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So I've always wondered why my 1995 SSM fd has a different shade silver engine bay. Has anyone else seen this or know what the deal is? Car is still original paint as far as I can tell.
It's strange, this just came up recently in another thread, and I actually had the correct answer!
The paint under the hood did not receive the clear coat like the rest of the car. My car was also SSM and under the hood some parts are down to the greenish primer because the unprotected base coat had worn away.
At some point, I may pull everything and paint it again properly.
Is yours also a 95? I've heard a different reason about why it is a different shade and I could've sworn I read it on this forum but I can't find the thread at all.
it was probably 6 years ago. There was someone selling a ssm fd on ebay and people stating that the paint difference was because the last few cars from 95 in SSM off the assembly line ran out of paint which is why Mazda used a different shade in the engine bay.
That really doesn't make sense, the whole chassis is painted at the same time. The clearcoat makes sense, they would only spray the outside surfaces with clear.
SSM may have the metallic or something in the clear so it would look like a different shade without it.
Engine bay paint on these cars is single stage. No clear. The fact that it sees underhood heat and rarely gets exposed to sunlight can affect its color compared to the rest of the car.
All the 1995 cars I have seen (I have owned two) had a different shade basecoat applied to the engine bay. On SSM cars this appears as a light non-metallic gray color. This is not due to any fading over time due to heat. The factory painting process simply changed for the 1995 model years. In fact, I believe all the non-metallic colors (VR, CW, BB) were two stage paints in 1995, versus the single stage applications for the 93-94 cars.
Agreed. AFAIK, my 93 was never clear coated. It was single stage from factory. IIRC there was also an issue on the early models with premature fading of paint. I don’t think there was a recall, but since it wasn’t an adhesion issue, alot of cars got a dealer repaint. They just didn’t refinish in the engine bay.
If you look and feel closely at the fenders with the hood up sometimes you can still find the mask edge. I have the sane issue and suspect mine was one of those cars.
The factory painting process simply changed for the 1995 model years. In fact, I believe all the non-metallic colors (VR, CW, BB) were two stage paints in 1995, versus the single stage applications for the 93-94 cars.
I'm a bit skeptical of that statement unless the paint codes changed too. What I do know is Vintage Red (paint Code NU) is a tri-coat paint. If that changed then Mazda would have given it a different paint code like NT . If Mazda changed the paint colors or process without changing the paint codes then paint shops would be using the wrong color formulas for '95 RX-7s. OK, just to be sure, I just looked it up with PPG's ColorMobile software 1993, 1994,and 1995 Vintage Red (Color Code NU) is the same color formulation.
For folks who are wondering what the heck we're talking about here are some pictures of the various painting layers:
I'm a bit skeptical of that statement unless the paint codes changed too. What I do know is Vintage Red (paint Code NU) is a tri-coat paint. If that changed then Mazda would have given it a different paint code like NT . If Mazda changed the paint colors or process without changing the paint codes then paint shops would be using the wrong color formulas for '95 RX-7s. OK, just to be sure, I just looked it up with PPG's ColorMobile software 1993, 1994,and 1995 Vintage Red (Color Code NU) is the same color formulation.
For folks who are wondering what the heck we're talking about here are some pictures of the various painting layers:
All metallic colors are clear coat. Code 051 is three stage.
1995
All colors are clear coat. Code NU is three stage.
I should probably try to polish my VR 95 and see if any color makes its way onto the pad. The red on the 95 though looks distinctly darker than the 93 VR R1 I saw next to it.
When I got my '93 base VR, and I inquired about a little bit of red showing up in the cloth when I polished it, I was told that the clearcoat had a tiny bit of the VR color in it to add more "depth" to the color.
When I got my '93 base VR, and I inquired about a little bit of red showing up in the cloth when I polished it, I was told that the clearcoat had a tiny bit of the VR color in it to add more "depth" to the color.
you have red on the rag because it is single stage , meaning no clear
they do not make tri coat solid color paints, it makes no sense because the whole idea behind the 2nd base is to give the effect of seeing the underlying color through the mid coat ( mica, pearls, candy, effect ) then its locked in with the clearcoat
Fritz Flynn where you at??? You seem to know something other people do not and I could've sworn you were the one who posted on the ebay sale thread with the SSM I'm referring to. I also saw you posted this
"Yep great car and priced well
Just another note that really should enhance the value down the road. It's a true 96 FD (dec build date) proven by the SSM exterior color and engine bay that's not SSM more of a flat silver which is true of all 96 silver FDs."
So now how I originally stated, my 95 has a different shade of silver. Definitely no clear coat which I think is normal but the actual paint is different. my build date is 12/95 and like I said in that mysterious thread that I can no longer find, someone posted that when Mazda painted the last few SSM cars off the production line, they ran out of paint which is why the engine bay color is different.
