Pelican Parts Forums - MazdaSpeed6 Detailed

I had the opportunity to get my hands on this 2006 MazdaSpeed6 with only 20,000 Miles on it. The car has been sitting outside for months. In this write up I will concentrate on the roof work and the water spots on it.

As soon as I saw the vehicle I knew that I had my work cut out for me, the faded paint was noticeable almost instantly and a closer look revealed the overwhelming amount of water spots on the roof surface.

There are MANY ways/products/machines and techniques to tackle this kind of work, but below is what works for ME with my system and my technique.

After the washing and oxidation removal process the roof surface was evaluated and I concluded that the roof was in need of an extreme process to be able to bring the surface back to an acceptable condition.

For such task, I started with a medium compound and special microfiber pads via a Porter Cable 7424XP machine. I like to start with the speed setting at 3 and eventually bring it to 5. After that I moved to the second step, again with the same machine but this time with Black Wool Pads. These pads are made from original sheep hair and are not synthetic like many others on the market. For this step I worked the machine on the setting #4. The next step was using an orange foam pad with a Medium Compound with the setting at #4 and finishing at #5. In the next step, a new clean orange pad with Swirl remover was used with the settings at #4 and #6 as needed. Once the roof was in acceptable condition I then applied the wax with a black foam pad with the speed set at 4; after 35 minutes I removed the wax with a clean black foam pad.

For the carbon fiber hood and truck lip, an orange foam pad with swirl remover was enough to bring the shine back, afterward the wax was applied.

For the rest of the car, the orange foam pad and the swirl remover followed by the wax was enough to bring it back to a nice finish.

Once more, at the end of the day, preparation is the key. I'd like to mention that I've been able to get these results using a machine that many professionals in the industry consider “not suitable” for this type of work, but to each his own.

Roof as found, under a microscopic digital light 500x more powerful than the human eye.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g2...x/DSC_3427.jpg

In reality no microscope was needed as the surface damage was visible.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g2...Wax/roof-1.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g2...x/DSC_3424.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g2...x/DSC_3411.jpg

50/50 Roof view left side as found right side corrected

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g2...0roofshoot.jpg

Roof Fully Done

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g2...x/DSC_3487.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g2...x/DSC_3563.jpg