claying new paint job question

[natural320]

nice and simple...how long should I wait before I can clay a new paint job (not a brand new car, but a 1998 with a full repaint). is the typical 3 month cure period long enough to wait, or should I wait even longer? I don't want to royally mess stuff up by going at it too soon. thanks

 

[BobD]

You can clay and polish anytime as long as there is no waxes or silicones in it.

 

[Pb2theMax]

IMO, It's a good idea to clay and polish right away after having bodywork done. I just had some paintwork done to my truck and there was some light clearcoat overspray in a few spots. I skipped the clay and just gave the whole side of my truck a light polish. It removed the overspray pretty easily since the paintwork was finished earlier that day. Check the glass for overspray too. Overspray is easy to polish off of glass.

 

[natural320]

IMO, It's a good idea to clay and polish right away after having bodywork done.

really? the paint isn't too soft?

 

[Pb2theMax]

Naw. I like to polish or wetsand any defects in the paint right away. Did your shop heat the vehicle in a booth after the paint job?. That helps it cure.



I had my truck repainted last year and I polished it the same day it was painted. 3 days later I waxed it with PBs EX and Nattys Blue. No problems. Perfect paint.

 

[natural320]

PB2...there was a single "pebble" on the roof of the car (about the size of a broken pencil point) that I didn't notice until i got home. it was painted like a week ago, and after I tried to smooth down that pebble, it just looks like a small chip with some rust-esque discoloration. would a dab of paint suffice, or should I be a pain and get it resprayed? FTR, it would be the 3rd time I'm back there complaining...each time they "fix" it I'm out of a car for 2-3 days too.

 

[squimper]

You should not feel bad about asking them to get the job done right. Ask yourself if you would regret it later on down the road if you don't have it fixed. If the answer is yes, then they need to fix it.

 

[Accumulator]

natural320- Just be gentle if you clay soon after the repaint. On my cars (most recently the Audis and the Mazda) that've been repainted recently the paint *was* very soft for the first few weeks then it gradually hardened to the point where you need a rotary to correct it. That was with S-H paint that was baked.



The RM b/c they used on the Volvo was even worse in this regard, you basically couldn't polish it, or touch it much at all, for th first few weeks or you'd mar it. Even #80 caused serious marring from its initial bite. The RM paint eventually hardened up OK, but it sure was soft at first.



Yeah, take it back over the issue with the roof. I return cars to the painters/bodyshops numerous times as needed until things are as good as they're gonna get. A decent shop shouldn't have a problem with it. After the deer incident they redid the S8 three times after the initial job. I know it's a hassle, but you just gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[natural320]

yeah...def a PIA, but I'm VERY pickey about the way my car looks. hence, I'll be stopping by that shop asap. to make matters worse, one of the schmucks hit my window with the sander and I'm working on getting the owner to replace it. but since 1. it's a BMW 2. it was tinted he is trying to give me a runaround in order to not pay for it. I'm gonna get it fixed, but I'm fearing that all this is going to turn into a project. and here's one better, they also f-ed up most of the black trim. over spray. tape residue. pulled the front strip out completely. damn insurance company sending my baby to Earl Scheib. so anyone out that that cares about their car's paint -> stay away from Earl Sheib in Philly!!!



sorry, I had to rant a bit...

 

[Accumulator]

YIKES sounds like a royal PIA.



In the future, I'd check out a shop *very carefully* before letting them do the work. Even if it means footing the bill instead of letting the insurance pay for it, I'd be most concerned with how the car's gonna turn out.



Hope Earl's guys used the right paint...I suspect they're in the habit of cutting corners.



Hope you can get good glass if you replace the window. I can't get a flawless driver's door window for my S8...something about how they store/pack/ship them from Germany results in a "smear" in the UV coating that looks just awful. My dealer got four different windows and they're all the same Wish they'd kept the damaged original one, it wouldn't have bugged me as much as the smears do.