polishing after painting-how long to wait?

derek37

derek37

New member
Just wondering what is the consensus on how long to wait after painting to polish? I've heard a week, 30 days etc. I'm not sure if it's been CC but I got to think that it has.(I'll find this out when I go look at the vehicle). Would it make any difference in waiting time if it has been CC or not or is the waiting time the same? It's a black jeep wrangler. The paint has drips that the owner wants removed. And it was only painted in certain areas, not the whole jeep.

Thanks for the help.
 
ok cool but why is it necessary to wait to apply your LSP? Am I waiting for the paint to cure or what? I'm thinking I'm going to have to wet sand (2000 grit) the drips and then proceed to polish the wetsanding marks out.
 
BigJimZ28 said:
you can polish when every you want

but it will be soft as it cures



NO LSP for 90 days!
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I'd say it's as hard as it will get after a few days. Even if it isn't baked.It's the solvents that are outgassing for what some say a few months. I've gotten totally different opinions from dozens of painters. Out of the 1000's of vehicles I've seen, I've never seen a single one that had paint failure from trapped solvents from being sealed. Someone should call Mythbusters.
 
my evo 9 got repainted by previous owner and "just looking at the paint swirls it"

I tryed everything and just after getting a panel perfect I do an ONR wash with sheepskin and it leaves swirls.

I guess it must be due to LSP applyed to early because the paint job itself looks really good
 
David Fermani said:
I'd say it's as hard as it will get after a few days. Even if it isn't baked.It's the solvents that are outgassing for what some say a few months. I've gotten totally different opinions from dozens of painters. Out of the 1000's of vehicles I've seen, I've never seen a single one that had paint failure from trapped solvents from being sealed. Someone should call Mythbusters.
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I agree. I had my front and rear bumper repainted (grey metallic with cc). I asked the body shop when can I polish/wax it. They told me that it was heat baked and I could polish/wax right away. A day later I polished and waxed that has been over 1,5 yrs ago and there are no problems with the paint. My car gets QD daily and waxed every 2 weeks, shows how anal I am about my ride.
 
David Fermani said:
I'd say it's as hard as it will get after a few days. Even if it isn't baked.It's the solvents that are outgassing for what some say a few months. I've gotten totally different opinions from dozens of painters. Out of the 1000's of vehicles I've seen, I've never seen a single one that had paint failure from trapped solvents from being sealed. Someone should call Mythbusters.
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I'm all for somebody doing controlled tests of this stuff with regard to LSPing, but I can state with zero ambiguity that I've experienced the months-long hardening process *with baked paint* first hand on numerous occasions.



Two examples that stick in my mind:



I've had RM brand b/c that was too soft for Meg's #80 for over three weeks (incredible to see such hazing from the initial bite of that mild product!), but was too *hard* for the same #80 a couple of months later. This was the most dramatic example of the lengthy hardening that I've ever encountered.



On the S8 following its deer-incident repairs, I worked on it on-and-off over the course of four months and was able to carefully observe how the paint hardened. During that time, I had to gradually ramp up the aggressiveness of my products/process as stuff that was easy to correct with the PC after a few weeks required the rotary (and aggressive pads/products) a few months later. This was with Spiess Hecker paint. Its hardness in early spring was completely different from its hardness at the end of summer.
 
dbesins said:
my evo 9 got repainted by previous owner and "just looking at the paint swirls it"

I tryed everything and just after getting a panel perfect I do an ONR wash with sheepskin and it leaves swirls.

I guess it must be due to LSP applyed to early because the paint job itself looks really good
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It could be due to a cheap soft clear coat.
 
From the factory, you can polish/wax right away since they cure right away from the extreme heat & lack of interior/other components. Bodyshop, ask the painter who is hopefully educated to know the proper cure time. 90-120 Days before any paint or glaze solvent products should be used. You can use a "pure" sealant such as Optimum Car Wax & Zaino sealants
 
Legacy99 said:
I agree. I had my front and rear bumper repainted (grey metallic with cc). I asked the body shop when can I polish/wax it. They told me that it was heat baked and I could polish/wax right away. A day later I polished and waxed that has been over 1,5 yrs ago and there are no problems with the paint. My car gets QD daily and waxed every 2 weeks, shows how anal I am about my ride.
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Accumulator said:
I'm all for somebody doing controlled tests of this stuff with regard to LSPing, but I can state with zero ambiguity that I've experienced the months-long hardening process *with baked paint* first hand on numerous occasions.



Two examples that stick in my mind:



I've had RM brand b/c that was too soft for Meg's #80 for over three weeks (incredible to see such hazing from the initial bite of that mild product!), but was too *hard* for the same #80 a couple of months later. This was the most dramatic example of the lengthy hardening that I've ever encountered.



On the S8 following its deer-incident repairs, I worked on it on-and-off over the course of four months and was able to carefully observe how the paint hardened. During that time, I had to gradually ramp up the aggressiveness of my products/process as stuff that was easy to correct with the PC after a few weeks required the rotary (and aggressive pads/products) a few months later. This was with Spiess Hecker paint. Its hardness in early spring was completely different from its hardness at the end of summer.
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These both sound like a paint hardener issues, where the painter didn't mix his hardener right. Rydawg does tons of work for a shop that uses Spies Hecker and their fresh clear is super hard.