I'm really interested in finding out the truth because if this really is a "rare" thing then I do not want to repaint the bay with OEM SSM, I will just leave it as it is and not paint the car at all.
its common to have an actual different paint code for underhood, it is on color charts. they can also use a matte finish clear instead of high gloss.
happens all the time with many different manufactures. ill go take a picture
Fritz Flynn where you at??? You seem to know something other people do not and I could've sworn you were the one who posted on the ebay sale thread with the SSM I'm referring to. I also saw you posted this
"Yep great car and priced well
Just another note that really should enhance the value down the road. It's a true 96 FD (dec build date) proven by the SSM exterior color and engine bay that's not SSM more of a flat silver which is true of all 96 silver FDs."
So now how I originally stated, my 95 has a different shade of silver. Definitely no clear coat which I think is normal but the actual paint is different. my build date is 12/95 and like I said in that mysterious thread that I can no longer find, someone posted that when Mazda painted the last few SSM cars off the production line, they ran out of paint which is why the engine bay color is different.
I'm really interested in finding out the truth because if this really is a "rare" thing then I do not want to repaint the bay with OEM SSM, I will just leave it as it is and not paint the car at all.
Mike
Yep the above is the story I've heard.
Personally I like the flat look. Post up some pics
they list 3 codes for that, if one of them is underhood or not I cant get that detail. Even on photos of old charts I cant find it
or its just a matte finish which is giving it a different appearance base mettalic without high gloss clear on it will look completely different then same color with high gloss clear
do a small spray out without clear and compare, or if you are doing the entire bay gloss clear holds up better and is easier to clean then matte finish clears
if you take some rubbing compound and rub that paint under the hood if it comes up black like you see when you polish aluminum you know its just silver base with no clear ( you are polishing the metallic flakes in the paint ) if it comes up clean no color at all its likely a matte finish clear on it
When I got my '93 base VR, and I inquired about a little bit of red showing up in the cloth when I polished it, I was told that the clearcoat had a tiny bit of the VR color in it to add more "depth" to the color.
Originally Posted by Rob XX 7
you have red on the rag because it is single stage , meaning no clear...
You're likely correct - my mistake in trusting the poorly-informed dealership... It certainly makes sense, considering how fragile that paint is. I'm overdue for a paint job, but I hate having to get one because I'll be paranoid about it getting damaged.
You're likely correct - my mistake in trusting the poorly-informed dealership... It certainly makes sense, considering how fragile that paint is. I'm overdue for a paint job, but I hate having to get one because I'll be paranoid about it getting damaged.
yes it sucks, and somehow you are a magnet for anything that can damage the car
I have had a concrete bag fly up in the road and I hit it, no damage
and a piece of vinyl siding flew off a dump truck and hit my hood, windshield and mirror. only the mirror needed repaint
imagine if I actually DROVE the car how much crap I would go through
According to this document from Mazda, http://foxed.ca/rx7manual/Manuals/pa...x7_9395_cg.pdf 1993-1994 All metallic colors are clear coat. Code 051 is three stage. 1995 All colors are clear coat. Code NU is three stage.
I should probably try to polish my VR 95 and see if any color makes its way onto the pad. The red on the 95 though looks distinctly darker than the 93 VR R1 I saw next to it.
Continuing slightly off topic in the Vintage Red NU color discussion...
So what the heck is color code 051? As far as I can tell Mazda color codes were designated by at least one letter in 93, 94, and 95.
I'm getting my mirrors repainted (as part of my overhauling the mirrors series). The paint shop is using PPG paint. Here is the PPG color sheet for 1994 Mazdas:
Note that the Vintage Red color code NU has a base and top coat PPG numbers 4384 and 4427.
And here is RM BASF color sheet:
Also showing a base and top coat for Vintage Red NU.
And finally Dupont's color chart:
Also showing a base and top coat for Vintage Red NU.
After talking to the body shop's paint guy who's been painting cars for a living for 20 years I'm convinced that Vintage Red NU is not a single coat paint at least for 1994 and probably 93 and 95. And yes dear reader, my mirrors and spoiler are going to be painted with PPG's tri-coat paint matching Mazda's original 1994 NU paint code.
Last edited by mdp; 03-14-18 at 01:28 PM.
Reason: spelling
02-24-18, 09:19 PM
. If Mazda changed the paint colors or process without changing the paint codes then paint shops would be using the wrong color formulas for '95 RX-7s. OK, just to be sure, I just looked it up with PPG's ColorMobile software 1993, 1994,and 1995 Vintage Red (Color Code NU) is the same color formulation.
