I can see clearly now the haze has gone...

"Chinny Raccoon" (chinnyraccoon) 02/04/2018 at 14:57 • Filed to: None

6

19

Well, mostly. Not perfect, but it’s a lot better than before. Wet sanded up to 2500 grit, then buffed with some Farecla G3 and some 3" Foam buffing discs on the drill.

The green grot needs the lights out to clean, which means removing the bumper. More than I could be bothered with.

The before pictures:

way2blu does a rev update > Chinny Raccoon 02/04/2018 at 15:09

2

I see that you have an MR2 of the “blue” variety.

I too have a 2 that is blue.

Glad to see you’re taking good care of it! We need more MR2 content on Oppo...

Chinny Raccoon > way2blu does a rev update 02/04/2018 at 15:24

1

That’s a more interesting blue, quite close to this:

Echo51 > Chinny Raccoon 02/04/2018 at 15:45

1

Aaaand i want to repaint my car now. Welp.

Svend > Chinny Raccoon 02/04/2018 at 15:49

0

Did you seal the headlights with a coating?

Without a coating the plastic will fade again sooner as it has no UV protection.

Waxes and sealants will do the trick in the short term but a coating such as Gtechniq C1/CarPro CQuartz UK/Gyeon Q2 Pure/Optimum Opti-Glass Coating/etc...

Klaus Schmoll > Svend 02/04/2018 at 15:57

0

Does clearcoat work for this application?

way2blu does a rev update > Chinny Raccoon 02/04/2018 at 15:57

1

That’s Miami Blue, which is what I was attempting to emulate with the paint job I got :D

Klaus Schmoll > Chinny Raccoon 02/04/2018 at 15:58

0

Job well done! Will you bring it to the meet? Also, is that a purple Ignis in the background?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Chinny Raccoon 02/04/2018 at 16:00

0

Gonna have to try this on mine. Replacement lenses are like hundreds of dollars each...

way2blu does a rev update > Echo51 02/04/2018 at 16:01

1

An eye-catching paint job is the best bang-for-your-buck of any modification you can do.

It gives you the “look back” effect of turning back to glance at your car whenever you park it and walk away. I got mine painted and it completely transformed the experience of owning and driving it. Compliments from other enthusiasts are a regular occurrence now that the car just looks good.

Echo51 > way2blu does a rev update 02/04/2018 at 16:06

1

Painted mine myself a few years back, best feeling to go from “meh” to “oh yeah dat color, uhnf”. Defo the best thing i did to it, but damn it’s some effort too.

Chinny Raccoon > Klaus Schmoll 02/04/2018 at 16:06

0

Almost certainly, providing nothing major goes wrong. The Ignis is my parents very faded red one, it really needs a polish up.

Svend > Klaus Schmoll 02/04/2018 at 16:09

0

I don’t know if clearcoat would bond properly to the smooth plastic.

Coatings will last for three to five years.

Gtechniq C1 or Crystal Serum Lite will give you a good five years protection.

Chinny Raccoon > Svend 02/04/2018 at 16:10

1

I will be- this was on a whim and having the pads and compound delivered yesterday.

way2blu does a rev update > Echo51 02/04/2018 at 16:11

0

That looks rad! The red lip on the wheels is a great touch.

Echo51 > way2blu does a rev update 02/04/2018 at 16:16

1

Looking back at it, it’s unreasonable shiny compared to how it is now. :D The red lip on the steelies is nice, but needed repainting every year due to rust being rough on the wheels, so i swapped to alloys for winter duty too.

Chinny Raccoon > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/04/2018 at 16:22

1

It’s quite easy, the most effort is all the sanding. The buffing part is easy with a cordless drill and a foam pad. I think it cost around £20 all in and took about an hour.

Svend > Chinny Raccoon 02/04/2018 at 16:37

0

Good lad.

Wipe down the surface with panel wipe or iso propyl alcohol before applying the coating so it bonds to the plastic and not any surface contaminants which will greatly reduce the life of the coating.

vicali > Chinny Raccoon 02/04/2018 at 18:27

0

Nice- 1:1 mineral spirits and spar urethane on a cloth will keep them looking like that for a year or so..

Nauraushaun > Chinny Raccoon 02/04/2018 at 21:08

0

These cars are very handsome. Damn shame it didn’t catch on