Tech/maintenance Lacquer polish

[turf3]

The Miata is what a sports car was meant to be.

Small, light weight, nimble handling. Adequate power. Sports cars aren't about bone crushing acceleration or rock hard suspensions that can't hook up to any pavement that isn't as smooth as a surface plate.

Thus: MG TC, TD, A, B; Triumph TR3, 4, 5, 6; big Healeys, Spridgets, Boattail Alfas, Fiat Spyder, Lotus Elan, etc. The pre-1968 Corvette and the E type Jaguar BARELY qualify as true sports cars to me - they're really rather heavy and ponderous, although powerful and exciting. All that Mazda did ("ALL, he says?") is to take the essential nature of the classic small sports car and build it using RELIABLE components. (Oh, and a roof that keeps the rain out, and an actual air conditioner for Texas in the summer.)

 

[Targa]

The Miata is what a sports car was meant to be.

Small, light weight, nimble handling. Adequate power. Sports cars aren't about bone crushing acceleration or rock hard suspensions that can't hook up to any pavement that isn't as smooth as a surface plate.

Thus: MG TC, TD, A, B; Triumph TR3, 4, 5, 6; big Healeys, Spridgets, Boattail Alfas, Fiat Spyder, Lotus Elan, etc. The pre-1968 Corvette and the E type Jaguar BARELY qualify as true sports cars to me - they're really rather heavy and ponderous, although powerful and exciting. All that Mazda did ("ALL, he says?") is to take the essential nature of the classic small sports car and build it using RELIABLE components. (Oh, and a roof that keeps the rain out, and an actual air conditioner for Texas in the summer.)

I wondered what this Miata was, an MX5 apparently.
@Jeanette has one of them.
The best car I had, for 16 years, was a Toyota AE86 GT Coupe.

 

[lig]

I wondered what this Miata was, an MX5 apparently.
@Jeanette has one of them.
The best car I had, for 16 years, was a Toyota AE86 GT Coupe.

AE86?!?! Legend. Rumors are that Toyota is bringing back the MR2 and Celica. They won’t be RWD, manual transmission purity like the AE86 but probably as close as it gets these days.

 

[Jeanette]

All that Mazda did ("ALL, he says?") is to take the essential nature of the classic small sports car and build it using RELIABLE components. (Oh, and a roof that keeps the rain out, and an actual air conditioner for Texas in the summer.)

Love mine

Jx

 

[turf3]

I wish I had an application for a Miata. When I lived in New England there were about five or six months of the year perfect for top down motoring, on those little winding roads once you got outside the 128 loop.

Now I live part of the time in a giant Southern city where it's either like living on the surface of the sun, or it's 33 degrees and blowing rain - and one week each spring and one week each fall when the weather's beatiful - and always sitting in traffic with a hundred thousand of your closest friends - or bombing down the freeway at 90 MPH in between asphalt trucks, or sitting in a standstill on the freeway. None of that is inspiring for a small light nimble sports car.

The other part of the time I live in a rural district with a decent number of gently curving roads - except the weather's the same as described above - and 99% of the traffic is angry young men in one-ton flatbed trucks, driving their usual and prudent 80 MPH in a 50 MPH zone on a two lane highly crowned country road with no shoulders and a bar ditch on either side. Also not conducive to enjoyably tootling down the country lane in your tiny sports car.

My friend in New England promised me that when he moved he'd let me know so I could buy his beautiful little white Miata. Then he sold it and didn't tell me. GRRRRR. Then I moved away. GRRRR GRRRRR.

 

[PigSquealer]

Miata Is Always The Answer.

I sold my ‘94 A model with hard top in 2012.

 

[PigSquealer]

Miata is my car guy litmus test vehicle. Those that dismiss it offhand or worse are ignorant imo.

In 18 years of owning a ‘94 I can say it was the best car I ever had. I actually tried to buy it back a few years ago with no luck..

 

[lig]

In 18 years of owning a ‘94 I can say it was the best car I ever had. I actually tried to buy it back a few years ago with no luck..

Was ‘94 one of the years with the special edition burgundy color? Those were so nice.

I think I’d have to have one in British Racing Green to honor the Elan inspiration.

A big fan of Miatas aka MX5s.

And @turf3 - have removed the extra stiff suspension from the S2000. My days of chasing lap times and trophies are likely done. Replaced the Japanese race spec coilovers with some SakeBomb Garage tuned street/track spec Ohlins.

Much more compliance on the street.

To your point - at a BEAC (Boeing Employee's Auto-x Club) test and tune session I took the 911 out for some fun. It was faster in "Normal" than it was on "Sport" mode.

Sport mode stiffens up the shocks, quickens the throttle response and opens up the exhaust. The car would temporarily lose traction more often due to its stiffness and was consistently slower than in the more compliant mode.

Now the S2000 has been upgraded via removing the extra loud exhaust with proper old man spec Mugen Ti catback. No highway drone and won't wake up the neighbors just getting out of the driveway.

