2019 CX-9 Hood

Hey all. First time poster, first time Mazda owner, proud owner of a 2019 CX-9 GS for just over a month now and looking to get it rust proofed and the 3M'd.

I have a question for any of you die-hard Mazda techs. What material is the engine hood made of?

One of the first things I noticed when shopping for the CX-9 was how incredibly light the hood was for it's size. Upon further inspection, I'm pretty certain to say that this thing is not your regular steel the rest of the SUV is made of. Does anyone know what it is? Maybe there's a spec sheet you can share? I've been all over the web and can't find anything that mentions it. You'd think it would be something worth mentioning on the spec sheet.

Thanks in advance.

TheDASSMan.

TheDASSMan said:

Hey all. First time poster, first time Mazda owner, proud owner of a 2019 CX-9 GS for just over a month now and looking to get it rust proofed and the 3M'd.

I have a question for any of you die-hard Mazda techs. What material is the engine hood made of?

One of the first things I noticed when shopping for the CX-9 was how incredibly light the hood was for it's size. Upon further inspection, I'm pretty certain to say that this thing is not your regular steel the rest of the SUV is made of. Does anyone know what it is? Maybe share a spec sheet you can share? I've been all over the web and can't find anything that mentions it. You'd think it would be something work mentioning on the spec sheet.

Thanks in advance.

TheDASSMan.

Click to expand...

Its made of aluminum along with the front fenders.

Magnet test...not steel. Tap test...doesn't sound like plastic. Must be aluminum.

AndrewW said:

Its made of aluminum along with the front fenders.

Click to expand...

Wow. Front fenders too. Thanks!

PTguy said:

Magnet test...not steel. Tap test...doesn't sound like plastic. Must be aluminum.

Click to expand...

Yep. Did a magnet test and could say for certain it wasn't steel. Tap test however, was inconclusive.

Thanks for the quick replies!

What type of paint protection film are you going to use and what parts are you going to cover? Mazda dealership where I bought my 2018 CX-9 quoted about $850 and that was for the full front, A pillars, mirrors and either a full hod or a half ( not sure). He said the have a guy who comes there on appointment basis and uses 3M film. Supposedly Xpel is the current leader there but I used a product called ClearShield on my Corvette and I'm very pleased so far. I'm a big believer in Paint protection film for areas that are going to see road debris. Especially in rural areas and bit highway miles. Lot's of crap flying around out there. I'm going to try and to some price matching but every mile I drive the car without it on is an opportunity to get the first big chip so it's a time sensitive item if your going to do it. And knowing the person doing the work is good is important although the custom cut kits that they get now make it way easier than it used to be.

Check local detail shops. Expect to get an equal or better job for half that cost. You do not need to pay a profit to the dealership, a commission to the finance guy, as well as the cost of the work. My detail guy used to be a sub contractor in a Mercedes shop. This was a few years ago, but he'd do a polymer sealant on the paint and something on the inside in about a half hour. His company charged the dealershop $90, and that was high. The dealership charged the customer $900.

The clear bra film is very useful as you state where there's a lot of sand and gravel flying around. Include the fronts of the outside mirrors as well.

For a less abrasive locale, I like the newest "semi-permanent clear coats." These are often called quartz or ceramic or nano coatings. They're thicker, harder, and much longer lived than the next best class of products, the polymer sealants. The local car wash isn't as well maintained as it should be. My 2-1/2 year old Mazda with a Can Coat coating shows no brush swirls. The other car had just polymer sealant and did show swirls. Both now have Gyeon MOHs Q2 which my detailer says is currently the best he's found. https://gyeonquartz.com/product/mohs/

@Montanaman

I'm actually considering a 3M application of hood and fenders. It will be the first vehicle I do it for and still on the fence about it. I drive my cars to the ground so my biggest concern is paint aging everywhere but under the film.

Look to PTguy's recommendation below. If I pull the trigger on the film, I'll be getting it done by guy who does film and tint service for a local Toyota dealership. I've seen his work and it's top notch. From a cost perspective, hood and fenders will run me about $200CAD.

I'm going to bit the bullet and get it done. I did to have it on the white CX-5 I had and that had almost no significant paint chips anywhere in 40k rural road driving. I was shocked. The whole lower front end on this car is a large vertical slab that will catch some crap. Just doing the lower front fascia and small front hood piece would be a good start. I've had it on other cars including my 2011 Tundra and I'm a believer. It's a relatively cheap way to protect the hard edges of the paint. If the film gets dinged up you can just peel it off and do it again. Or not.

TheDASSMan said:

@Montanaman

I'm actually considering a 3M application of hood and fenders. It will be the first vehicle I do it for and still on the fence about it. I drive my cars to the ground so my biggest concern is paint aging everywhere but under the film.

Look to PTguy's recommendation below. If I pull the trigger on the film, I'll be getting it done by guy who does film and tint service for a local Toyota dealership. I've seen his work and it's top notch. From a cost perspective, hood and fenders will run me about $200CAD.

Click to expand...

I purchased a 3M Scotchgard Pro clear bra kit from eBay in late 2016 for my 2016 CX-9 GT for $270. It came with film for the front bumper, hood, fenders and side mirrors. I would say that all except the front bumper were easy to apply. The front bumper was a bit tricky as you have to apply it vertically. If you are patient you can wait for a 15% off coupon eBay to get the kit even cheaper.