Project MX-5 (Part 5 – shiny and new)

First published in January 2016:

Project MX-5 was never intended to be a show and shine kind of car, not one that would ever fit in at a concourse event. Oh, if you’re not familiar with this series then you can get up to speed by reading other stories in this section of the site. Instead I envisioned giving the car a good wash and covering it with a vinyl wrap and a few sponsor decals as we went along.

Plans change

But as with most things in life, and definitely all project cars, the plan changed. It started with a chance discussion with a facebook acquaintance, whom I asked for advice on how to make the car look a bit more presentable.

I asked Michael Flynn because he owns a relatively new auto detailing firm, Flynn’s Auto Detailing. After a brief chat he said that he’d prefer to see the car before doling out any advice.

Inspection time

A few days later Mr Flynn was casting his careful eye over the faded exterior and grubby interior of my car. He gave it a good once over and decided that as the MX-5 isn’t too large, ie there isn’t much metal to clean, that he’d do the job as a favour.

Not long after he set to work with his magic muti, bag of brushes and strange sounding chemicals. Among the treatment work was a deep clean of the interior.

Remarkable difference

When he was halfway through cleaning the driver’s seat he gave me a shout and we took the pic you see above. Not only was the changed immediately evident, but it was near incredible the colour change he achieved. I was astounded.

He deep cleaned the seats and the door cards as well as parts of the centre console, though the differences are more noticeable on the lighter colours.

Sponsored

Full polish and wax

I had previously heard about and seen detailing jobs, but never followed one through the entire process. Over the course of two days Michael used a compound to cut through the dead paint and swirl marks.

After he was satisfied with that he performed a medium polish to get rid of fine swirls the compound had made. At the very end he “jewelled” the paint with extra fine polish to make the colour really pop. And to top it off he applied two coats of wax.

Looking new

As you can see his efforts have really paid off as the paint looks as though the car has been for a visit to a panel shop for a respray. Those who saw it before and after commented that the car looks brand new.

For now I’ll hold off on the plans to add a vinyl wrap, but it could be a future update to the car. Sadly the excellent paint finish has exposed little dents that have accumulated on the bodywork over the years, perhaps I’ll get those fixed in time, too.

As usual, all comments and suggestions are welcome. I look forward to hearing from you. For intermediate updates feel free to follow the Project MX-5 facebook page.