Washed and waxed and even cleaned the door jambs.

"mazda616" (mazda616)
07/16/2014 at 14:37 • Filed to: mazda, 3, zoom zoom

Yesterday, the high temperature was only 75 degrees and my unemployed self got bored, so I decided to go OCD on my car, which wasn't even that dirty in the first place. Washed with Zymol car soap, waxed with Zymol cleaner wax. My paint shines okay, but it is in awful shape. :( Swirl marks and fine scratches EVERYWHERE. Too many automatic car washes before I got it and shortly after, as well. I didn't know they were bad for paint when I first got this car.

66,400 miles on it now (not bad for a 2008). And, I only put 8,000 miles on it in the last year. It spends most of its time in the garage.

DISCUSSION (19)

jkm7680 > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 14:39

Looks pretty damn nice!

mazda616 > jkm7680
07/16/2014 at 14:43

Thanks. I enjoy it. Which is good, since I can't afford another car for a long ass time and this one is paid off, lol. I just need to get it professionally buffed to get rid of the paint imperfections. And the headlights are hazing pretty badly. All signs of age, which I hate.

quarterlifecrisis > jkm7680
07/16/2014 at 14:43

I wish it would cool down so I could go OCD. I'm hoping for some decent temps so I can get the wax stripped off and get the car resealed and waxed. Even have new wax showing up via UPS today.

jkm7680 > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 14:45

Yeah, no matter how much they cost both of those will definitely be worth it in the long run!

Svend > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 14:45

Looking good fella.

I loathe drive through car washes with a passion.

Can't beat a good wash mitt and two bucket method.

MazdaMonkey > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 14:51

Looks great! You can probably get rid of most of those swirls with some paint correction. It is not that hard to do (especially if you're OCD), but you can probably pay a local a few hundred bucks to make it look great!

Rico > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 14:51

Just get some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and clean up the scratches and swirls. I believe there's a 5 step system Ultimate Compound>Scratch X>Paint Cleaner>Sealant>Wax that should certainly remove the majority of scratches and swirls.

Rico > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 14:53

Get a headlight restoration kit that has a sealant with it. I've also heard of people using 3000 level sandpaper to remove headlight oxidation. There's a shitload of off the shelf stuff you can use to get your ride looking brand new.

mazda616 > Rico
07/16/2014 at 14:56

I will look into that. What's interesting is, the areas on the lights look and feel more like scratches than they do hazing. And it's in the direct middle of the lens, right around the aftermarket eyelids that I've added. I'm ordering new eyelids soon, as these are five-years-old now and have warped/cracked pretty badly. When I have the lids off the lenses, I'll get a kit and hopefully get rid of the faded areas.

n54 & s38 > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 15:03

Looks great. Similar to my car below, maybe a little more orangey. I should really take the time to detail my car properly, inside and out. Maybe even claybar it. Never done that before.

mazda616 > Svend
07/16/2014 at 15:04

Me too. I wish I'd have never taken this car through them, but I did it a lot during college when I lived in an apartment and didn't have a good place to wash the car myself.

mazda616 > n54 & s38
07/16/2014 at 15:07

I usually clay bar mine once a year, in the early spring when it first starts getting warm. Makes a world of difference in the smoothness of the paint!

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 15:24

Looks good, what did you get it for?

mazda616 > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
07/16/2014 at 15:31

I bought it in August of 2009 with 12,200 miles on it and paid $13,500. They gave me $2,500 for my trade-in (a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT1 coupe).

Here it is the day after I bought it.

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 15:34

So was is $16,000 then? at either price that is a steal, in my area double the mileage gets around $15,000.

mazda616 > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
07/16/2014 at 15:34

Yep. He was asking almost $18,000, but I got him down to 16. It's worth about $12,000 right now if I sold it myself. Not too bad.

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 15:37

Very nice!

n54 & s38 > mazda616
07/16/2014 at 15:44

Also, bonus points for not spelling "jambs" as "jams"

mazda616 > n54 & s38
07/16/2014 at 15:52

Eek. That'd be almost as bad as spelling "brakes" as "breaks." Coincidentally, almost every car around here that is for sale on Craigslist has "new breaks." I'm always tempted to message and ask what is new that already broke.