Repaint question

danwatt

danwatt

Doing stuff.
Doing a Land Rover Discovery on Sunday. Just got the two driver side doors repainted (neighbor hit it). So it will be about a week after the repaint when I detail it. I know I shouldn't use any wax or anything on those panels, but what about wet-sanding or compounding (highly doubt the bodyshop did a flawless job). How careful should I be with pad and product selection, or will it not make a difference?
 
Nothing special other than the paint is likely still pretty soft so it should polish easy. Top it off with some #80 if you have any.
 
SpoiledMan said:
Nothing special other than the paint is likely still pretty soft so it should polish easy. Top it off with some #80 if you have any.
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Definitely. Paint is known to be soft after a repaint, so don't be too agressive on it to start out until you've got a good feel for how hard it is. If it really is hard, you can compound, sand, whatever. Just be warned that there's a chance it could be softer than normal.



As you said, you'll want to skip waxing, and use a body-shop safe glaze to protect it.
 
DanoWatt- Unless you already have something, you might pick up some Meg's Deep Crystal step#2 for the repainted panels. It's not my first choice (that would be #5) but it's cheap and commonly available.



Be careful with the #80, sometimes it's too aggressive for paint that fresh. Unless there's something really awful, I'll generally wait a while for it to harden some more and correct it then. If possible, I wait until it's fully cured and just correct it once.
 
DanoWatt- Unless you already have something, you might pick up some Meg's Deep Crystal step#2 for the repainted panels. It's not my first choice (that would be #5) but it's cheap and commonly available.



Be careful with the #80, sometimes it's too aggressive for paint that fresh. Unless there's something really awful, I'll generally wait a while for it to harden some more and correct it then. If possible, I wait until it's fully cured and just correct it once.
 
I've wetsanded (starting w/nothing lower than 1200 Grit ) and buffed out w/3m microfinishing compound and a wool pad panels/cars I've painted as little as a 24 hours ago (ambient air temp while drying 75 degrees).



Your not really waiting for the BC/CC to fully dry as you are for the solvents to finish "flashing" off when we talk about "fully cured" which is why we don't "seal" the paint just yet.



The spec sheet for any CC will list when you can sand and polish (air dried or forced) and in the case of the former it's usually in about 8 hours or less.



I mean bodyshops have to wetsand, cut/polish the panels and they aren't waiting 90 days.



All that being said, just be mindful that you are working with fresh coats and don't get to "jiggy" with your work and I think you'll be find. Look at the non-re-painted panels and use that as a judge as to how much wetsanding you need to do on the newly painted ones.
 
MorBid said:
..I mean bodyshops have to wetsand, cut/polish the panels and they aren't waiting 90 days...
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Yeah, but I've hardly ever seen fresh-from-the-shop work that's really *perfect* ;)



I only posted the caveat about using #80 because of the way it was too aggressive for the RM b/c that got used on my old Volvo the last time. Until that paint had fully cured I had to use *super* mild stuff on it or I'd get micromarring; once it had cured for a few months it was much harder and I could use my regular products.



Similar situation with the S8- a week after painting I could easily correct the S-H clear by hand, three months later I needed the rotary; it was a dramatic difference in hardness.
 
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