Hi Silly question, but has anyone got problems with a dark finnish and water marks ??[:@] ive recently brought a brand new 5, finnish is highland green, but it looks black most of the time when its not in the sun, anyhow i had it G3 treated before i brought it as ive had other cars supa guarded and been happy with how its protected the paint work, G3 im told !! is far better, but im really unhappy, after washing in all the advised products and rinsing in clean cool water i chammy it off straight away , but im left with ugly water/calcuim marks all over it, ive only had the car 4 weeks and up close it looks horrid ! im so disappointed, i will be taking it to the dealers to see if there is anything they can suggest, but if it looks this bad after a month then what is is going to look like in a years time ? !!
Problem is its not on the surface, very reluctant to scrub it with anything as i will damage paint work even more !!! and the G3 was ment to stop this happening and make it easier to clean… hate cleaning cars anyway, so this problen is even more annoying, wouldnt mind if i spent 2 hours and it looked lovely
I don’t know what G3 is, but suggest that this may be part of the problem.
There is no easy way to keep a dark car clean and shiny, but there are a number of people on this forum that manage it with fantastic results.
Regular washing and occasional claying, with a good coat of quality polish (Meguiars, Autoglym etc) should keep the car looking good. I too would recommend a drying cloth rather than a chamy (we use a Meguiars one).
Try talking to OC Members at your local meeting or go along to the Spring Rally and get some tips from the owners (like Ady, Black Bess et al) of some of the stunning looking dark cars. They’re a great bunch and always willing to offer advice.
We bought a black Mk3 a couple of years back and I felt just the way you do after a few weeks, but after picking up a few tips from other members and a bit of trial and error, eventually cracked it. Even picked up a couple of trophies in the Best Kept Mk3 Comps at Club Rallies.
Like I said it’s not easy, but it is possible - you can do it.
Thanks for the advice, off to a main dealer day/ oc meet in a little while, so ill speak to them, i too im thinking this G3 sealer maybe the problem, our other car is black, and although a pain to keep clean, we have no water mark problems on this, so they had better not tell me its the area where i live and acid rain and such like ! gut feeling is there is something causing this, and its not lack of cleaning as its been cleaned 3 times in 1 week, which id like to think is enough ! will report back after chatting to dealer this afternoon and getting other members ideas !
It could be that the sealer was not bonded to the car correctly, they may not have cleaned the paint properly, etc before sealing it. You could get an inline filter for your hose something like a aquagleam system, not cheap but would cut down on the lime, etc. And if used for rinsing only would last a while.
I’d recommend a full clean, then clay the paint to remove any of the current wax and protection it has, i decent coat of polish and then some really good wax (ideally something with a high carbuna wax content, the higher the better, but more ££) a good coat of this and you should have a finish that will rinse clean for months (as long as your careful not to wash it with shampoo, sponges/shamies that remove the wax), though a quick reapplying of the wax will keep it going for ages.
it may sound a pain and cost a bit intially, but i’ve had black cars in bad water areas and it’s the only way to keep the deep shiny wet look, that or get the dealer to reseal the car (but i’ve never been a fan of this), just my 2 pence worth ) and if you really don’t want the effort you could get a detailer in to do it for you.
Thanks for all your replies, been to South East meet today, and lots of members have looked at it for me, diff opinions on as to why this has happened, but general idea was its bad and to take it back to dealer, oh which i will be doing 2morrow !!!
I feel alot better as thought it was me, but the problem is very obvious, but im at a loss to why, as long as i can get it sorted ill be happy, after all she is only 3 weeks old and im deeply disappointed with how she looks, which at 3 weeks old should be brillant !!!
Basically your dealer and the G3 rep will have to sort this not you. You paid good money and it sounds like the G3 man / applyer didnt do their job or the product isnt good enough.
Dark colours rock - especially as we are no gettign a bit of sun. Nothing beats a dark colour on a sunny day sunset as the light stats to fade in the eveing.
Oh, this must be so frustating for you and can understand how you feel. If it is poor application I hope you get it sorted OK. It is a real science. There is money to be made but it is difficult sometimes when our knowledge is a bit thin.
