New paint, when can I wax it?

T

trmiv

New member
I just got a scratch fixed on the side of my 2007 Escape (deep key mark from some punk). On the website of the place I got it fixed at, they say I have to wait 90 days to wax the car. But I've read other places that 30-45 days is enough to wait. Which is it? It wasn't the entire vehicle that was painted of course, just the door that was scratched, plus areas front and rear of that where they blended the metallic paint.
 
Wait 90 to 120 days to be safe on the areas that have new paint. I usually use a paint safe glaze like Meg's #5 until my 90 -120 days are up. The glaze doesn't last much through a wash, but it's super easy to reapply and it at least offers some protection. Accumulator turned me on to #5, and it is one of the easiest products to use on new paint that I've found.



If you wax it too soon the paint won't be able to cure properly (won't get as hard), plus you might void the warranty that the body shop offers. You can wax the rest of the car, just not the areas that have fresh paint.
 
I second what is said above - if they say to wait 90 - 120 days I would certainly do that... I know that here in the UK it is very much bodyshop dependant how long that you will need to wait before you can wax or seal freshly painted areas, owing to slight differences in paint types and make ups... the best people to ask how long are the people who painted your car as they will know the exact paint specification. So some 'shops may be less than others.
 
trmiv- This gets debated quite a bit around here. Somewhere there's a thread where MirrorFinishMan queried the major autopaint manufacturers and got their official words on the subject. They all, without exception, said to wait at least 90 days before waxing. Hence my ongoing recommendation to use something like the Meg's #5 (which is, after all, called "new car glaze" ;) ).



Kudos to the paintshop for knowing what to tell you and saying it, even though it might not have been what you wanted to hear. Far too many painters are either clueless or deceptive, saying it's OK to wax right away (and others say goofy stuff like you shouldn't even wash it for a while :rolleyes: ).
 
I had my Tundra for less than a month and I've hit it with NXT and #16 - since this came off the assembly line, and I assume the paint was baked, would the cure time really be up to 90 days?
 
blackcaraddict said:
I had my Tundra for less than a month and I've hit it with NXT and #16 - since this came off the assembly line, and I assume the paint was baked, would the cure time really be up to 90 days?
Click to expand...
With a new car/truck you're OK, because like you said, the finish is baked at the plant before any trim or rubber is on the body..... thus they can use a pretty high heat.



The only problem would be if there was some touch-up work done between the time it left the factory and when you picked it up.
 
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