The car is now ready to go with me into even older age. 😀

A pic from my Miata owning friend’s garage where he and some of the other S2000 club members did most of the heavy lifting since my mechanical skills are rudimentary at best. 😀

Ride height set - corner weights dialed in right then and there. It's a blessing to have smart and capable enthusiasts for friends! ❤️

 

[Targa]

AE86?!?! Legend. Rumors are that Toyota is bringing back the MR2 and Celica. They won’t be RWD, manual transmission purity like the AE86 but probably as close as it gets these days.

 

[lig]

@PigSquealer

Hey Glenn - I was off by one year. So nice with the tan roof/interior.

1995.

https://www.classic.com/veh/1995-mazda-mx-5-miata-m-edition-jm1na3533s0609576-n81vNYW/

@Targa Sweet!!!

 

[LostCircuits]

I showed @Grumps the silver-plated 1925 Buescher TT alto that I restored some 6-7 years ago and sealed with "Fast Wax", it just looked the same as when I put it into the case (it's been out and played a few times, so it is not the case).
I've tried other brands and none of them gave me the level of protection of Fast Wax but that's just anecdotal evidence/observation.
But Fast Wax really works great, at least on silver plating.
I've also used it on windows and even the oven glass door and that's where none of the other products gave me anywhere near the same results.
Again, limited samples but I only care about what works and some of the other things I picked up in the clearance section, worked but no comparison.

I've never driven a Miata, never had the desire either. My one and only love:

 

[Pete Effamy]

I showed @Grumps the silver-plated 1925 Buescher TT alto that I restored some 6-7 years ago and sealed with "Fast Wax", it just looked the same as when I put it into the case (it's been out and played a few times, so it is not the case).
I've tried other brands and none of them gave me the level of protection of Fast Wax but that's just anecdotal evidence/observation.
But Fast Wax really works great, at least on silver plating.
I've also used it on windows and even the oven glass door and that's where none of the other products gave me anywhere near the same results.
Again, limited samples but I only care about what works and some of the other things I picked up in the clearance section, worked but no comparison.

I've never driven a Miata, never had the desire either. My one and only love:

View attachment 37806

Beautiful car

 

[PigSquealer]

Regarding the cruise ship (or living near the ocean): The reason that lacquer fails in a marine environment is that lacquer is permeable - after the salt ions penetrate the lacquer, they attack the brass surface and cause corrosion. If I wanted to play a lacquered horn, I'd seal it with Meguiars rather than preemptively stripping it. When the lacquer wears away, I'd seal it some more to slow the corrosion reaction. Life is all about thermodynamics (Will it happen?) and kinetics (How fast will it happen?). If you can adequately seal the surface against moist salt air, you can slow the kinetics.

My preference is for thick silver plate - it forms a metallic atomic bond with the brass and is relatively impervious to corrosion by salt water attack. FWIW, the standard for electrical switch gear in ships is silver-plated contacts (it wears better than gold plate and its native oxide remains conductive).

Is there a favorable compound / additive in Meguiars that’s superior to others ? What offers the best protection from salts ?
I’m also curious if you’ve ever tried waxing or ? on silver as tarnish prevention. This after polishing with Hagertys.

 

[turf3]

I showed @Grumps the silver-plated 1925 Buescher TT alto that I restored some 6-7 years ago and sealed with "Fast Wax", it just looked the same as when I put it into the case (it's been out and played a few times, so it is not the case).
I've tried other brands and none of them gave me the level of protection of Fast Wax but that's just anecdotal evidence/observation.
But Fast Wax really works great, at least on silver plating.
I've also used it on windows and even the oven glass door and that's where none of the other products gave me anywhere near the same results.
Again, limited samples but I only care about what works and some of the other things I picked up in the clearance section, worked but no comparison.

I've never driven a Miata, never had the desire either. My one and only love:

View attachment 37806

Well, some of us dig a small sports sedan, some dig an open sports car, some both.

In some other life, I'd have a bunch of different cars for different moods. In this one, finances are finite.

 

[LostCircuits]

Well, some of us dig a small sports sedan, some dig an open sports car, some both.

In some other life, I'd have a bunch of different cars for different moods. In this one, finances are finite.

Yes, eventually we are all getting there.
I had three Giulias, one beige, one red (a totalled specimen for parts) and a dark blue one. I hated the beige color and after getting the red doors and trunk lid, I did a rather professional re-lacquer on the rest of the car. There was only one bad spot in the paint job, caused by my mom. I had just finished the paint and she walks into the garage to bring me a cup of coffee and placed the hot cup on the freshly painted (not yet cured) hood...

That was the only time in my life where I threw a dish...

 

[PiccoloPirate]

I started using RenWax as a mold release when working with epoxies and casting small parts or bedding wood to fit tight to metal objects.
It dries fast and the layers are thin.
Best to not put it on too thick, cause when it dries, it's a chore to thin out.

Popping copies of boat hulls etc, there are other products.
When laminating wood veneers,
.5mm-1mm thick, we use wax and freezer paper, but coat the large aluminum press, with paste wax, like MinWax.

Pic of small fiberglass epoxy adaptor.

We also use RenWax on our carbon fiber speed skating boots and leather hockey skates, as well as my Dad's long track leather ice skates from 1930.
We'd make hand held sails, and fly on the ice on the frozen lakes in NYC, long ago.