Envious Detailing: Hammered RX-7 given a new life

E

Envious Eric

New member
Mazda RX-7



“Revival Detail”​

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This car was brought to me with a “do what you can and restore this thing!” He had seen some previous work and knew I could make it look better! <o></o> I got to working on it right away with a protection stripping wash to figure out what I was dealing with…oh the horror!!! Oxidation had taken over the car, paint chips all over, holograms and loads of swirl marks riddled the car…it was going to be a project that’s for sure!
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<o>:p> </o>:p> After washing the car, I proceeded to apply touch up paint to a ton of chips on the front end, the sides and a couple on the doors. While this dried, I moved onto the wheels to get those clean…yeah, not going to happen without taking them off as they were really caked and baked! They looked clean, but barely budged with the first round of cleaning. I tried twice with no real luck except for the outers, so I called and the owner said focus on the paint and new wheels were in the future!
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<o>:p> </o>:p> <o>:p> </o>:p> After performing a 3 step test panel, my go to process proved to be the ticket once again! I really love the products I have now narrowed my choices to as the results are just so much better than before using them! 105, 203, FPII were the polishes of choice with 5.5” polishing pads on the PC.
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I decided to let the touch up completely cure and have the client come back on my next available day, one week later to level and smooth them out. I finished that up today, and here are the pictures!

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BEFORES:

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Afters the night of the detail:

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After in sunlight today:

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Hi guys, first time poster but long time reader here. That is my car in the post and I feel like a proud father after getting the car back from Eric. I've been driving this car every day for 10 years and its always been my baby, but the job he did totally transformed the car. It looks better than the day I got it! I knew Eric would do an amazing job but he really went the extra mile. What the "before" pics don't show very well are how many rock chips this thing had, and Eric did a very painstaking job touching those up, waiting for them to cure properly, and then leveling them out. After seeing how beautiful it turned out he's inspired me to turn over a new leaf and take better care of the paint! Many compliments to Envious Auto Detailing for professionalism and a job well done!
 
That thing looks f'ing awesome after a detail! Is the owner planning to sell it?



I am potentially in the market for an FD RX-7. You know, despite the swirls and oxidation, the RX-7 in this picture would be considered to be in excellent condition by many standards, partly due to the rarity of this car.
 
toyotaguy- Wow, great job!



Nathan356- Welcome to Autopia! You sure took your car to the right guy, huh?



Oh, and you've done a nice job of keeping it dent-free (easier said than done when using one of those for a daily driver).



If you get new wheels, you gonna stay with the Mazda alloys or go aftermarket?



ReLoaDeD BuLLiT & the_invisible- Just make sure you can fit in the FD before you write the check ;) Accumulatorette had one of those before she switched to Audis and I simply couldn't hell & toe the thing because the interior was too tight for me :( Swell car otherwise, she really liked it.
 
ReLoaDeD BuLLiT said:
I'm a big-*** dude, but I fit in my girl's supra no problem! I have about 3 friends with FD's so I can test-fit before I buy! LOL
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Heh heh, and I'm only 5'10"/175 and I couldn't fit! Sounds like you have plenty of opportunity for some good (and fun) test drives though :D
 
Accumulator said:
toyotaguy- Wow, great job!



Nathan356- Welcome to Autopia! You sure took your car to the right guy, huh?



Oh, and you've done a nice job of keeping it dent-free (easier said than done when using one of those for a daily driver).



If you get new wheels, you gonna stay with the Mazda alloys or go aftermarket?



ReLoaDeD BuLLiT & the_invisible- Just make sure you can fit in the FD before you write the check ;) Accumulatorette had one of those before she switched to Audis and I simply couldn't hell & toe the thing because the interior was too tight for me :( Swell car otherwise, she really liked it.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the welcome! Actually Eric also referred me to a great PDR guy who took out all the dents prior to detailing. So I owe Eric double on this job as the guy did a great job and also managed to get all the dents out without having to drill a single hole.



As for the wheels, I've been saying I'll buy new wheels forever now, but I like the Mazda RZ wheels from the later japan only RX-7s, or I might go with a lightweight aftermarket wheel like Enkei RPF1s. In the interim though I just picked up some spray paint to redo the centercaps of the stockers. As you can see in the pictures they really detract from the look of the car, and it is a very simple fix.



To answer the other guys, after 10 years of ownership, I have considered selling it, but its not something I'm actively persuing right now. If you are seriously in the market PM me, but barring a good offer I'll probably keep it for another 10 years!
 
Accumulator said:
toyotaguy- Wow, great job!



Nathan356- Welcome to Autopia! You sure took your car to the right guy, huh?



Oh, and you've done a nice job of keeping it dent-free (easier said than done when using one of those for a daily driver).



If you get new wheels, you gonna stay with the Mazda alloys or go aftermarket?



ReLoaDeD BuLLiT & the_invisible- Just make sure you can fit in the FD before you write the check ;) Accumulatorette had one of those before she switched to Audis and I simply couldn't hell & toe the thing because the interior was too tight for me :( Swell car otherwise, she really liked it.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the welcome! Definitely took the car to the right guy. As to the dents, I actually took the car to a great PDR guy (Vince at DentsNoMore) who Eric referred me to before dropping it off for a detail job. So, I owe Eric double, because Vince did a great job and got all the dents out without drilling any holes!



As to the wheels, I like the later model RX-7 RZ/Spirit R (BBS) wheels a lot, but I've been saying I'm going to get new wheels forever now :P. I've also looked at lightweight aftermarket ones like the Enkei RPF1, but I've decided to repaint the centercaps of my stock wheels in the meantime. As you can see in the pics, they really detract from the look of the car and are very easy to fix.



As to the other guys interested in buying, after 10 years of ownership I have to aadmit I've considered selling it, but its not something I'm actively pursuing right now. If you are very serious about buying please PM me, but at the moment barring a very good offer I'll probably drive the car for another 10 years :).
 
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