HD Ceramic Coating Project Tracker

Jennifer's 2008 Mazda Miata

Red 2008 Mazda Miata In for Two Step Correction and Ceramic Coating - Pre Wash Welcome Picture

2/19/26: 8:33am
On The Radio: Low Burn by Underworld (Listen Here!)

This beautiful example of a 2008 Mazda Miata was shipped to Indiana from Pennsylvania by our client, Jennifer. She brought it to us to have the paint corrected and protected by our Signature 3 Year Ceramic Coating featuring our HD Bond system.

Stay tuned, more to come!

The Finished Pictures - Would You Just Look at Her!

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - Hood Under Lights- Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2/27/26: 6:03pm
On The Radio: Forced Obsolesce by Spunkshine

She is all set and ready to go home. I was holding off on posting the pictures. Enjoy!!

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - Driver Side Dark Room with Spot Light - Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - Front Driver Side Under Shop Lights - Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - Rear Quarter Under Shop Lights - Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - Front End Driver Side Outside Under Sun- Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - Front End Passenger Side Outside Under Sun- Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - Top of Car Outside Under Sun- Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - Front End Outside Under Sun- Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - Top of Car Under Lights - Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - - Front End Driver Side - Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - - Rear End Driver Side - Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - - Rear End Passenger Side - Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

2008 Mazda Miata - Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating - Finished Pictures - Front End Passenger Side - Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana - Crown Point and Saint John Indiana

Interior Ceramic Coating Installation

2008 Miata Interior Ceramic Coating - Polishing the Piano Black Interior Trim Piece to Remove Swirl Marks

2/25/26: 6:00pm
On The Radio: Spoonman by Underworld

The interior ceramic coating portion of the project is underway. Currently polishing the piano black trim piece across the dash. It's coming out great. It's very thin black paint so again finessing it out and going for great improvement vs perfection.

Miata - Interior Ceramic Coating - Polishing Piano Black Trim Piece

Ceramic Coating Installation - Day 2

Mazda Miata Ceramic Coating Install Arcane by IGL Coatings and HD Bond Coat - Crown Point, Saint John Indiana by Horizon Detail Northwest Indiana

2/25/26: 6:00pm
On The Radio: Sorry, we're watching TV this morning :o)

Day 2 of our Ceramic Coating Install will be underway shortly. We'll be wrapping up the last couple of panels with the coating installation and going over the install to make sure everything looks the way it should.

It's very busy day at the shop today, stay tuned though we'll have some more updates later!

Ceramic Coating Installation

2/24/26: 6:00pm
On The Radio: Fire in Your Shows by Kascade (Listen Here!)

We are just about done with the exterior. We're applying Arcane by IGL Coatings. One of the strongest single layer coatings on the market. Backed by our HD Bond coat it's an exceptional choice for shorter term, durable, protection!

HD Bond Coat™ Layer Application

2008 Mazda Miata HD Bond Coat Application Prior to Ceramic Coating Application

2/24/26: 4:09pm
On The Radio: Smoke Monk by Sasha (Listen Here!)

We're moving right along and into our final prep stages before ceramic coating application. We're building up our HD Bond Coat layer to make the paint more receptive to bonding with the resins within the ceramic coating. Stick around, we'll have some more updates and pictures soon!

5:34pm - HD Bond Coat is down. Now we're giving it time to set up and become receptive to our coating system, Arcane by IGL Coatings. Stay tuned, we'll be getting the coating installed here shortly too!

2008 Mazda Miata HD Bond Coat Application In Progress - Ceramic Coatings near Crown Point in Northwest Indiana!

The Finishing Stage - Day 2

2008 Mazda Miata Day Two of Finish Polishing Step 1 of 2

2/24/26: 9:22am
On The Radio: Ova Nova by Underworld (Listen Here!)

Back at it for Day two of our finishing stage. We're removing the "finishing" marks from the compounding stage before performing the final jeweling step RIGHT BEFORE our HD Bond Coat goes down. Stay tuned...

4:04pm - Finish polishing is all set. The vehicle looks amazing. Ceramic Coating time!!!

1:59pm - Jeweling step is in-progress. Everything is progressing nicely, will be wrapping up within the hour or so and moving onto the coating process shortly.

10:52am - About 75% of the way through our first finishing step. Will be wrapping up with the polishing work around 2-3pm this afternoon and then we'll get started with the exterior coating process!

