I had one on a car back in the mid-90's. Took it off every weekend to clean and wax the hood and remove any grit that might be stuck to the underside of the bra itself. It still ruined the paint. Those things are just a terrible idea, especially on a new car.
What have you done to your CX-5 today?
- Thread starter Kayger12
- Start date
I had one on a car back in the mid-90's. Took it off every weekend to clean and wax the hood and remove any grit that might be stuck to the underside of the bra itself. It still ruined the paint. Those things are just a terrible idea, especially on a new car.
Woops! Hopefully you have a welding machine and DIY. For some reason I do soldering all the time, but I can never overcome those sparks of welding and have never tried.
I solder as well(repair stuff as a hobby), but I can't weld. I was wondering, should I unplug the airbag, while it is getting welded back?
- :
- Plano, Texas, USA
I'd take airbag and all the upholstery out and take the bare seat metal frame to a welding shop.
Chris_Top_Her
Contributor
- :
- San Antonio, Texas
- :
- '15 CX-5 Miata AWD
- :
- Plano, Texas, USA
But shipping to you for a metal seat frame would be more expensive than the welding job ⋯
- :
- Central Virginia
- :
- 2019 CX-5 Reserve
But shipping to you for a metal seat frame would be more expensive than the welding job *
I don't believe he meant to hold that out as some shining example of his skill-set.
Of course, I have no idea what his vision might be...
- :
- Central Virginia
- :
- 2019 CX-5 Reserve
Finally got around to a deep exterior clean & wax. I've washed the car before but this is the first coat of wax I've applied (bought it in March).
-Washed the car
-Used Mother's 2.0 Clay substitute on the entire car to get the baseballs
-Used Iron-X on the hood & rear quarter panels. There was no oxidation, so I stopped there
-Clayed the entire car (Adam's Clay bar and Nanoskin lubricant)
--It picked up a little contamination from the hood, and virtually none anywhere else
---I don't know how much Mother's Clay 2.0 picked up, if any, but it did not get all of the contaminants
-Had some stains of varying size (pencil point to fingerprint) on the hood & roof that were still there. Looked like colorless hard water marks. The clay bar would not remove them
--Got nearly all of them off alternating Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Turtle Wax Bug/Tar Remover
--Some came off after one iteration. Others took 10. A couple are still faint
--This process took the most time, because there were a bunch and I let the Compound and the Remover sit each time I applied them
- Used my new Porter Cable Random Orbital Polisher
--Applied a coat of Meguiar's Ultimate Polish using Chemical Guys Polishing Pad Conditioner
--Applied a coat of Turtle Wax Ice, Seal & Shine
--You still gotta manually rub out the polish quite a bit (leaves a haze like classic paste wax), and the Turtle Wax to a much lesser degree, but those polishers sure save elbow grease during the application step. I could reach the back of my hood with it while standing at the bumper. Also helps reaching across the roof.
I ran out of daylight and energy, so I haven't dressed the tires or the exterior trim.
It looks nice. I did think it would be shinier. I don't know if the Ice/Seal/Shine is not gonna get as deep a shine as paste wax, or if my expectations were too high (or if it will be better in full daylight). When I applied the Turtle Wax to the hood, I compared it to the fenders with just the Meguiar's Polish and didn't really see any difference, so there's no strange reaction or conflict between them.
I read a lot of reviews on that Mother's Clay 2.0 pad. Folks like it because you can do so many cars with it, you can actually wash your car with it while "claying" (using the soapy water as the lubricant), and if you drop it you just rinse it off. Some said "I'll never use real clay again," while others thought it would get some portion of the contaminants off but not all of them. That last group was my experience. I don't think the Adam's clay picked up a small amount of contaminants because the Mother's got the rest, I just don't think my car had got many this soon (and the Mother's did leave at least some--if not all--behind). But there are recommendations out there to clay a new car because they say contaminants can get in the paint during the transportation process. And I wanted to have a known clean surface for the polish & wax. Besides, a second wash using the soapy water and the Mother's Clay 2.0 took no time at all, and since there were few contaminants, neither did using the Adam's.
I'm real happy with the way water beads on it. I got some cleaner/wax splash on my windshield I gotta get off. 2 iterations of spray cleaner and it's still spotted and slightly tacky. Hope the stuff did not react with my Rain-X.
After I dress the tires & trim, I'll see if I can get the picture upload feature on my account to start working (it never has, even with tech support). Or I'll set up another hosting account somewhere (PhotoBucket started charging if you want to tag your pics on websites).
Man, I'm tired...
