That's my "in need of waxing" indicator. When the white stuff around those letters disappears, time to reapply. LOL.

Fairly popular on Miatas. Once "Revlimiter" did it, there's been a rash of people doing it. I plan on it.

It is quite simple. 300 grit on a block followed by wet 2000 grit and then polishing. If you don't have a random orbital buffer that is the only thing that would take a while, is polishing by hand.

Then after that put some sealant on it to seal the plastic from oxidation.

*edit* what is it with the Revlimiter guy? People seem to worship the ground he walks on...at least on the Mroadster site...

He's a pretty cool guy. Has a site with lots of how-to's and pictures. Makes awesome gauges. Seriously seriously awesome gauges

Yup you need to order some of his guages.

Any preference for products? This has been on my "to-do someday" list. It's the sort of subtle but meaningful improvement I can appreciate.

I'm going to go through this thread and copy and paste some of your more specific instructional posts in to a Word document for my future reference.

Super nice guy with a very cool blog full of creative DIY projects illustrated with excellent photos. He's also very OG in the world of modified Miatas and he can sort of fit in with all of the various factions:

He's got tons of tasteful aesthetic modifications and their vintage flavor gives him props on CR.

He's got lots of shiny bits on the interior and stripes on the exterior, which earns him some favor from the wine-and-cheesers.

He's got a full FM2 turbo setup which earns him some begrudging respect from the "I hate everything" curmudgeons on Trubo.net.

Etcetera.

Best one time investment is a good hard rubber block with slots to hold the sandpaper on to it. I see people waste so much money on sanding sponges.

Then go to O'Reilly auto store or vato-zone and pick up some sandpaper. Just make sure your 2k is wet/dry sandpaper. Most hardware stores only carry 400 at the most.

I have really pricy polishing compounds so I won't recommend those, but meguiars plastic polish will work just fine as long as you spend your time with the 2k sandpaper and get any deep scratches out of the lens.

The "feel" of the plastic after your wet sandpaper should be really smooth. You shouldn't be able to feel any scratches with your nails.

Try to vary your polishing patterns when doing it by hand. If you hold the towel in the same spot and don't alternate then the fibers will scratch the plastic. When the polish becomes clear or you can't see it anymore than you can stop and wipe it off and inspect if you need to apply more. If you stop before the polish compound breaks down then the abrasives haven't left the product leaving you with a lightly marred surface still. A little polish goes a long way. Glop too much on and you are just wasting money/time.

Sorry maybe too much info but I'm a nerd about car detailing (obviously).

Oh also when grinding the lettering off make sure you don't just sand that one spot, take the time to go over the entire surface evenly and your results will be much better.

Keith Tanner MegaDork
I've tried cheap mattress topper memory foam in seats, and I was not impressed. Simply too soft.

I ended up using Backsaver foam from Pegasus, which is of course anti-GRM - supporting race parts suppliers! But it worked beautifully, extending the time I could spend in the seat from 30 minutes to over 14 hours. Someone else on the GRM forum figured it was probably Confor foam, which is available from other sources. The stuff I used was 1" thick and blue.

If your goal is more support, then I suspect you can find the foam you need in a craft store. The memory foam would work well for fine-tuning the fit and avoiding pressure points in my opinion.


Found this hope it helps, Jake

Edit: Found it, Confor Foam CF45 is the blue version Kieth has. From the website below they suggest stacking different density's ie 1" medium on top with 1" hard below.

http://www.aviationsupplyonline.com/....em?pid=548924

You had me at 30 minutes to over 14 hours! Awesome thank you.

Just got word from the Zinc plating shop that they are shipping today so I should hopefully(big hopefully) have them tomorrow. I hope it can make it tomorrow, it is only 5 hours north in Logan, UT...did I mention I was full of hope?

I would recommend them for any zinc plating you want to do. They had to do some additional cleaning to do and they didn't charge me for it like most would. So out the door with shipping it cost $115 for 50, repeat, 50 POUNDS of bolts and bracket.

Talk to Todd and say Jeff sent yah.

Cache Valley Plating
700 W 200 N # B4
Logan, UT 84321
(435) 755-8000

Big update. Got a lot done last night.

Cleaned more paint off of the plastic fasteners....

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387119795

Frame rails bolted on. Couldn't find my sealant so I just used black gasket maker in between each hole.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387119795

Rear trim panels sanded and repainted to fix some spot rust/delaminated paint

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387119795

Rear axles finally fucking done, god, never again.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387119795

Door brackets retouched

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387119795

Koolmat installed, the white sealant I ended up finding turns clear after it cures so it won't look nearly as messy. Non-issue though since I will be putting carpet down on top.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387119795

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387119795

Smaller jobs are slowly being whittled down. Just need to clean all the poly bushings and put them back in the control arms. Bolts didn't show up. :(

What's going on with the front of your drive side frame rail brace? Looks like its creased in the middle and all wonky?

Looks great otherwise!!

I bent it up a little to discourage it from scooping up road debris. Need to work on it a little more. Thanks for pointing it out.

*edit* not sure if the reflection is causing you to see something weird in the middle but it's fine. Nice and straight.

Door pulls done, just need to pick up the right fasteners for the door panel.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387148490

You inspired me to shave the raised lettering on my tail lights today.


On another note, have you looked into what the plastic trim hardware costs new? I pretty much sacrificed much of it to get my car stripped in a reasonable amount of time. How long did it take you to clean them up?

Don't waste your money at a Mazda dealer just go to ace or home depot and find a matching fastener for much cheaper. I broke tons myself before I bought a puller and replaced them for 1/2 the cost. Glad I was able to get you goin' on the reflectors!

Or ClipsAndFasteners.com - Automotive Retainers,Clips and Fasteners


Warning: Not responsible for an OCD individual such as yourself going bankrupt via purchases from that site.

I already blame you for the bolt escapade! :fawk:

:giggle::rofl:


What would you do without me?

Be 1/2 way done reassembling the car and have $120 in my pocket!:rofl:

No, in reality, I'm happy I did it no use doing part of the car at a 9 and then pull a 4 out of my ass

Only half way? Are you slacking off again?