fresh paint

[derekstl]

I recently had my car backed into in the parking lot and had to have my driver side quarter panel, hood, and front bumber replaced and painted. I was wondering, if i am fully detailing the rest of the car, (clay bar, paint cleaner, polish, and wax) what should i do to the newly painted part?? Should i do anything more than wax it??

[kclundy]

Re: fresh paint

I recently had the hood replaced and painted on my '07 Acura, and researched this topic thoroughly on MOL... here's what I learned...

Check with the body shop to find out how long you need to wait before you wax it. You need to let the fresh paint "breathe" before sealing it with any type of wax or sealer. The amount of time you need to wait depends on the paint, clear, and baking process the body shop used, but will range from 30 - 90 days.

Note that it is okay to wash the newly painted panels; just be extra careful, as the finish will be relatively soft and prone to scratches. You can also use Deep Crystal #2 - a pure polish - after washing to give it a slight amount of protection while the paint cures. A pure polish like DC2 does not seal the finish and prevent the outgassing process.

Another thing to plan on - since your car was in a body shop, I can almost gaurantee that you have overspray on the rest of the car; I used Scratch-X to remove the overspray from mine, but claying is generally recommended.

Good luck!

[kclundy]

Re: fresh paint

A few additional points, also from my recent experience...

If the body shop did not do a perfect job with the rotary (i.e. left swirls, scouring, etc.) you can correct those a bit easier before the finish is completely cured using, as Mike says, the least aggressive product that gives you the results you want. It's fine to use a paint cleaner like DC1 or Scratch-X on the newly painted panels, but again, be very attentive to what you are doing because the softer finish will be more susceptable to scratches and swirls. Be sure to do a small test spot and inspect closely.

With mine, I went ahead and did the full detail (wash, clay, clean, polish, wax, wax) on all of the panels of the car that had not been repainted, and only washed and polished the hood. About 40 days later, I did the full detail to the hood. And now (another 40 days later,) I am seeing the scouring that the body shop left behind on the hood and am hitting it hard with Scratch-X, and considering purchase of a DA/G110.

[mis3]

Re: fresh paint

You may not get the correct answer when you ask the body shop.

I painted a few panels a few months ago and when I asked the question, the manager there told me that I could wax after 2-3 weeks. After asking the same question in this forum, I was advised that I should wait 3 months for the paint to breath and harden. A big difference, 21 days vs 90 days! Furthermore, the new paint will harden faster in summer temp than winter temp.

Since I do not know of a way to check if the new paint has hardened, I waited full 3 months. I plan to do a full detail next week (Clay-DC1-DC2-NXT-NXT or Clay-Cleaner Wax-NXT).

[Black Bart]

Re: fresh paint

I had my car painted last fall and I was told to wait 90 days.
Mine had extra coats of clear sprayed on it so it needed a longer time to fully cure.
You can use #7 on the new paint it will not harm it in fact it would be good for it.
Do not worry about the paint not having protection it will be fine just wait give it time to cure then polish and wax it and everything will be fine.

At this point the only thing that will do harm is if you seal it before it has had time to gas off.

[Sprzout]

Re: fresh paint

Yep...Basically, look for polishes & cleaners that say, "Body Shop Safe" on it. There's quite a bit in the Detailer and Professional Line that are Body Shop Safe. Not sure about Scratch-X, since I've got tubes of the old formula that you can't even use with a DA (it gums up) so I dunno if it says it's safe on the packaging or not.

Here's a really good article written by Mike Phillips:

Paint Needs to Breathe

It describes why you need to let your paint rest/set up/breathe/whatever terminology you want to use.

[yalerd]

Re: fresh paint

It describes why you need to let your paint rest/set up/breathe/whatever terminology you want to use.

Think you forgot one outgas

[mis3]

Re: fresh paint

At this point the only thing that will do harm is if you seal it before it has had time to gas off.

The cure time depends on so many factor; how the panel was repainted, what kind of paint/thinner/etc were used, how long it was kept in the baking room, what is the ambient temp where you park your car, etc, etc.....

The challenge here is there is no way to physical check if the paint has had enough time to cure. This is why I waited a long, long 3 months....

[Mike Phillips]

Re: fresh paint

You can use #7 on the new paint it will not harm it in fact it would be good for it.

Do not worry about the paint not having protection it will be fine just wait give it time to cure then polish and wax it and everything will be fine.

At this point the only thing that will do harm is if you seal it before it has had time to gas off.

This is correct.

You can apply one of our pure polishes or do nothing to it until the time recommended by your painter to wait before waxing has passed.

These are our pure polishes, any of the will work, the Deep Crystal can be found virtually anywhere.

Deep Crystal Polish
#3 Machine Glaze
#5 New Car Glaze
#7 Show Car Glaze
#81 Hand Polish

[Rick McDonough]

Re: fresh paint

Derekstl, I would hope that you wouldn't have to use a clay bar system or a paint cleaner at this point as you have just gotten it back from the body shop. You can use those products if you need to though. However, Meguiar's would say not to wax for 60-90 days. Like several of the other guys said, that paint needs to breath or outgas for that time period prior to waxing, or sealing it in.

[Geo Sant]

Re: fresh paint

I bought a car that was painted in the Hood and fender, It has been 3 years and it has never had a wax or polish on it. Does anyone know what kind of care I should give it ie: polish, wax, or? It also looks like its loosing some of it's clear coat on an area on top of the car where it was not painted. It's a real shame cause its' a BMW. maybe someone here can give me some advice, it seems like it's the same topic.

[porschpow]

Re: fresh paint

By accident I waxed the car a week after the flare got refinished (reapainted). After ebing told that I have to wait 90 days.....I got warm water, sponge and soap to try to scrub off the wax that I already applied on there...what should I do????!!?!

[Eddie6th]

Re: fresh paint

I recently had my car backed into in the parking lot and had to have my driver side quarter panel, hood, and front bumber replaced and painted. I was wondering, if i am fully detailing the rest of the car, (clay bar, paint cleaner, polish, and wax) what should i do to the newly painted part?? Should i do anything more than wax it??

nice Macchina you've got there. I know plenty of paint shop guys localy and the general rule of thumb is to leave the newly painted parts for a couple of months,dependent on weather,hot,etc.Paint takes time to cure!I cheated and did wax a resprayed bumper on my civic.don't think it made any difference though!

[Honda9885]

Re: fresh paint

I just got my car painted a few days ago. The company recommended that I wash the car in 1 week with dawn. The car was not baked. I'm so worried of messing up the paint job after reading so many comments stating, Never use Dawn! What can I use if I want to wash my car that won't damage the paint?

[Murr1525]

Re: fresh paint

Any of the Meguiars soaps would be safe except Ult. Wash And Wax.

The only reason they could want Dawn would be to remove grease or something, but shouldnt really be an issue on a fresh paint job?