-Washed the car
-Used Mother's 2.0 Clay substitute on the entire car to get the baseballs
-Used Iron-X on the hood & rear quarter panels. There was no oxidation, so I stopped there
-Clayed the entire car (Adam's Clay bar and Nanoskin lubricant)
--It picked up a little contamination from the hood, and virtually none anywhere else
---I don't know how much Mother's Clay 2.0 picked up, if any, but it did not get all of the contaminants
-Had some stains of varying size (pencil point to fingerprint) on the hood & roof that were still there. Looked like colorless hard water marks. The clay bar would not remove them
--Got nearly all of them off alternating Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Turtle Wax Bug/Tar Remover
--Some came off after one iteration. Others took 10. A couple are still faint
--This process took the most time, because there were a bunch and I let the Compound and the Remover sit each time I applied them
- Used my new Porter Cable Random Orbital Polisher
--Applied a coat of Meguiar's Ultimate Polish using Chemical Guys Polishing Pad Conditioner
--Applied a coat of Turtle Wax Ice, Seal & Shine
--You still gotta manually rub out the polish quite a bit (leaves a haze like classic paste wax), and the Turtle Wax to a much lesser degree, but those polishers sure save elbow grease during the application step. I could reach the back of my hood with it while standing at the bumper. Also helps reaching across the roof.
I ran out of daylight and energy, so I haven't dressed the tires or the exterior trim.
It looks nice. I did think it would be shinier. I don't know if the Ice/Seal/Shine is not gonna get as deep a shine as paste wax, or if my expectations were too high (or if it will be better in full daylight). When I applied the Turtle Wax to the hood, I compared it to the fenders with just the Meguiar's Polish and didn't really see any difference, so there's no strange reaction or conflict between them.
I read a lot of reviews on that Mother's Clay 2.0 pad. Folks like it because you can do so many cars with it, you can actually wash your car with it while "claying" (using the soapy water as the lubricant), and if you drop it you just rinse it off. Some said "I'll never use real clay again," while others thought it would get some portion of the contaminants off but not all of them. That last group was my experience. I don't think the Adam's clay picked up a small amount of contaminants because the Mother's got the rest, I just don't think my car had got many this soon (and the Mother's did leave at least some--if not all--behind). But there are recommendations out there to clay a new car because they say contaminants can get in the paint during the transportation process. And I wanted to have a known clean surface for the polish & wax. Besides, a second wash using the soapy water and the Mother's Clay 2.0 took no time at all, and since there were few contaminants, neither did using the Adam's.
I'm real happy with the way water beads on it. I got some cleaner/wax splash on my windshield I gotta get off. 2 iterations of spray cleaner and it's still spotted and slightly tacky. Hope the stuff did not react with my Rain-X.
After I dress the tires & trim, I'll see if I can get the picture upload feature on my account to start working (it never has, even with tech support). Or I'll set up another hosting account somewhere (PhotoBucket started charging if you want to tag your pics on websites).
Man, I'm tired...
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- :
- Canada
For pic uploads, a lot of people seem to use imgur.com. I believe it's free and easy to use.
How many section passes did you do with the Ultimate Polish?
- :
- Central Virginia
- :
- 2019 CX-5 Reserve
Thanks for the IMGUR suggestion.
I'm not sure what you mean by "section passes." I applied the polish one area at a time (half the roof, half the hood, one door, etc) and wiped it off afterwards, but I did not go back over any area a second time...the car got a single application of it. Given the newness of the car/paint, I didn't think it was necessary. I just wanted to get a "deeper clean" before applying the wax, and to maybe add some gloss underneath of it.
Do you think I could have obtained that depth of shine I was expecting if I had done more than one pass? I was thinking of applying a paste wax next time and putting a wool buffer pad on the polisher. The Ice/Seal/Shine went on very easy, but it was more like applying a coat of sealant than it was actually buffing a shine, if that makes any sense.
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- :
- Canada
Here you go: https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...47-definition-section-pass-mike-phillips.html
A section pass is when you go over a section with the polisher one time. So it sounds like you essentially did one section pass. Sometimes this is enough when the paint is already pretty clean and has little to no micro marring or swirl marks, like your new car. The number of section passes required depends a lot on the polish/pad being used, and the condition of the paint. In your case, because you're using a polish that has some "cut" to it, I would have done 1 or 2 passes on one small section, then checked to see if I was getting the desired result.
For example, I had some minor scratches "installed" on my hood by the shop that tinted my windshield. I used my Porter Cable polisher and an "all-in-one" product (Blackfire One Step, less "cut" than a polish) with a white polishing pad to buff out the scratches. I made a mistake, and instead of doing a "test spot" to see how many passes I'd need to do, I just did 4 section passes as I went over the whole hood. While it cleaned up most of the lighter scratches, there are some deeper ones that I think I could have leveled out if I had done 6 or 7 passes.
