New paint guidelines

slammin86

New member
I just got my new front bumper painted. What kind of guidelines do I need to take while it cures?

I figure I need to wipe the bugs off of it after every trip...how long till I can wax it?

Would it be ok to use zaino Z8 on it?
 
Don't know about the Z8 but in general you shouldn't use anything that would tend to seal the paint and interfere with outgassing of solvents (like a wax or sealant) until it cures. You usually hear suggested wait times from 30 to 90 days depending on who painted your car, what your weather is like and what product they used. I'd check with the paint's manufacturer for their recommendation.



You can wash and use glazes. Be sure to use high lubricity wash, the paint hasn't reached it's full hardness yet.



I would use Meguiar's #00 Wash myself and #80 Speed Glaze. #80 adds a nice shine and a little protection until you can wax it for real.



This subject comes up a lot. If you search around you'll find a lot of opinions and responses.





PC.
 
Slight variation on the Other PC's answer: I use a nonabrasive glaze unless I need the abrasion of #80. I generally use #5 New Car Glaze (or #3/#7/#81/Deep Crystal Step #2). Others like 3M IHG but I prefer the Meg's stuff.



I know #80 is awfully mild, but one time it was still a bit too abrasive for fresh paint (RM brand b/c). Never any problems with the #5, and it's *VERY* easy to use. Somewhat slick and good looking too.
 
I have not had much luck searching...maybe I am searching for the wrong thing. Any suggestions on what to search for?
 
Burlyq said:
New Mod?

Did you get a CC, SS, or a mix of CC in the SS? Either way you should be able to wax with Z-8 or even Z2Pro in about 5 days.





It is clear coated paint. The color is phantom black metallic if that makes a differance.
 
I picked up my beater car (guess I can't really call it that any more!) from the body shop on Sept 8th after a full repaint. Now, this was a pretty inexpensive paintjob (the car just isn't worth a top line paint job) using what the body shop called an integrated clear coat. Whatever it is, the car looks 1000% better than it did!



Anyway, what they told me was this:



  • First two weeks keep it clean but just use cold water to rinse it off, don't actually "wash" it.
  • After two weeks it's safe to wash normally (I'm using Meg's Gold Class wash)
  • After four weeks I can use whatever wax/sealant I want



This car sits outside under a cover (not using the cover until the four weeks have passed) so when the time is right I'll clay, 4Star paint clean or AIO and apply a couple coats of a sealant.
 
slammin86 said:
I have not had much luck searching...maybe I am searching for the wrong thing. Any suggestions on what to search for?





Maybe try "fresh paint", "repaint", "outgassing", "uncured paint". I sympathize as I can seldom find what I want when I search either :o



We really have gone over this many times, the "go search" isn't just a blow-off.



I've washed fresh paint (and I mean *really* fresh!) with Meg's #62, Meg's #00, and Griot's Car Wash. Never any problems.



I've heard that the Zaino is OK to use but it sounds counterintuitive to me. Maybe you should call Zaino and speak with Sal. He used to be a painter so he should know.
 
second the other pc. last time I repainted a car the body shop advised waiting for a wash and then wash and glaze only for ninety days. I realize it's a bit of an effort to leave it alone that long, but in the end it was a beautiful thing. of course, once I had everything just perfect it was totalled in a hail storm within weeks.



there are varying answers to this, but three months was the answer most often when I went through it. and you want to do the right thing, right?
 
email sal with a question about new paint and applying zaino and you'll get a prompt autoreply.



or at least thats what happened to me when i inquired about my beaters new paint work (base/clear though.. the shop laughed when i asked if they were going to cheap out on a single stage)



sal basically said that newer paint technology has the paint properly cured instantly if not within a few hours after spraying.



to be safe though he recommends to wait 2 weeks before applying zaino to fresh paint.



email youself to get the autoreply though and check first hand. i nuked the msg long ago or else i'd copy/paste.



i'd prolly avoid z-pc for new paint though.
 
marko said:
second the other pc. last time I repainted a car the body shop advised waiting for a wash and then wash and glaze only for ninety days.

The paint will be cured in a week at most, because it is CC I would wait a couple extra days meaning 1 week. Nothing would take 90 days to cure, the hardners we use in paint these days take apprx 4 days to cure, most shops say wait two weeks before waxing but they are just being way safe. Heres what some of my buddy's say but I still say they are being paranoid.

http://www.autobody101.com/forums/about3522.html&highlight=cure

http://www.autobody101.com/forums/about2412.html&highlight=cure
 
Not trying to be argumentative, but if paint cures so fast then why-



Do you smell the outgassing for about three months?

Does the new paint get significantly harder with the passage of time?



There are other signs that *something* keeps happening for a while after the paint is sprayed, but the above ones are constants whenever I have paintwork done and were blatantly obvious when I had the repairs done to the S8, the A8, and the MPV (all recent).



I've had paintwork done at least once a year since 1976, usually far more often than that. I have *not* noticed any huge change in post-spraying characteristics due to the changes in paint technology. Even though it drastically affects how they do things in the paintshop, it has not affected how I treat the fresh paint, and I discuss this stuff with my painter all the time.



This isn't an end-of-the-world thing, sealing uncured paint will just prevent it from reaching full hardness. But I'd still rather be safe than sorry.
 
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