When to Clay & Wax

[pilatti1]

Last year (July '07) I had my '65 Mustang stripped and painted. I have not done anything to it except wash it and want to clay & wax it, but not sure when I can do this as the paint is just 1 year old. I live in Connecticut and the car is always garaged and never gets out in bad weather - sunny days only. Any suggestions?

[Murr1525]

Re: When to Clay & Wax

You can give it a full detail now... Here are some relevant links to look over:

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle
Step 1 Wash
Step 2 Clean
Step 3 Polish
Step 4 Protect
Step 5 Maintain

Suggested Products for Taking Care of a New Car

How to Wash Your Car (ShowCar style!)

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

How to correctly apply ScratchX to remove swirls and scratches

Rotary vs. PC vs. Regular Orbital Buffer

Recommended Products - G100a Dual Action Polisher

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

1986 Ford Bronco II - Extreme Makeover

Each one, teach one... Ferrari Fiorano 355 F1 Spider

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: When to Clay & Wax

When your all done we want to see some pics of your Mustang.

[Sal329]

Re: When to Clay & Wax

Wash the car then feel the paint if it is "rough or bumpy" clay the car. It is safe to wax a new paint job 1-3 months (the body shop should let you know) after painting.

[yalerd]

Re: When to Clay & Wax

Your paint should be fully cured by now without a problem.
You can do a full detail if you want

[rescuenut10]

Re: When to Clay & Wax

Most paint companies say 120 days until the paint can be waxed.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: When to Clay & Wax

Last year (July '07) I had my '65 Mustang stripped and painted. I have not done anything to it except wash it and want to clay & wax it, but not sure when I can do this as the paint is just 1 year old.

As already stated, enough time has gone by so you can safely work on your car's paint. Just to note, the day after a car comes out of the spray booth it's often worked on with all kinds of chemicals and wet-sanding, so if paint that's one day old can be worked on... paint that's 1 year old can for sure be worked on.

Good idea to clay your paint, often times when you get your car painted you end up with overspray on the new paint, either while it's in the paint booth or later while it's still parked at the body shop because often times there's overspray in the air from other paint work being done.

Good luck and we would love to see some pictures...