polishing after painting-how long to wait?

Before I started detailing, I learned how to spray and do body work, based off my experiences, it depends on a few factors; what paint systems, hardner, baked or not. IE: tractor trailer/aircraft paint (imron) is some serious stuff, the clear after air drying (72 hours) is harder then a rock, and on the other end of the spectrum, "southern urethane" a very soft clear used for alot of hotrod restorations i've done, is a very soft clear (easier wetsanding for mutilple coats of clear) and we've waited a couple months for that stuff to cure. I'd suggest a small test area if you don't know where the car got done, if you do, talk to the guys at the shop. that's my two cents, hope it helps
 
I am doing a lot of work for a local restoration shop. These guys primarily restore old VWs, but occasionally restore other cars, as well as do an occasional paint job for friends on their daily drivers.



The last car I wetsanded and polished was Glasurit single stage on a 1955 Beetle. This paint was very easy to correct. I wetsanded with 2000 to lessen the orange peel (wanted to leave a little there, since they had some orange peel back in 1955), then used 3M ECC with wool on the rotary, then followed with Meguiar's 86 (Solo Polish) using the KBM method on the PC with foam. This worked very well, and I did all of this about a week after the car was painted.



I have also wetsanded and painted base coat / clear coat jobs where the owner selected Omni paint/clears (Omni is a budget brand). I was actually impressed with how the Omni looked on the cars I have seen it used on, and the Omni clear, in my experience, is a little on the harder side. I have worked on these days after being painted. Of course, the shop I polish for preps the car properly prior to painting, so that helps a ton in the final result...even with a cheaper paint.



On one of my personal cars, I had the hood, and front fenders resprayed a while back at a body shop as part of an insurance claim. They used PPG paint, and baked it afterwards. I polished the car about 2 weeks after getting it back, and then applied Zaino for protection. I have had no problems.
 
weekendwarrior said:
IThe last car I wetsanded and polished was Glasurit single stage on a 1955 Beetle. This paint was very easy to correct.
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Sounds awsome....:drool:



Dave - do you prefer the look of a single stage finish over a bc/cc (solid color)?
 
David Fermani said:
Sounds awsome....:drool:



Dave - do you prefer the look of a single stage finish over a bc/cc (solid color)?
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Actually, I really do.



In the case of the single stage 1955 Beetle, single stage was used, because that's what they used back then. The owner got Glasurit paint, the same color as it was from the factory, and paid $900 for a gallon and a half of it.



I'll be honest with you, my 73 Beetle is 2 tone, solid cream white, and light metallic blue - both single stage. Even the metallic looks good in single stage, and I get lots of compliments.
 
weekendwarrior- Cool that he was able to get the ss Glasurit. We were unable to get any ss made up for my Jag, and Glasurit was one of the companies that turned us down (we offered to pay whatever they asked too).



Yeah...high-quality single stage has a wonderful look that you just can't get with b/c. I'm a sucker for ss metallics but man-oh-man do you have to be careful about correcting them; sooner or later it's a matter of living with any subsequent marring.
 
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.
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Unless the reducer was contminated, the fish eyes are from somewhere else.

Could be that he didn't allow for enough flash time after the W&G remover.

Water borne W&G tends to evaporate slower than solvent based. Heck, the

contaminants can come from anywhere, really.
 
rydawg:



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.
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Would be cool if you can find out what they're using (exact part#'s).



I shoot basically 2 types of clears. Hard clears for most collision "type" jobs and softer

clears for custom - well maintained - jobs (generally).
 
Dont wait you can polish and seal to your hearts content...you wont hurt the paint. New paint is a bit softer so be careful if you use a rotary polisher. New base coat clear coats are almost bulletproof. i wetsand Mercedes Benzes the day after they are painted...I tell customers Wax them in 30 days or less. Even if you wax them SOONER that is almost never a problem.
 
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