hmm. anyone ever use zaino in combination with any other polishes? what I'm thinking is using a coat of the turtle wax color cure and then a few coats of zaino z-2. I'd prep those areas the same as if a layer of zaino was already on it (ie no dawn/stripping, no z1 prep) what do you think?

 

I beg to differ. I own a 95 Vintage Red too. I've had it since new. It's never been repainted. I've used Meguiar's paint cleaner on it and had red pigment come up on the rag which shows there is no clearcoat. Not all FD's came with clearcoat. See the other replies on this thread or ask someone at an autobody shop for confirmation.
Maybe your particular car has been kept so well waxed that the paint has never oxidized. Or maybe the cleaner you used didn't work well enough. Or maybe it's been repainted some time in the past.

 

I would say no, but you never know what's been done to your particular car. I recommend you do one of two things. Try some paint cleaner on your car, say Meguair's #1. If any pigment comes up on the rag, then you don't have a clearcoat. If you're still in doubt, stop by an autobody shop. Any good paint man will be able to tell in one minute if it's clearcoat or not.

 

There is a lot of unclear stuff with regards to paint it seems. I have an early '93 VR with the high reflex paint, it has no chipping or fading problems (except the mirrors are faded), and it has a clearcoat. I believe high reflex was only offered in '93 on tourings, however the supposed chipping problem (which had to do with the primer) wasn't fixed until late '94 (see the felix faq). So, do all VRs have this chipping problem? I've heard a lot of reports of chipping but I'm the only person I know that actually has the high reflex paint. And, if there are people out there with R1s (which did not have high reflex as an option) that have a clearcoat, does this mean that in '93 there were 3 different versions of VR? That is, base (no clearcoat), clearcoat, and high reflex (clearcoat)? FWIW, the mirrors do not appear to be clearcoated, the body I am 90% sure is clearcoated, and I'm am 100% positive the car has never been repainted.

 

Yes, it is confusing, isn't it? I remember going over this issue in at least two other threads. I'll just make this one point, and you can interpret it any way you wish.
Automobile Magazine conducted a long term test of a '93 Vintage Red touring model. It published the results in its October 1993 issue, which means the report was written at least two months earlier. This paragraph is from page 114 of that issue:

"While we had Mazda's ear, we also mentioned the cheap exterior paint on our RX-7, which after a few months, was scarred and chipped and looked a bit like Michail Gorbachev's head. Consumers handing over $35, 920 certainly deserve better than Gorby's head. And Mazda understands this. What happened, we are told, is that the Touring Model's high-gloss paint dried harder than expected and was thus more likely to chip. The good news: The problem has already been solved. All RX-7s now receive a conventional paint treatment."

 

It seems all the mirrors and bumpers on non-metallic cars aren't clear coated. Base, Touring and R1s.

Jeff

 

I went over a couple of spots with Meguiar's paint cleaner and got NO red paint rub-off at all, even with some fairly vigorous rubbing. The mirrors on the other hand definitely are not clearcoated. I'm pretty sure the paint on the body is original, but you never know, I didn't buy the car from the original owner....