2011 2.00 Sport Tech Coupe PRHT deck etc

Hi,

Does anyone know what the PRHT deck on a 2011 2.00 Sport Tech Coupe is made of? Aluminium ? Composite? Fibreglass?

Received wisdom is that it is not standard rustable metal! (ie I am wondering if I can get say Chipsaway or similar to tackle it - obviously if it is rust it’s outside their remit)

sueps

It’s certainly not metal, probably made of some sort of composite material.

Thanx Andy - at least the rust monster won’t be making it worse

From memory, Mazda described the roof and deck as being made of resin although the roof is often referred to as a tin top!

Richard.

Lol Richard,
Thanx for input
sueps

Following a similar thread recently, some on the miata Forum are convinced it’s steel.

I’m guessing you have the paint issues on the edge of the deck. Mine is similarly blighted but there’s no obvious sign of corrosion so I’m assuming it really is composite.

Magnet has no effect, so not steel, a small chip on the edge showed a plastic/resin material before I touched it in.

Frost damage usually lifts the paint in little bubbles, IF some moisture has penetrated through a pinhole in the paint.

For a respray, the whole piece needs to be baked at abut 80C for a few hours to dehydrate it before resealing with new paint.

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I do! I am sure that would be right - gentle knocking on the panels produces a dull sould quite unlike the rest of the bodywork . Good news therefore is at least it’s not rust! But still v. unsightly

Hi thanx Richard,

I received this back from Mazda Uk just now “I can confirm this panel is not metal so a local body shop or ‘smart repairer/ could repaint this, however we would only recommend air drying and not ‘baking’ in an over where possible.” maybe they think it might melt! This micro bubbling (I no know what it is called) seems to be quite a thing with this model. A shame as the fully retractable roof is soooooooo good.

Interesting topic sueps as I am due to collect my 2012 Venture model tomorrow which is a PRHT model and when we had the test drive last Sunday, luckily my wife spotted some bubbling along the edge of the panel that the high level rear brake light is fitted in. This was pointed out to the car sales staff and it is being sorted this week. So will see what they have done and what happens in the future.
If it is a frost triggered problem then hopefully all the work we are doing to get my garage capable of putting a car in it might keep it away from any frost problems when we get to that time of year.
Good to pick up on these pointers and I’m finding the forum is a good venue for information, ideas and assistance from other MX 5 owners

Hi there, Well done to your wife for spotting it! I absolutely love MX5s - I have had three consecutively …since they first appeared. The retractable roof has been excellent - no soft top irritations, no hard top to store in the summer - no problems over the last 8 years - so guess I can’t complain. I had understood that the micro blistering sometimes occurs as result of being in full sun over a long period - interacting with the moisture that shouldn’t be under the paint layers so I guess frost could have a similar effect. I have only just seen signs of it. I will get it sorted - she’s worth it! Enjoy your Venture beasty…

Yes I’ve heard too of a few PRHT cars where the finish on the deck panel’s become spoiled by micro-blistering. As others have said, it seems to be due to moisture getting under the paint.

For what it’s worth, I’ve owned my PRHT since new, it’s always been garaged & after over 8 years’ ownership now I’m happy to report that there’s never been any issue with microblistering on my car - so far.

Garaging is good!

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Got to agree with you about the garaging sueps.
We got ours the other Friday with all the paint bubbling sorted.
The car is firmly in the garage every night with its own cover from Amazon.
Feel quite happy that it is away every night.
The garage was a task to get ready but worth the effort.

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