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Body Protection in Transit from Japan

6840 Views 30 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  jeffyg
Does anyone know if Mazda puts any type of protection on the paint or bodywork during the sea voyage from Japan to OZ? If so what is it? How is it applied and how is it taken off and by whom?
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My understanding is they float them downstream using the main ocean currents and fish them out at the other end, they probably scotchguard them beforehand to protect them from the seawater which is apparently quite corrosive.
Yet another great scientific fact from Finding Nemo ;)
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no matter what kind of protection that may be applied during transit, there is nothing you can do either way. Its how we import cars. Also I highly doubt that the cars are sprayed with anything at all. Once a car is painted, it is then put through some sort of baking process. The 3 week voyage on a boat will do hardly anything to the duco.

Also, after making the deal with mazda and signing on the dotted line, they offered me a special protective coating which cost over $600 and supposedly give greater protection. So with that in mind I dont think that mazda puts any protection during the boat trip......
I was told with my last car (Nissan 200sx) that they spray a light film of wax around the engine bay to prevent corrosion to any non-alloy metals. Hence the engine bay was a bit whiffy for the first 100 kms or so while it burnt off.

I haven't noticed this smell with the Mazda 3, but I doubt a sea voyage of less than a week would permeate one of our new plastic fantastics. They're not Kingswoods guys!
My understanding is that a protective coating is put on each car (kinda like wax) to protect it during transit (that is while on the dock and on the ship). This is then washed off once the car reaches the dealers. Dealers make the highest margins on accessories, such as paint/fabric protection etc which are generally not very useful (makes you feel good though).
There is a protective coating as well as crappy plastic sheeting and foam strips applied in the high touch areas of the cars (eg the edges of doors), so the Warfies who drive the cars on and off the boats don't ding, scratch or dent your car.

The $1200 Car Wash known as Dealer Delivery is what pays to get this coating removed. Mind you it probably costs them $50 :)
I live not far from a motor vehicles transport depot.Everyday,I have seen all these brand new cars getting a quick bath in an auto car wash machine, before gettting shifted onto the transportation truck, which is heading to the dealer for delivery to the customers.So I guess that is more than one bath before it lands in your hands :)
hopefully they don't use those car washes that have the crappy bristles. The only car wash I take my cars to are the ones that use high pressure water only. The bristle car washes are as good as using sandpaper, everyonelses car scum/grit accumulates on the bristles and is then used to scratch and scour your shiny new car clean :x
ewww.. hate those car washes as well...

in any case they need the car in pristine condition for the sale, otherwise its a no go or discounted even further, so i doubt they would go that far and go pocket $1195 of that dealer delivery ;) ... i can believe $1150 though :twisted: :lol:
haha...with those concerns about auto car wash.I will take a spy shot oneday to show you guys what they do to the brand new cars :)
As I have always suspected M6Gr8 :)

If the paint work survives the initial 'bloodbath' I only ever trust my car paint work to one person after delivery........me :D

My dealership does a handwash, but being the picky bastard I am I have seen how often they clean the water in their buckets and the sponges they use.....pass

I steer clear of high pressure washes as well, good ol Garden hose to loosen the dirt up and a Good Quality Lambswool Mitt with plenty 'o' suds does the trick
BeeF said:
As I have always suspected M6Gr8 :)

I steer clear of high pressure washes as well, good ol Garden hose to loosen the dirt up and a Good Quality Lambswool Mitt with plenty 'o' suds does the trick
I can see how lucky you are comparing to us poor souls who has to face with this dreadful water restriction :(
just do it when nobodies looking :wink:

high pressure hose to rinse the car, one clean water bucket and the other one with the suds. rinse the car before, during and after.

only allowed to use a bucket is a ridiculous waste of water
Oh yeah, I forgot about the Eastern States water restrictions, sorry guys.

Are you Guys allowed to use watering cans?
basically your supposed to only use a bucket, I guess a watering can would also be okay. I can only imagine the amount of buckets required to wash the car clean?
I have actually mastered the technique in washing car with buckets and watering can :) But with more back busting hardwork,but nevertheless comes to quite good a result for the wash.

But I still think as most ppl do that doing it this way use more water than hose and bucket.
I've master the technique of not giving a rats arse about some stupid bureacrat in the Carr govt. I mean seriously, a hose gun will use far less than filling up buckets to throw on the car. I only wash my cars once they're really dusty like once every 2-3 months, normally a decent shower helps stretch the time between washes. I'm as keen as everybodyelse to not waste water, however a lot of the fines in NSW are I think just revenue raisers.
Yes,I agree.I can't see how using the hose watering the lawn is allowed,yet washing car using hose is no no.I must say,however one is to wash their car on the lawn for using hose though.
In that respect the SA government is a little 'smarter' than its eastern states counterparts. Our water restrictions mean that we have to wash our cars with a bucket, but we are allowed to rinse with a trigger hose.

And you are right, the time it takes to run around your car with the hose would be hella shorter than filling up a several buckets to rinse.
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