!

Awesome post Lawrence, thanks for sharing! :dblthumb2:

Aaryn NZ.
 
Bravo Lawrence!!! :dblthumb2:

As per normal - phenomenal work my friend! Really great turn around. Outstanding really!

I see you use Autoglym intensive tar remover. Autoglym has some good products - seems its not a real popular in the states though. I must get some Menzerna when i get to Boot Camp also. Been really impressed with results i have seen on here.

I must say - i don't read everyones posts on AG but a select few i can't wait to click on. You're definitely one of them Lawrence! Easy, clear, understandable & fun posts to read. Fantastic pictures & well - geeze - the workmanship is simply stunning!

Awesome post Lawrence, thanks for sharing! :dblthumb2:

Aaryn NZ.

WOW Aaryn, thank you so much for your post - it has made me feel really humbled and proud at the same time.

My deepest thanks and appreciation to you :dblthumb2:
 
Man you really had your work cut out for you on that one! It had a bit of everything all on the same car! :eek:

Fantastic turnaround. Does not look like the same car. Bravo!
 
Man you really had your work cut out for you on that one! It had a bit of everything all on the same car! :eek:

Fantastic turnaround. Does not look like the same car. Bravo!

Thanks Mike. Means a lot coming from you. All I can say is that if it were not for the Flex 3401 I would not have got the same results... I simply love the machine and cannot wait for my hybrid pads to arrive:dblthumb2:
 
Looks great now! Love the attention to detail. My Mazda3 has the same paint. It was a joy to correct.
 
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