I know he is some ways from you but I am sure he will have a idea of the problem. His site also has all the info on caring for the finish which is quite a soft paint on the MX so I suspect prone to these problems, I see this with mine, to a degree, and yet live in a soft water area but the Ph/acid-alkline burn can be a problem. Where you live I suspect is hard water thus full of minerals which are minute “hard” particals which migrate to the edge of the water droplets and stick to the surface, even in the time it takes to dry the finish. Modern micro fiber cloths are better than leather and much easier to clean. My other machine is VW and the finish is really hard and I have little problems with it. As to the idea of natural wax and synthetic my understanding is there should be no need to wax with natural wax but a single coat now and then will protect and take out the water marks when buffed up, but you will need to remove this before a recoat of synthetic. Give Richard a bell, you will find him most helpful.[^o)]
G3 is for restoring faded paintwork, not for use on new cars. Clay bar the car and use a good quality wax, Autoglym detailing wax is brilliant although expensive at around £40, repeat the waxing a couple of times, it lasts for ages
No doubt you paid loads for the treatment and as said above it sounds like its faulty and not your problem to solve. There is no way I would be clay baring or doing anything with polish or wax on a brand new car that had an expensive treatment done…
Yes its going in next wednesday, the earliest they can offer me a courtesy car while they sort it out, they havent seen it yet, so have no idea what they will say the problem is, most people that have seen it think its the way the g3 was applied, i didnt pay anything for the treatment as it was part of the deal i whangled when buying it, but half wish id never bothered !!! but should of cost £299 and most guard treatments do, althought they cost around £29.99 for dealers to buy and a couple hours of a valeters time !
Its G3 Glasscoat, which is similar to supaguard treatment which olot of dealers sell, G3 is approved by nasa !! and ment to be stronger, better and last alot longer ! apparently [*-)]
If the car wasnt only 3 weeks old id clay it myself and polish, but it isnt my problem, so will be getting them to sort it, hopefully properly !
I met a really nice couple at Mazda Canterbury last weekend , and they too advised i contact this place, as they are great at sorted problems like mine out, but as the car is only 3 weeks old im letting mazda do it, as i can see me spending a small fortune getting the G3 off and staring again, i dont mind spending some money on good products when they have sorted it out for me, but i may well give Richard a ring before to get his opinion as to why it has happened and if he thinks its anything to do with the way the G3 was applied, so as to have some amunition when i see mazda next week !
Having been professionally involved with car bodywork for the last 5 years a general comment would be that all the paint protection “systems” I have seen have no more value than a good clean and wax. I have not come across G3 first hand but like all, they claim to be different.
Some claim to reduce stone chipping - NO THEY DON’T
Most claim to prevent damage from bird lime - NO THEY DON’T
Most claim to reduce the need for cleaning - I have seem no evidence that this is measurable.
Get the car re-worked just to get the dealer to realise you are not happy, but do not expect magic. In general the modern paint systems are all much of a muchness, the clear coat (lacquer) will withstand modern conditions, if not dealers would be inundated with unhappy customers and that is not happening. Anything you add to the top of the paint will be softer and more likely to suffer from enviromental issues that the clear coat. Get a collection of gear together and clean the car every week,or get someone else to do it you can trust. You / they should have a grit guard in the bottom of BOTH buckets and lots of clean microfibre cloths ( one in each bucket to wash the car,one or 2 to dry the car, one to apply any waxes and 2 to polish plus a couple spare - If you drop any cloth you should wash it before using it on the car [not in the wash buckets!!], it will have picked up some grit and it will scratch the car). There are a number of Hints and Tips for drivers on my site - www.morethanjustchips.com that might help.
Hope the dealer helps, then learn to enjoy cleaning your car.
Yes Helen, just thought Richard could ease any worries, but is also worth looking at the extensive car care info on his site particularly as the Mazda paint is so soft. I have not seen better info anywhere else. I have in fact downloaded it into PDFs and could just send them to you. PM if you are interested. Then once the dealer has sorted the finish you have good knowledge on how to keep it reasonable. [:)]
get a good autoglym chammy and dry off car as its still wet and give a good polish with auto glym high definition and you can watch the water fall of the paint work
Took her back to dealer who said they would get thier paint shop to have a look, colected her today and she is all better ! ( well nearly ) there are some spots over body work, but having shown a paint specialist ive been reassured that they are drying out marks from the silcone, aparently the cars are covered up after being sprayed and laquered and they cant breath, common problem with lots of new cars according to them, these will dissappear within 2 months as the weather warms up, this was a seperate issue to the water marks i might add ! they dont seem to know why the water marks appeared, but they mopped the body and re applied G3 to given areas and she looks fine, got to keep an eye on her and if it re appears they are going to get mazda paint specialist down to take a look, so now all i have to do is keep her clean, which is a job and a half, but having talked to Richard at polished bliss i hope ive got some products to keep her looking nice and shinny, although paint specialist advised autoglym ! diff people use diff products i suppose.
Thank you for everyone who took the time to read and reply its much appreciated