Accumulator - I know you have a relationship with your body shop/painter. Did you ever discuss these softness issues with them?
 
I just had some damage repaired on my wife 2004 Honda Odessey, when I picked it up the body shop told me no wash or detailing for 2 weeks.
 
David Fermani said:
These both sound like a paint hardener issues, where the painter didn't mix his hardener right. Rydawg does tons of work for a shop that uses Spies Hecker and their fresh clear is super hard.



Accumulator - I know you have a relationship with your body shop/painter. Did you ever discuss these softness issues with them?
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Interesting about the differing experiences :think:



The case with the RM paint might've been a QC issue, it was done by a shop I no longer patronize ;) But had it been a bad mix I would have expected it to *stay* stupid-soft instead of hardening up eventually.



On the SH paint (done by Mike at Stoddard Imported cars), it wasn't all *THAT* soft right away, but the hardening sure was noticeable. Same with the Glasurit they've used on a few jobs (which, BTW, doesn't seem to blend nearly as well as the SH, and this is on a fair range of different colors).



Yeah, I have discussed this stuff with them, and even asked if they could tweak the hardener to effect a quicker what-I-want. They said nope, it just takes as long as it takes. Heh heh, when Mike and I get to talking paint, the shop manager just :rolleyes: and thinks "well, he won't be gettimg much more done this afternoon"... No communication problems there :D



When a section of the Jag had to be done with b/c (gee, guess how happy I was about *THAT*! ) it was the same story...he said it wouldn't harden up enough for a final polish for a few months. He expected it to be fully hard before the ss laquer areas though...that stuff takes forever to outgas. This is my other painter, the *really* good one, who just finished a RR Silver Ghost; he's been doing this longer than I've been alive.



I can't help but wonder if it's *that* much hotter in FLA or something :nixweiss I do keep my repaints indoors (climate controlled) but I wouldn't expect that to make a huge difference. Eh... :nixweiss



If you guys are getting optimal hardness right away, more power to you; we're both just going by what we experience first-hand and that's what we oughta put our stock in. Experiences simply differ so when somebody tries to choose between your take on this and mine, well.... you pays your money and you takes your chances ;)
 
dionnfr said:
I just had some damage repaired on my wife 2004 Honda Odessey, when I picked it up the body shop told me no wash or detailing for 2 weeks.
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The cynic in my always thinks that they say that so you don't wash the glaze/fillers out right away, figuring that you'll be less likely to complain in a couple of weeks ;)



Note that the shop almost certainly *already* washed/polished/etc. the areas in question ;)
 
David Fermani said:
I'd say it's as hard as it will get after a few days. Even if it isn't baked.It's the solvents that are outgassing for what some say a few months. I've gotten totally different opinions from dozens of painters. Out of the 1000's of vehicles I've seen, I've never seen a single one that had paint failure from trapped solvents from being sealed. Someone should call Mythbusters.
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I without knowing waxed a day old bumper on a 750 BMW. This happend over a year ago.

We wash and wax it monthly and it looks CHERRY!
 
David Fermani got some interesting feedback when he asked about this stuff on a body/paint-centric forum.





Toyman said:
Why would you need to polish after a new paint/clear coat job?
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Same ol' same ol'....marring. Seems like fresh paint always gets compounded/washed/something before you pick the vehicle up and/or marred by washing, which is especially likely while the new paint is still soft.
 
I have worked with a ton of new paints and some harden within hours and some take days depending on what paint is being used and who mixed it. Rick and I have been doing a few for a custom bodyshop lately and the paint they use and mix harders harder than anything we have ever worked on in 18 years. If you do not compound it within a couple of days you are screwed. Then I have also worked on paint 2 weeks after it was painted and it was still soft and you could still see it outgasing while polishing.



The biggest concern with paint manufactures and paint shops is mostly all waxes contain silicones and some contain dangerous solvents. Silicones and solvents will eat through some paints while making them dull and chaulky. It really depends on what wax/sealant you are using and what paint you are applying it to.



Paint companies have no clue on what waxes some people have in their basement and how old it is. Whether it is high in solvents and/or silicones. So the easy way for them to cover there butt is to say do not use anything.
 
i use to work for a lot of auction prep detail shops! we would get a car about an hour of the cure lights and start sanding right away! buff polish wax the whole nine. never had an issue but then again at that point we really hacked these cars. now adays i work full time for a body shop and i do all the wetsanding and buffing. ill wet sand a car now about 20 minutes after it has been painted. now we never use anything in the shop that has glazes or fillers. reason being is because of the silicone here are some pics this paint when i started sanding was only about 25 minutes old!



here is the paint it dosent get any fresher then this you can see the hardness in it see its dull look



before.jpg




here it is wetsanded flat!



sanded.jpg




here it is finished



finished.jpg






This work was done back in the middle of summer, since the customer has returned to have a cap he had bought for the back of the truck painted and there was no problems with the paint. i waxed this panel with colinites. in case anyone is wondering why i sanded it flat is beacuse the painter used to much reducer and we had some fisheye that need attended to.



but truthfully from my exsperiance as long as the paint is cured properly you should have no problems polishing and waxing right away
 
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