Ive had my MX5 since October and theres a niggle i can’t get my head around.
Its a Euphonic as noted on the V5C. The Euphonic only came in 1 red colour which is Velocity Red. The car is almost certainly a Euphonic as it has the extra speakers and the CD Changer in the boot.
However the body panels are two different tones. All panels except the Bonnet, Pillars, Boot, and panel between the roof and boot are the Velocity Red. The others are an orange. The two colours look exactly lke those on both cars here: https://images.app.goo.gl/8jXLwJiS5xWjgHTF6
Ofcourse, I dont think the car has been coloured the orange, especially the pillars as it wouldnt make sense to not change the rest. But then again, its a euphonic so it must have came in the red. I cant figure it out…
I would say you’ve got some paint fading going on there.
I once owned an NB, it was at the time of purchase a recent import. The Racing Bronze paint had faded in places, more notable when I removed the Japanese stickers from the rear panel, that really did show the fade. Also the bonnet seemed to suffer the most. Still it didn’t distract from the overall condition of the car. If I ever needed a paint repair it would have been a nightmare to match I guess.
Yeah I suspected that, though I didn’t think any particular body pannel would be thinner or weaker than the other, but I do know Japanese paint is usually applied only thinly on Jap cars (no idea if this is a myth)
Vauxhalls were terrible for it almost went pink iirc.
Yeah, the garage who sold me it said the car had been looked after. It has a single deep scratch and that is it, engine bay and hard top is very clean so it seems true.
That is a great idea, never knew that was possible and will likely try that out at some point. Cheers.
Hi,
Have you owned the car from new?
(Edit* Sorry, just re-read your post that you’ve only had the car since October last.)
Is it possible that the car has had paintwork in it’s life?
From your picture it looks like some panels may have had a little cosmetic touch up.
The old sodium lights would show paintwork up something chronic. I once saw a red Ford Escort MkII that looked like a battenburg cake under artificial lighting.
Hopefully the colour difference is simply paint fade as that could be simpler to rectify. However, these complex metallic colours are much less prone to fading than older, non-metallic colours, even the reds so my guess would be previous paintwork.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get any paperwork so it was a bit of a gamble. Everything looked pristine so I knew it had been looked after. Before I got it, it had a number of issues. The only concerning one being the light oil leak which may have put off the previous owner sadly. The garage I bought it from agreed to renew the MOT and therefore fix that and a number of smaller niggles, which I couldn’t believe for the price.
The test drive was amazing to I couldn’t find a thing to complain about. So from that, it is quite possible. The velocity red paint is in immaculate condition and it seems to have very good colour saturation still so I think it may have been done not long before I got the car.
Yeah. Is it possible to acquire a sodium light for a low cost or this an industrial tool of sorts? The paintworks is really nice, when clean. If you look at the close-ups in the last link I posted you can see how much it pops. I was certain it had a respray of sorts.
The Escort was parked under a sodium street lamp. I’m not aware of any hand held type lamps. Perhaps someone else knows of one?
Cosmetic repairs are very common. Even some new cars have had paint before they are delivered to their blissfully unaware owners.
What are your feelings about graphics?
Stripes or designs can help disguise subtle colour variations between adjacent panels.
For example, a stripe along either edge of the bonnet would distance miss matched panels.
Just a thought.
Personally I’ve always admired that colour on the MX-5 and your car looks smashing.
I know you’ll enjoy and hope to hear more of your adventures.
Cheers and stay safe.
Guy
I’m not the biggest fan of stripes or anything that would cover the edge of a panel but maybe once I start modding it (thinking wide-body long term and some rims soonish) I won’t realise. I only notice it because I know it’s their and I didn’t notice it until I inspected it closely in person.
I am going to get a proper respray sometime down the line anyway and it will be a one colour job.
It is very similar to my old MX6 in red.
My guess is that the outer panels have been resprayed. The factories tend to use water based paints for environmental reasons. Body shops often stick with solvent based two pack as it goes off harder and can be flatted to achieve a better blend if you are not painting the whole car.
The light colour is almost certainly paint fade.
I found that a good T cut by hand followed by application of red colour back wax evened it up great and you could not tell any shade difference.
(But do not park under a sodium streetlight )
Good luck you may not need a respray for a long time.
)