Stutopia

The 3000 grit 3M pads arrived and look like this and felt like a sort of nice leather. After giving the bonnet a going over with it, I found I had a slightly less dull finish and much more even sanding pattern. There's not much in the way of instruction on the packet, so I tried number 6 and a lot of pressure (see below damage) and then number 3 and next to no pressure, nothing really felt perfect - as you can see from the image below. Nice uniform dullness. I started to think that hand sanding the 1200 grit wasn't such a swell idea, the machine does a much better job. Well except where I crank it up to 6 and lean on it. Whoops. After wiping the clear coat/water slurry spray off my hoodie, I eased down and gave the MF cutting pad another spin with 105. Yeah, I still don't like the 5" MF pads, so I switched to the god old 3" foam pad. Which left me with this. Plus a number of deeper scratches that I thought had been sanded away, but it turns out, hadn't, or, perhaps may have even been introduced by me and the shambolic hand sanding phase. Tomorrow should bring more 105 and polishing pad fun.

I've got a 75mm as well as the 125mm, I must admit I find the 3" pads to be much more friendly and they seem to suit the DA and it's lack of grunt a bit better too.

That red is gorgeous, in fact it’ll show up any of the prancing horse eurotrash

Continuing my policy of polishing away at sections of the scrap bonnet to try and find something that works, I picked up some Megs 105 and microfibre cutting pads (which I've always wanted to try out) and see what damage I could do with this level of abrasion. It turns out that it's not much more than I was getting with the Menz PF on a foam pad, just more quickly and with more heat and a harder to control DA. The MF pads were a bit disappointing TBH, they are a lot harder to work with than foam and they really show the lack of torque in my Megs G220 DA at anything lower than 5 (I know it's the budget offering but I'm not splashing out on a Flex or Rupes until I've got a good few hours trigger time under my belt), worst of all, they didn't mow down the deeper marks liked I'd hoped. By the time I was finished experimenting I had a rather fetching Mondrian bonnet design Having exhausted the pad and polish compounds at my disposal and learnt an awful lot, I decided it's time to go bananas. I spent this morning hand sanding the whole lot with 1200 grit wet and dry. Which has left me with this. I am hopeful this is going to be an good opportunity to understand what can be done to bring sanding marks back to shine, but that must wait until my 3000 grit discs arrive in tomorrow's post. I also learnt that you really can't take the **** on edges and ridges when you've got sand paper in your hands. It really only takes a few strokes of the block to cut right through the clearcoat and paint! Can't believe I didn't get a scrap panel to play with sooner, you can really go mad trying things out.

I’d defo be going back to the coating manufacturer first.

But how can you be sure today is actually today??? https://www.damninteresting.com/the-phantom-time-hypothesis/

I had them on the Z and can only echo everything you've said, plus there's the issue of using rears faster than fronts! I scrubbed one corner on a kerb and they were never the same again, but they're just so goddam RACE CAR

Recently I've just been washing my tyres, I'm thinking about adding some Treadwear letters, so I'll have to scrub them to death if I start adding tyre shine before sticking them on.

I've just booked into my usual gaff for the night before https://uk.hotels.com/ho186497/?tab=description if anyone fancies some snap and a couple of jars on the Friday night, let me know.

HEALTH WARNING: this is likely to contain some fairly dull pics and ill-informed comments from me, as I get to grips with correcting paint. It's more of a record for me to review in future than anything else! With my new found strange urge to polish things, but with a car covered by a hard ceramic layer, I've had to find other things to polish. This necessitated a trip to a local srappy who provided a Saxo bonnet in scratched to buggery black, for a bargain tenner. The idea behind this is that I can go as mental as I want with, pads, compound, even sandpaper and it won't matter one jot how many schoolboys I make. As you can see, it was in fine order on arrival. With just one or two age related marks. Kicked off with a spritz of Revolt (thanks to @G1en@waxandshine ) and a clay. As a reference point, that is dirtier from one bonnet than the total combined filth I lifted off the Zed and the BRZ in 4 years! Naturally it didn't look much different after just a wash and decor, I suspect there wasn't much protection on there covering up the imperfections I'm hoping these will be a decent reference shot for when I've finished with her. Sadly I'd be working out of my shed, which means no access to myriad quality pads and compounds, or expensive machinery I'd enjoyed in the professional setting. I'd be stuck with my Meg's G220, just two LC pads (one polish, one finnesse) and what could be found in the shed that passed for compound (some Meg's Ultimate Polish, PB's SSR2 and Menz PF2400). None of this really matters in terms of products, as this is for me to learn and test, not for me to review what these products are like. The Menz SF4000 isn't even getting an outing in this early test, it's too feeble. Having said that I won't be reviewing these, the Meg's Ultimate looks way better than the SSR2 after a set of three passes - whether this is down to the fillers in the Megs or it having better correction, is not something I can answer. Megs UP, obviously the big stuff remains, but it's the finer swirls I'm more interested in for now. Still very much present and correct. PB's SSR2, as above, but worse. I don't yet know if this isms technique or not, something I'm hoping to understand over time. Side by side Obviously as a learner, it was pleasing just to remove the tape and see how the grey had turned to black and there was now some gloss to be seen. You can see there's not much in it either side of the tape line and clearly the deep scratches and bubbles are not something I'd be tackling at this first stage. I've no idea if this paint is factory or re-spray. After these two, I moved on to the Menu PF2400, this was probably the best of the three, but I forget to take pics, so this vid will have to serve as evidence. I even messed about with some 2000 grit wet and dry, which taught me two lessons: 1) how quickly you can go through clear coat and paint on a bonnet ridge 2) it takes something more heavy duty than I have to remove sanding marks I then had another go with the SSR, as it's the only one of the three that really claims to be a swirl remover and something strange happened. I set the DA to maximum warp, 6, and applied as much pressure as I could without stalling the pad, then worked the section very, very slowly. Three things happened: 1) the pad surface got hot 2) the bonnet got warm 3) some weird white clouds appeared in the paint Right hand side hows the clouds. More clouds. At this point I figured I'd done something terminal to the paint, but after I'd finished packing up and was about to knock it on the head, I had a quick look and the clouds were gone! I have no idea what this was or what it means, any ideas any one??? Coming Up In Part 2 - I've purchased some 105 and 205 and MF cutting pads.

