Special Projects - 1999 Mazda Miata

The Chameleon

This is the most extensive project we've taken on in a long time.  You have to be a little crazy to take a brand new Mazda Miata and do a complete change of color refinish.  Unfortunately for us, the project was a personal one and not for a customer.  The goal of this project was to use some of the latest paint technology to produce a very unique custom vehicle.  The Miata was used to promote the shop at several events but more importantly we wanted to have a one-of-a-kind Miata to take to the 10th Anniversary of the Mazda Miata at the World Miata Event in Dallas, Texas in May 1999.  Over 450 Miatas were expected to attend and we knew that we would need something wicked to stand out among so many great Miatas.  Our other goal was to produce what we envisioned would be a nice "Anniversary Edition".  There had been several Internet discussions on the Miata mailing list about the real 10th Anniversary Edition being YAB (Yet Another Blue).  Even though we like the "Innocent Blue Mica" on the Anniversary Edition, we wanted to do something different.  The main objective in doing so was to do everything we could to make the car look like a factory produced vehicle.  One thing is certain, it may or may not be for you.  But you can't help taking another look.   Enjoy.  This is our "Art".

It all begins one quiet Saturday morning.  This 1999 Black Touring Edition was picked up at the dealer and arrived at the shop with 190 miles on the odometer.  The car had been picked up from a dealer in Houston and driven to San Antonio. 

A black Miata had to be located because the Martin-Senour / Sherwin Williams MultiTone paint using Colorshift.com paint techology gives the greatest effect when applied over a black base.

The only Original Equipment accessory the Miata was delivered with was the windblocker that is positioned behind the seats.  We acquired the Original Equipment front bumper air dam, mud flaps, and rear trunk lid spoiler.  Here we are positioning one of the three paper templates that are used to position the rear trunk lid spoiler and to accurately located the three holes in the trunk lid.  Drilling holes in a brand new trunk lid -- remember we said we're a little bit crazy.

A spring loaded punch is used to mark the drill location on the left edge of the trunk lid.

All three templates have been placed and the three holes for the spoiler are ready for drilling.  The thing to remember here is to measure everything twice.  Then let someone else measure it.  You can't be too paranoid here.

Well things have progressed pretty nicely for the first day.  The only thing left to do is pull the hood and trunk lid when it is time to prep them for paint.  It's safest to leave them on the car for now.

  The heavy duty trunk springs were installed at this point in anticipation of the additional weight of the spoiler that will be installed after painting.

  Sunday and Monday were dedicated to preparing the individual parts for refinishing.   Tuesday night was the first of two nights for refinishing.  There were 17 individual pieces of the Miata spread out in two separate paint booths.

Trunk lid spoiler and two of the mudflaps.

Front bumper air dam.

Left door handle.  Note the detail involved in positioning the handle for painting.   The guts of the handle mechanism have been removed and/or taped and the handle has been wired open to ensure a quality job.

One of the mudflaps.  The inside of the mudflap is lined with a thin line of blue masking tape and finished of with regular masking tape and the whole thing is taped to the end of a saw horse.  You can see the attention to detail.  Preparation is the biggest part of the equation here.

Mirrors and the fuel filler door - hanging.

The doors were hung in another booth. The weatherstrips have been removed and the inside and out are finished at the same time to avoid a paint line between the outer and inner panels.

  The inside of the doors were refinished right up to the clear plastic weather barrier.

IT'S ALIVE!  With everything prepped and ready the paint is mixed with its appropriate hardeners and stabilizers.  As the four pints are poured into the gallon can it looks like it is alive.  When done adding hardeners and stabilizers we'll have one sprayable gallon for the whole project.  At $300.00 per pint, waste is not an option.   This particular color is code MTT-21.  You can learn more about this new paint technology at Martin-Senour / Sherwin Williams and Colorshift.com.

Application of the basecoat is complete.  Notice the color is already doing its magic but the high gloss will not be there until the clearcoat material is applied.

Here you can see the color differences.  Mirrors are showing the purple flip and the fuel filler door is showing the green.

The trick taping job on the door handle is paying off.  The handle looks like it was painted at the factory.

  Wednesday morning.  All the parts are moved to the safety of the office.

We're already giving people a few "sneak peeks".  Wednesday night was spent prepping the hood, trunk lid, and body.  Great fun was had by those diligently sanding the underside of the hood and trunk lid.  Doing a good job around the superstructure on the underside is the best kind of fun there is.  Hint:  the edges of the superstructure are like razor blades.  Don't try this at home!

Thursday night the body is moved into the booth and another super trick paper and masking job is performed. 