Personally I think a carnauba paste wax will give you the shine you're after. I wouldn't use a wool pad as it might be too abrasive - instead I'd use a softer pad, like a Lake Country black pad. With wax application, you only have to do one pass over the whole car, and you don't have to use any pressure to work it into the paint at all. The wax should go on very thin (this will make it super easy to wipe off afterwards). My cousin just got a 2016 4runner in silver, and I taught him how to apply the paste wax he had in his garage (something from the Meguiar's Ultimate line). His silver definitely looked more glossy afterwards, and it was just a hand application.
One thing you could do is apply wax to the whole car, then use the TW Ice to spray down a panel before wiping the wax off. This way, you can "lock in" the shine of the paste wax underneath the very durable Seal n' Shine. I plan to try this when I wax the car before winter hits.
Hope that helps!
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- :
- Central Virginia
- :
- 2019 CX-5 Reserve
Thanks for all that.
I have a Chemical Guys hex-logic black pad that looks like the Lake Country one. I got the set of Orange/White/Black. I only used the white & black ones.
Like everyone else, my main challenge is that I do not have a well-lighted shop large enough to do this stuff in. In order to stay out of the sunlight, I parked under a tree. The inconsistent shade made things difficult to judge. As the sun moved through the trees, I would lose track of the stains I was trying to get rid of. That was also my issue in being able to gauge the consistency in finish...light filtered through the leaves.
The car is clean (except for the mud-encased wheel wells).
It looks nice (until the next time I drive the 1/2 mile up my right-of-way to the pavement).
I know it's protected.
The rest is just picking at the fringes.
edit to add: Have you tried any of the cheap "polishing bonnets" on Amazon? I assume that it's a case of getting what you paid for.
I have a Chemical Guys hex-logic black pad that looks like the Lake Country one. I got the set of Orange/White/Black. I only used the white & black ones.
Like everyone else, my main challenge is that I do not have a well-lighted shop large enough to do this stuff in. In order to stay out of the sunlight, I parked under a tree. The inconsistent shade made things difficult to judge. As the sun moved through the trees, I would lose track of the stains I was trying to get rid of. That was also my issue in being able to gauge the consistency in finish...light filtered through the leaves.
The car is clean (except for the mud-encased wheel wells).
It looks nice (until the next time I drive the 1/2 mile up my right-of-way to the pavement).
I know it's protected.
The rest is just picking at the fringes.
edit to add: Have you tried any of the cheap "polishing bonnets" on Amazon? I assume that it's a case of getting what you paid for.
CX-5 = Wife complained braking was getting subpar. Inspected Stoptech Street brake pads installed @75k now at 107k. I recommend this pad. Still has about 40% pad left. Lubed slider pins with high temp "silaramic" from Autozone. This stuff is better than NAPA's silicone grease. Then replaced the crusty old slider pin dust boots with fresh new supple ones from Rockauto. Then used Permatex high temp copper grease for the pad hardware along with pad top/bottom edges. Topped off with some Supertech (walmart) DOT4 fluid. Tested brakes and they seem better now 
Mazda6 = Front EBC ultimax were worn down to about 2mm. I do not recommend this pad. While doing inspection...noticed a hole in the caliper dust boot Dammit dealership!!!!! May explain irregular pad wear. This is why I like doing my own work. I focus on one car, one job, and take my time....Ordered caliper rebuilt kit from Rock auto, removed caliper piston, installed new piston seal ring and dust cover boot, installed new Raybestos Element 3 pads, repeated the process above on CX-5. These are good pads too. Bled the brake lines and used DOT 4.
Mazda6 = Front EBC ultimax were worn down to about 2mm. I do not recommend this pad. While doing inspection...noticed a hole in the caliper dust boot Dammit dealership!!!!! May explain irregular pad wear. This is why I like doing my own work. I focus on one car, one job, and take my time....Ordered caliper rebuilt kit from Rock auto, removed caliper piston, installed new piston seal ring and dust cover boot, installed new Raybestos Element 3 pads, repeated the process above on CX-5. These are good pads too. Bled the brake lines and used DOT 4.
- :
- Plano, Texas, USA
I thought Mazda recommends SAE J1703 or FMVSS116 DOT-3 brake fluid? (uhm)
- :
- 2008.5 MS3
You can put DOT 4 in place of DOT 3 but not the other way around.
You can get aftermarket DOT4 which is compatible with DOT3 but has a higher boiling point. That's the only difference really. Not to mention cheaper than OEM. You can deviate from OEM Brake fluid with no worries. Just don't use DOT 5.
SAE J1703 = DOT 3
SAE J1704 = DOT 4
- :
- 2018, Mazda, CX-5, Snowflake Pearl, Grand Touring
3 and 4 are glycol based.
5 is silicone based.
But, 5.1 is okay with 3 and 4.
Are we confused yet????????
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I have ordered this kit.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-2013-2...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-2013-2...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