Although I had this Cusco gas pedal extender sitting in the shed for a while now, last weekend I did the CAT Cornering Masterclass and Colin suggested an extended pedal to assist my heel and toe, thus, what was very nearly a frivolous mod became a very necessary driving aid Not only does it look sexy and obviously is properly race car, it actually adds a bit to the pedal height, as well as width, which means that not only is it easier for my right foot to reach, the dab of heel elicits a few more RPM than before, which is good because I was struggling with the throttle response compared to the Zed. It's totally reversible and, like a correctly executed beating from an American cop, it leaves absolutely no marks.

Fear not! https://www.350z-uk.com/topic/118279-group-drifting-over-grip-limit-handling-sunday-22nd-october-2017/

This one looks ace - https://www.rewiresecurity.co.uk/gps-tracker-tk-104-vehicle-car-tracker I wonder if you'd see at least some of your £100 outlay back when it comes to insurance quotes?

I am really looking forward to this, I secretly did the Cornering Masterclass with the BRZ/GT86 boys this weekend and it was BRILLIANT, so many new things to learn, I just hope I've got the hang of some of it by the time the drift date comes around.

I did the Cornering Masterclass down at Millbrook this weekend, once again in variable conditions, once again on MPS4. It was dry for most of the morning learning sessions; threshold braking, left foot braking and trail braking (all on tarmac) - as expected grip was high and feedback good. The rain arrived later in the day during the application of my newly learnt skills, firstly over timed laps and then around the three Alpine route sections. These Pilot Sport 4s continue to impress, they are very complimentary to the BRZ's handling, chirping away nicely when under stress, braking away predictably as you push on (on concrete), leaving time to decide if you want to ease down and regain grip or completely break traction. I was even more impressed in the rain this time than last time, simply because it rained even harder (on tarmac) and they just kept holding on as my lap times came down and confidence grew, allowing some nice controllable movement across the tarmac. They didn't snap once all day.

This is getting EXCITING!

In other news, I used my new found polishing skills to detail my driver. Can't decide whether or not to give it a coat of gtechniq yet. I finally found a white van man to come and take away 5 mattresses and 6 fire doors, so I actually have a small place to play polishing indoors - not an actual full car's worth of space but it's better than nowt and I can just pop the panels off to work on them On top of that I went crazy and splashed the cash on a new vacuum to hoover up the new space. It does suck, blow, dry and wet - basically all your major functions, for just £60 - and it will even eat gravel, concrete dust, small amounts of mud, spiders and spider webs for fun. I couldn't resist once they knocked 20% off the RRP - https://www.drapertools.com/product/20515/20L-1250W-230V-Wet-and-Dry-Vacuum-Cleaner-with-Stainless-Steel-Tank It's even got a bloke on the front, so you know it's not a sexist vacuum, unlike those Dyson's you see on TV. Naturally, an OEM vacuum is no use to a real man, so I set about modifying mine. Popped in a reducer from another Draper kit, bringing the 35mm dia. tubing down a bit. So that it now takes a range of portable tools from their smaller vacuums, including the tiny-brush-for-around-switches-and-buttons accessory. And my personal favourite, the narrow-deep-cracks-and-crevices tool. I'm not sure if it's the effects of age or hanging around the detailing section of the forum too much, but I'm starting to get a real kick out of cleaning things

My monklike vow of non-modification suffered from a teeny tiny moment of weakness, involving a Beatrush Master Cylinder Brace. I stumbled on these when I was browsing pretty strut braces, and saw there's one with an incorporated MCB. I decided against the brace itself (the BRZ looks to be relatively well braced already and who wants to add unnecessary weight?), so I just went for the cheapest MCB I could find. Sadly they only sell these in orangey/yellow, which is a colour I'm trying to eliminate from the engine bay. So some primer, a splash of purple rattle can and some clear coat later... et viola. Thanks to mopedmark for telling me to stop fannying about on the internet and try an old fashioned shop for my paint, it's amazing what they can do these days in the real world. Bumping up nicely, against the MC. I'd like to say this relatively simple looking mod was a doddle to pop in, but it was a total PITA. The bolt holes are way up behind the damper, totally inaccessible and a nightmare to get a spanner on. Then there's the nut side, where you're squeezed in up against a delicate looking computer box and constricted to about 12 degrees of spanner movement. After the faffing and swearing, it better bring a bit more to the party and than a nice splash of purple

Ahhhh, I always thought they offered the same!

Errr, isn't it an option on the right hand of the 3 central dials?

Operating on a different level to the mortals!

I run 4s as I'm on 17s on the BRZ, they rock, as capable as the MPSS I had on the Z.

I think the RAYS look superb, perfect on the Z, in a classic way, not in a what mod can I do to my saxo way. On top of weighing nothing and taking abuse. Question: What else out there comes with sexier wheels, in the sub silly money bracket?

Thats the dangers of being radicalised on the internet for you.

Something stinks about this story...