EdwardNorth

Hey all.

I was planning on getting my FD professionally repainted eventually, but the thing is, I want to KEEP the exact same color (Montego Blue). Since I want to have it repainted in MB anyway, is there a way to just have the current paint "freshened up" and re-clearcoated or anything to get rid of scratches, scrapes, and chips? Or is the only way to make it look brand new again to go with a full professional sand/prime/repaint and have a brand new MB 3-stage paint job done to it?

I don't know much about car paint at all, so sorry if this sounds like an idiotic question...

Thanks guys!

RX7SpiritR

iTrader: (1)

Best way is to get the full job done. You can have them take the clearcoat off and then touch up areas that need it then reclearcoat it. One problem is that the clearcoat has special pearls in it that make it change the colors you see on the Montego Blue color. It would probably be cheaper in the long run and a hell of a lot better to just have it taken down then repainted.

RX7UP

They can also apply a light compound and buff it with the machine.... If done correctly, it will give you a deep shine and will remove all light scratches.... Chips and deep scratches will not come out, because they're to deep....... This should cost you no more than $250.00 at any body shop....

PS. Tell them to be carefull with your rear lights and signal lights. If they are touched by the compound and buffing machine it will ruin them.....

jimlab

False.

SpeedKing

iTrader: (4)

That's some good *** crack he's smoking eh, Jim?

Edward: RX7UP is right. Take your car to a body shop or professional detailer and have them buff, polish, and wax the car. I've had this done and they really can make your car look new again.

InsaneGideon

Smoking "*** crack"? Eeeww...

SpeedKing

iTrader: (4)

Haha, I meant, "good-*** crack". Then again, what difference does it make? LOL!

DamonB

My mb has been repainted in some areas. The cleearcoat is nothing special, all coloring is contained in the base coat.

EdwardNorth

Hmmm.

The biggest area that I'm concerned about on the car is the front fascia. It's fairly obvious that the previous owner hit an occasional cone while autocrossing due to a few streaks on one side. Also, due to my own stupidity I just barely scraped the very bottom of the plastic against concrete one time while parking it, leaving a few scrape marks about a half-an-inch up (you can't see them unless you get practically UNDER the car, but they're still there and it drives me NUTS! ). Plus there are a few hard-to-notice scratches here and there.

What do you think about just getting the front bumper re-painted? Worth it or no?

EDIT: How about touch-up paint for the scrape on the bottom? Is it possible to do a perfect touch-up job with alot of time and patience?

Thanks for the replies!

racer1

If the scratches are big and cannot be removed with a strong compound polish the you'll need to repaint

RonKMiller

IF you can find a good body shop that will take the time and IF they know what they are doing it is amazing how well they can bring tired clear coat/paint back to life by polishing.

The scratches and dings can be fixed - but will never look like "new".

Expect to pay anywhere from $175.00 up to $500.00 or more to have this done - depending on the extent of the repairs.

It all depends on how much money you want to spend, but quality three stage paint jobs are really expensive, and unless you re-do the interior as well with new upholstery, carpet, etc. why bother?

EdwardNorth

Funny you should say that. I WILL be doing a tan-to-black conversion.

I found brand-new floormats from a distant Mazda dealer, will buy brand-new carpet from a dealer, and will try to find the best black leather seats I can get my hands on.

One of my goals with the FD is to bring it to Showroom condition. Paint is essential. I will save for a complete repaint someday, but right now I just want to take care of a couple of annoying scruffs here and there (that only I notice pretty much).

The FD will stay with me for the rest of my life. 50 years from now I want to look at it and say "DAMN! That car looks brand new!"

HEns

yep with everyone, touch up paint can only go so far, eventually you have to sand back the entire panel and repaint it for it to look "good as new"

pugg57

Edward... how much is the dealer asking for new mats? i have a Montego Blue with Tan interior and the ONLY thing wrong with the interiors is the mats are strangly a bit reddish looking... other than that it looks like the car just rolled off the line... sorry for the rambling but i'm looking to get new ones and was wondering what you are gonna have to pay. thanks.

dubulup

Anyone ever try the type of wax that "removes" scratches?

I have a few scratches on the front bumper cover and would like have them less noticable without repainting the entire cover.

HEns

hmmmmm, are you talking abt the wax with the colour in it. it has to be matching paint, i doubt they make a "montego blue" version of that

EdwardNorth

I got them for about 60 bucks plus tax and shipping. This was from Gatton Mazda in Tenessee. I had to have them shipped here to Michigan.

I will just try some touch up paint on that tiny scrape down under. It's a pretty inconspicuous spot, and some touch up combined with how it looks after installing the front lip spoiler will make it totally disappear, I believe.

Thanks guys!

dubulup

I was talking about my scratches...silver.

HEns

in that case they probably do dubulup

Larz

I heard it costs about 2500 in my area for a complete paint job. I don't have the cash for that, so I think I'd go with the 250 touch up solution. I wax my car every now and then. keeps it looking good.

DCrosby

What about a Clay Bar !?? Wouldn't that take out some of the minor scratches and swirls ? I hear it works great on dark colors.. like montego green !

poss

iTrader: (5)

Clay bars are awesome. They remove all the contaminates from the paint surface. They don't take out scratches though.