A special thanks goes out to all those involved in the grunt work of sanding, taping, and prepping.

Hood and trunk lid are the last of the parts needing refinishing.  The underside of the hood and trunk lid were refinished earlier in the day so the top surfaces could be done at the same time as the body.

More magic. We still haven't gotten used to the effect.  Here you can pick up several of the colors.  Green and purple on the fender and then a different green in the door jamb. The copper/gold color is trying to come out on the quarter panel.  The hardest part when applying the MultiTone paint is getting good coverage.  The paint is very translucent and doesn't cover very well.  Add to that the way the color is changing as your are moving around spraying it and your can get confused figuring out what you've covered and what you haven't.  The painter must be very disciplined to get consistent coverage on all areas.

  The top of the radiator support. 

View of the rear body panel.  It will probably never be seen again but anyone in the future pulling off the rear bumper or tail lamps will get to enjoy the view.

SO SLICK!  The hood right after the final coat of clear has been applied.

  All the parts set until Saturday when the car was reassembled.  Here you can see all the zip lock bags all the nuts and bolts and other small parts that were cataloged and organized during dis-assembly the previous Saturday.

A week later the car is "bagged" again so the brakes can be torn down for refinishing the brake calipers, brackets, and the hub of the disks.

The calipers were left hanging and prepped.  Don't tell anyone about using the tin foil for masking.  It's a trade secret.  Just kidding.  It really works well for covering wiring and hoses.  The calipers were painted with the same MTT-21 as all the other parts.

The center of the hubs were painted black and clearcoated.  The brackets were pained with the MTT-21 just like the calipers.

  Ahhh!  The finished product.  The custom wheels and Toyo Proxes T1 Plus tires really compliment the entire package.

  The pictures don't really do it justice.  There are so many colors and transitions between colors that your can't get them all on film.  You also get different effects during different times of the day.  There's nothing like driving toward the west in the afternoon with sun giving you a wonderful, bright, lime green on the hood.

This is a great view of the front air dam and aftermarket aluminum grille in the mouth of the front bumper.  The grille is powder coated black so it doesn't take away from color.  This is the Sport Grille sold by Brainstorm Products.  Very nice!

Ronal LV wheels were chosen for their blend of powder coated silver and brushed surfaces.   The Ronal Center cap logo was removed so the custom Mazda logo could be added.   The rims are 15 inch which is a one-plus upgrade over the 14 inch factory alloys on the touring package.  The tires are 195/50R15 Toyo Proxes T1 Pluses.  If you look closely you can see the painted calipers.

The seats were modified with custom cloth inserts with the "Miata" logo embroidered on the headrests.  The medium to dark gray inserts are patterned with green, purple, red, blue colors that compliment the exterior colors.  Not shown in this image are the world famous Team Voodoo Texture Coated Machined Aluminum Shift Knob and Brake Handle

One of the most striking additions is the white gauge faces from "The M Road" formerly known as MRoadster Performance.  In addition to the white faces a set of five polished aluminum gauge rings from Brainstorm Products were added to give a touch of nostalgia to this modern roadster.  The gauge needles were also hand painted orange as opposed to their original white.

All that hard work paid off and the bloody fingers are healed.  Even the underside of the hood is showing its colors.

The engine is still stock.  Can't see messing with that yet.  There's just 400 miles on the odometer as this webpage is being prepared.  However, no Miata is complete with out a set of air horns.  This Miata is equipped with a loud set of Hella Horns from the Performance Buyers Club.  There are a few other hidden modifications as well.  An electronic trunk release from Performance Buyers Club was modified to work on the 99.  Also, a Cobra C75 WX ST compact remote mount CB radio from Sound Radio Products is safely hidden in the secure trunk with only the mic connector exposed behind the passenger seat.   There won't be any magnetic CB antenna scratches on this paint.  A custom Jeff Anderson CB radio antenna splitter is used with the stock radio antenna.

Finally, we wanted to have a way to show the uniqueness of this Miata.   We collaborated with Joe "The Knobmeister" Portas.  We had an aluminum oval cut and polished and sent it to Joe.  He did his laser etching magic on it to produce the beautiful emblem seen here.  Thanks Joe!  All that is left is to clearcoat the emblem and install it on the left fender in the same position as the 10th Anniversary  Edition emblem.   We thought it would be more fun to copy the placement that way.

Well that's it.  We're sorry for the large amount of images documenting this project.  These forty one are actually just a subset of the over 100 digital images and over 100 Advantix film images documenting the entire project.

How do you like our "Art".  Let us know.   Just click on the email link below.   

Thanks for checking it out.