2008 Miata Day Two of Finish Polishing - In Progress - Picture of Finish Polishing In Progress - Horizon Detail - Crown Point, Saint John, Northwest Indiana!

The Finishing Stage

2008 Miata Front End After First Step of Finish Polishing

2/23/26: 5:15 pm
On The Radio: You're So High by Eli & Fur

This is where all the hard work starts to pay off. I started with the first step of finish polishing and wow...it's stunning. Really happy with how it's looking and can't wait for you to see it!

2008 Mazda Miata Finish Polish First Stage 03

Paint Correction Currently Day 2 In-Progress

2008 Mazda Miata Paint Correction Day 2 Update

2/23/26: 10:06 am
On The Radio: King of Snake by Underworld

Day 2 sees us finishing up the driver side compounding. Should have that wrapped up by early afternoon. From there we'll move into finish polishing and getting her ready for her ceramic coating treatment! Stay tuned, more pictures are in-bound...

3:30pm - Wrapped up with compounding.

12:23pm - Quick break, finished up with the roof, driver fender, and a few touchups on the driver side hood. She's coming along swimmingly. Very happy so far!

11:15am - created gallery with day 2 pictures

2008 Miata Paint Correction Day 2 In Progress by Horizon Detail in Northwest Indiana

2008 Miata Paint Correction Day 2 Before Compounding by Horizon Detail in Northwest Indiana

2008 Miata Paint Correction Day 2 After Compounding by Horizon Detail in Northwest Indiana

2008 Miata 50/50 Before and After Compounding Picture

Paint Correction Currently In-Progress

2/22/26: 8:13 am
On The Radio: Two Suns in The Sky by DAVI

We are currently in the process of refinishing your vehicles paint work. Stay tuned for more updates!

6:02pm - Completed roughly 80% of the compounding work. Both the front end and rear end are done. There are 3-4 panels left. Driver fender, driver door, driver quarter, driver side roof and pillars. Will wrap up compounding tomorrow morning and will get started on the finish polishing.

3:21pm - About 66% through the compounding stage. Really happy with how the paint is turning out. It's very thin paint work from the factory so I'm taking a finesse approach and it's taking a little longer to get it all out but it's well worth it :o)

11:08am - Currently about 25% of the way through the compound polishing stage. Successfully removed the oxidation from the taillight housing, the mineral deposits are coming out great. Working gently around edges and thin spots, doing my best to clarify the paintwork while minimizing clear coat removal.

Miata In Progress Picture - Compounding Action Pic Across The Hood

Miata In Progress Picture - Compounding Action Pic

Miata In Progress Picture - 50/50 Before and After Compounding - Pre Finish Polish

Miata In Progress Picture - Post Compound Polish Pre Finish Polish

2008 Miata Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating Paint Depth Measurements from Spectrometer

2008 Miata Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating Taped Off Prior To Refinishing with Tools Shown

2008 Miata Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating Taped Off Prior To Refinishing

Paint Correction Test Spots

2008 Mazda Miata Paint Correction Test Spot After

2/21/26: 4:43 pm
On The Radio: Denver Luna by Underworld

Test spots are showing a 90% or better result on defect correction. Also showing no additional heat cycling or solvents required to remedy the mineral deposits in the paint work.

Inspection Process

2/20/26: 6:37 pm
On The Radio: Absurd by Fluke

We closely inspect every vehicle that comes in for paint correction to identify every single issue and put together the plan of attack on how to approach and rectify the issues.

Issues Identified:

Heavy swirl marks on all panels
Very heavy mineral deposits on all non-metallic panels - Needs test spot to determine next steps
Light oxidation throughout the vehicle
Heavy oxidation on taillight housing

Paint Depth Readings:
Average: 3.5mils
High 4.8mils
Low 3.12mils
Effective: 3mils

Wash & Decontamination Phase

Red 2008 Mazda Miata In for Two Step Correction and Ceramic Coating - Receiving it's decontamination wash

2/19/26: 1:03 pm
On The Radio: Breathe by Telepopmusik

During our decontamination wash, a lot of things happen. We obviously perform our meticulous hand wash. That goes without saying. But our decon wash does much more than that. We ensure that when we dry the vehicle off, that the exterior is surgically clean. Ok, you may not want to perform surgery on it, but I bet you could if you had to!

Steps performed: