Virgin paint waxing question??

[6C4GTS]

My car is in getting its end of season beauty treatment which includes getting the front bumper resprayed to remove stone chips.

Car will be slow baked so paint should be ready for treatment on collection.
On the car as it stands I polish with Autoglym Super Resin Polish follow with Extra Gloss protection to seal and then numerous applications of HD Wax.

As the paint is fresh - where do I start? Do I still need SRP to allow the EGP to bond or can I go straight onto EGP before the wax??

TIA

[Red 4]

The bodyshop will probably tell you it's ok to polish, etc. After all, they will have polished it already

Personally, I'd leave it for a month or so before polishing it yourself. The fresh paint will need time to cure (harden) properly, it will still be gassing off and EGP is a sealant

[6C4GTS]

Red 4 said:

The bodyshop will probably tell you it's ok to polish, etc. After all, they will have polished it already

Personally, I'd leave it for a month or so before polishing it yourself. The fresh paint will need time to cure (harden) properly, it will still be gassing off and EGP is a sealant

Body shop are of the opinion that it is cured when it leaves the low bake oven - is this incorrect?

[domster]

I would always leave 90 days before sealing it... it can still be outgassing. Paint/clearcoat is 'cured' enough to POLISH when fresh, but should not be waxed/sealed as a general precaution for a month or so. It does depend on the paint system and the huge number of variables, but there is a difference in treatment between polishing (no sealing action) and waxing/sealing (protection, may prevent outgassing).

[6C4GTS]

Fair enough - other than not driving anyone got any ideas how to avoid/protect from stonechips while I am waiting to seal the paint and wax it??

[Mattt]

I was told to wait 2 weeks before Paintshield was applied to my resprayed front end on the TVR.

90 days sounds very long!

[Red 4]

6C4GTS said:

Fair enough - other than not driving anyone got any ideas how to avoid/protect from stonechips while I am waiting to seal the paint and wax it??

sealant/ wax won't give you any protection against stone chips

venture shield paint protection film or vinyl wrap if that's your thing

or selotape

[6C4GTS]

Mattt said:

I was told to wait 2 weeks

That I could manage!

[6C4GTS]

Red 4 said:

paint protection film or selotape

I'd rather just respray the paint than have chipped selotape over sound paint..............when the self healing film is common place I may review this.

[Mattt]

My car has no marks on the film, whereas I'm sure there would be some chips by now on the paint.

[gi daddy]

i work in the body shop ,when its baked,its not fully curred ,it being baked is so we can carry on production.Leave for 2 weeks for waxing.Yes we do polish 2 to 4 hours later ,thats only to get any dirt nids out ,ready for the customer .we would prefer to polish 2 days later ,but the customer needs his car.

[6C4GTS]

Thanks for the replies guys - I'll wait a few weeks before using EGP.
On the paint film subject - I have in my head its about 2-300 quid for the front bumper and up to 5-600 if you include the bonnet and front of the wings - does this seem about right?

[Mattt]

Speak to PHer Guam at Paintshield, he'll tell you what's what.

[kds keltec]

As said on here ,

time between 2-6 weeks , this is due to many factors .

Paint is best left to "sit and cure" i call settle for at least a few days before heavy defect removal and machine polishing .

For waxes does depend on type of LSP'S (last step protection) is it man made nano sealent or closer to a natural wax .

Sealent will seal the paint much better than a natural wax so slowing stopping the gassing action .

what type of paint was used ? how many coats ? baked or not ? how long baked for ? what temp was it baked for ?

This is why the company's that make and supply the materials for painting say 6 weeks to cover themselves .

I have had Reps (for paint companys not wax suppliers) say that they have seen these dealer protection coatings (good and bad ones) applied over fresh paint and not notice or heard of any problems

so make your own mind up

HTH

Kelly

[domster]

It is true, I have rarely seen or heard of actual issues. You may be fine getting the wax on a few days later and I have even seen paint protection film go over paint that is a few days old (only a real issue on removal when the paint tends to come with it!).

90 days would be playing it very cautiously indeed... I should really have specified 'up to 90 days' as that is what some bodyshop people had told me in the past to be absolutely certain that the paint had fully outgassed - although it could depend on humidity/climate. Paint will outgass slower in humid climates, for example.

Kelly's 4-6 weeks sounds more realistic in a non-humid climate like we have in the UK, TBH.

[6C4GTS]

Thanks all - I'll leave it about 4 weeks then get the EGP on and wax with AGHD on top of that.

Got a price of 395 to fit paint protection film to the new bumper.

That's twice what I pay for paint so maybe just keep respraying sealing and waxing!!

[Mattt]

BTW Dom -

I couldn't get the taste of those carnauba flakes out of my mouth at Goodwood!

[domster]

Mattt, send me an email to dom -at- dodojuice -dot- com with your name and address on and I'll sort a special carnauba treat for you to make up for the raw flake experience

[Anatol]

All the above on waiting before waxing is good advice with one exception - the paint skin will be fully cured and ready to wax *if* (and only if) it's been baked by catalyic IR curing. For various technical reasons this baking process completes the off-gassing and cross-linking process by the time the car is out of the booth and in the car park. Shops that have invested in the technology are rare however. (ahem) ;-)

[ShieldandProtect]

Not fully cured for at least 2 weeks, leave for 30 days if you can as even though baked and the rest of it, it will be off-gassing and cross-linking for weeks to come. You can avoid a lot of stone chips in the meantime by avoiding sitting right up the rear of cars you are following, other than that is't Russian roulette whether you'll get any, maybe touch those odd ones in if you get any and have some ppf put on, better to protect what you have than pay time and time again for a paint job that will never be anywhere near as good as the original factory paint.