As the owner of a Vivid Yellow Miata, my understanding of the paint is that it is clearcoated, but there's a catch: it's actually a tinted clearcoat that's mixed in with the paint; not one that's applied seperately. It's one step paint as opposed to two step (base and clear).
There have been a few VY Miata owners who have reported this to me via their body shops. I would say that this makes more sense than anything. I've put a bunch of polish coats on my Miata (Zaino), and not once have I had paint lift off. Perhaps some batches didn't take to the mixed tint so well? Speculation, of course, but it makes sense...

 

actually, that does make sense...

 

do all the other colors of p5's come with a clear coat?

 

Interesting! If this is true, then Mazda USA didnt lie. I love the 02 VY Miata Special Edition. I saw one the other day at the dealership. Is your VY the Special Edition? Does anyone know if the wheels on the Special Edition would fit on the P5? Do you have any other pics of your car?

 

so, do the yellow MP3's come with a clear coat? somehow i think this turned into a discussion of "does the yellow p5 have a clear coat"

 

I have a yellow MP3 and two months ago I took it to the shop for minor bumper fixing. I have asked the paint specialist and he told me my car is clear coated (and they clear coated my bumper/fender/hood for the repairs... and it looks no different from the rest of the car). As far as seperate clear coat or blended clear coat with paint, I don't know.... my Vivid Yellow code is HZ ... so I don't know if that is the same as the Protege 5 yellow code.... looks the same.... I would think they are the same.....laters.

 

my touch up paint is HZ. so the two cars DO have clear coat!

 

Can one of you quickly call Mazda USA and ask?? Does the yellow p5 have clearcoat? (YES/NO) Does the MP3 have a clearcoat. (YES/NO)

That would end the discussion..lol

I would call, but it hangs up on me and tells me to call MAzda Canada everytime.

 

Mazda Canada contact information:

 

I can not think why any car today would not be clear coated in the first place? Two Mazda dealerships in town have told me that yellow P5s on their lots right now are clear coated for sure (and they have never heard about any of their cars not being clear coated). My car is clear coated. I don't see how Mazda USA is going to change my mind either way... because if they tell me the cars are not clear coated then I would just assume I was speaking to the wrong person on the other end of the line.

Didn't mnkyboy ALREADY mentioned earlier, in this same thread, that Mazda USA told him that they do have clear coating? The only problem is that since Mazda changes modifications of each models they roll out (improvements)... it could have been true that some yellow Proteges did not have clear coat in the early phase... then later on Mazda decided to add clear coat to later production vehicles. I'm only assuming, so I don't know for sure.

But, just think about what they did to the MP3 folks with the stereo system... earlier productions received the z919 and later productions was replaced with the z828 Kenwood head unit.

If I have time next week I'll try to give them a ring. Hopefully, someone else here will beat me to it and post the answer here. But, I would hate to get a different answer from what mnkyboy posted earlier....

 

I would hate to hear a different answer also, but if the yellow doesnt have a clearcoat, I would love to see what the recommend to prolong the life of the paint (since a clearcoat helps the paint last longer!).

 

IIRC, the reason certain colours of paints were not clear coated was because when the clear coat began to age and deteriorate, it gained a yellow/orange tint to it. This would cause certain colours (ie. red and yellow) to look very bad.

I'm fairly certain that newer clear coats are not like this and can be applied to yellows and reds with no problems.

I think the confusing issue with all of this is that some people with yellow paint are saying that paint is coming off on their towels when they apply products like a pre-wax cleaner. This should NOT happen unless there is no clear coat.

 

so no one wants to do protege5girl that favor? i live in hawaii so my time zone is waaaaay off.

 

I've had several Vivid Yellow Miata owners tell me about the clear mixed in with the paint, and it is a viable theory on that color. Calling Mazda probably won't be of any help; you're going to get a customer care rep who may or may not give you the correct answer after talking with someone who may or may not actually know.
FWIW, the car that the paint is applied to is irrelevant; the paint is all the same. Also, you will not be able to see a difference on a clearcoated car vs a non-clearcoated car when it's brand new. It will take years of UV bombardment and environmental punishment to the paint to reveal that, and even then you may not see it. I've had a few VY Miata owners talk to Mazda and get "official" word that it's not clearcoated, and a few get "official" word that it is. Of course, if the theory that the tinted clearcoat is mixed into the base coat is indeed true, then that accounts for the varying information. Further, if some of those batches of paint didn't mix quite right with the tinted clear, that explains why some people are pulling paint off of their cars when polishing. In addition to that, when polishing under my hood and/or trunk, and in the doorjambs, I do not pull paint. If the car were clearcoated seperately, only the exterior portions would have the clearcoat applied; it is not sprayed under hood, in the engine bay, doorjambs, or under the trunk. The fact that I don't pull paint when polishing these areas lends further credence to the theory of the paint being mixed with a clearcoat, rather than a 2 step process.

Mnkyboy: my car is not an SE. The yellow on the SE is called Blazing Yellow, and it is a Mica. It is darker and more of a mustard color than Vivid Yellow is. There is also a Titanium color for the SE as well. My car is an internet order only special. There was a limited time promotion that Mazda offered, in which you could order a Miata via the internet and get two special paint colors if you wished: Lazer Blue Mica and Vivid Yellow. My car is one of 239 Vivid Yellow Miatas produced. It is, at this point, the only turbocharged one. Pictures of my car can be found here, and pics of my turbo installation can be seen here. You may check out a digitally altered pic of my car here. To answer your question about wheels: Miatas use 4 lug wheels and P5s use 5, so no, the wheels will not work.

 

Interesting info. Nice digitally altered pic , but the albums "do not exist" according to the link you posted.