Falcon
You sure have the gift with the red paint. Really looks great. Well done.
Do you consider the VW paint to be any different (And therefore needing to use different polishing products) than the Japanese paint on our Toyotas ?

I do. The VW paint seemed a lot harder than the MR2 single stage super red. The VW had heavy defects, scratches and water spots. I found myself using the aggressive cutting compound, cutting foam pads, higher machine speeds, slower arm movements and more passes across the paint. A larger 5" or 6" polisher would have been ideal to cover more surface area and would have saved time. I used a 3" polisher with a 4" pad which I find is perfect for the MR2 curves but not so much for the large VW panel surfaces. The VW paint could have been further improved if I had done a second stage correction with a finishing compound to get to that next level of clarity but weekends are only so long!
 
Due to the MR2 single stage paint, age and thickness the goal is to preserve and maintain rather than polishing for perfection. I would limit myself to 2 passes over the section of paint using a finishing polish and pad combination with slower machine speeds.  
 
Regards to ceramic coating. I don’t feel the coating is suitable for the MR2 super red paint. The only way to remove ceramic coating is to polish it off… and when I’m trying to preserve the paint it just doesn’t seem right to risk it. Wax still provides an incredible finish and should last longer on the MR2 now that it's not being daily driven.

I recently started learning about paint correction & I gotta say I find it really interesting. You can really go down the rabbit hole with all the information there. Unfortunately its all pointless knowledge for me at this point as my car has pretty severe clear coat delamination on a few panels, but interesting all the same. I did get a great result by wet sanding, polishing & waxing all the indicator lenses though, they came up great considering their previous condition.
 
Just wondering what polisher you bought & also if you used the ceramic coating on stuff like headlights, indicators etc on the VW?

The rabbit hole is deep. It’s so easy to get carried away.
 
I bought the Shine Mate 12mm Mini DA polisher. It's great for all the edge work and curves on the MR2. It came with pads and 3 scholl compounds. Extra pads are required as I found the 4" size gets clogged up very quickly, so rotate the pads frequently. Rinsing with water or blowing out with an air compressor works well. 
 
From what I have read Carpro CQuartz 3.0 ceramic coatings can be used on headlights and trims but it may not last as long. I decided not to use it on those surfaces especially the textured black side skirts and bumper... if it streaks on textured plastic how do you remove it? I also bought a second coating that could be used on all the plastics and wheels called Carpro CQuartz Dlux. Perhaps it’s all marketing spin. I have yet to use it. At the moment I’m loving the results of diluted Carpro Perl on the black trims and tyres.

A photo from the Queensland Chapter end of year xmax gathering and AGM meeting on Sunday 6th December. Snagged a parking spot next to Nikki and Ethan.
 

 
Since buying the daily VW in March 2020 and COVID-19, I have only driven the MR2 607.6km. I updated my insurance policy to extreme limited use. I seriously considered selling; I wrote a for sale ad. I never posted it. Lets see what 2021 brings, hopefully get the car out to a few more events.
 
On Tuesday 29th, I took the car for a quick spin around the local dam and snapped a few photos to cap off my MR2 ownership for 2020.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car look immaculate. Excellent work Lumix.  

Absolutely beautiful example Joel.

Sent from my SM-A515F using Tapatalk

Nice to see 
 

B24
Car look immaculate. Excellent work Lumix.  

 

Carmikey
Absolutely beautiful example Joel.

Fast Eddie
Nice to see 

Thanks gents!
 
Brief fuel economy review for 2020.
Total travel distance travelled for the MR2 in 2020 was 1811.1km which is a reduction of 11,362.7km from 2019. My 2020 average L/100km has increased slightly to 9.19 L/100km compared to 2019 at 8.80 L/100km. Probably due to driving the car slightly more spirited when I do take it for a spin.

Wired in permanent CTEK charging connections to the battery, no need to remove or replace the spare tyre each time I want to put on trickle charge or take for a drive. Replaced the gear shifter cover with another genuine item. Minor improvements.
 

 

 
Photos taken on the weekend.
 

 

 

Looking gorgeous as always :)