Detailing Information (fresh paint)

[nickk678]

Hi guys,

I get my car back from paint tomorrow or Thursday (had the whole car re-painted after an accident). I'm looking for some detailing tips.

I've done a lot of reading and searching in this section and read alot of the tutorials and info that some of you have posted (Nastystang, DKS, Seer, etc). You guys do a top notch job. Unfortunately, I do not have the time or money currently to spend detailing right now. I've been trying to find a good median between all the info on here as to how I should go about washing and detailing, but everyone has there own methods and sticks by their own products.

My last Mustang, my method was wash, towel dry, clay bar, NXT wax. It looked alright, but not nearly like some of your cars do.

So far, things I will change after researching here:
- two bucket method of washing with grit guard in soap bucket
- sheeting method to pre-dry then dry car with leaf blower
- polish, seal, THEN wax

I don't have a buffer/orbital, so will do this all by hand. Also, since this is a fresh paint job, I'm not sure how aggressive the polish should be (or if it is even necessary). I'm also looking for recommendations on products I can pick up from the local Murray's/O'Reilly/Autozone, etc off the shelf (soap, polish, seal, wax, etc).

Thanks for the help all.

Nick K.

 

[DKS]

Do not wax or seal the car right now, give it a few months for the paint to cure.

You can polish with certain polishes like M205, but do not use any all in one polishes, if you have a question about a specific polish, ask me, or you can contact the manufacturer and make sure it's safe for fresh paint.

If you wash and dry the car properly, you probably won't need to polish it for awhile anyway.

If you're going for the cheap stuff at Vatozone, just get you some NXT for sealant and some M205 polish. I've seen the M105/M205 at some auto parts stores, IIRC. You shouldn't need M105 since it's fresh paint and you're doing the 2 bucket method and a leaf blower, IMO.

Meguiar's Gold Class shampoo is fine, just make sure with any shampoo that you use the correct amounts for what you are doing.

As far as wax, I'm not sure what to tell you. I say order some Natty's Blue for $25 and be done with it. It's not the best wax in the world, but it's very very good for $25 and it's easy as pie to apply and remove by hand (get the paste version)

 

[MADGT]

You will have a chance very few get and that is to begin treating the paint right from the beginning. So get plenty of microfiber towels...most of your scratches and swirls will come from contaminated, nor completely clean towels and applicators.

 

[RoushSpeedster]

you mentioned not an all in one polish ive been using Meguiars Ultimate Polish that says use with a DA. What do you know about this?

 

[HellsBells]

If it's fresh paint, I say do nothing but a simple wash and dry until it's completely cured. Like DKS said, ~3 months should be good.

 

[NastyStang113]

It's completely dependent on the paint, application, curing conditions, etc. Contact your painter for the right information. My painter says a couple weeks is good enough. I end up using 30 days. I used to use 90 days as a rule of thumb but have since listened to my painter and haven't had any issues. I also wouldn't even wash it for a week as the paint is going to be soft and the most susceptible to swirls, micromarring, etc.

You will have a chance very few get and that is to begin treating the paint right from the beginning. So get plenty of microfiber towels...most of your scratches and swirls will come from contaminated, nor completely clean towels and applicators.

This is correct but you're probably more at risk during washing. Washing is one of the most important steps that needs to be done 100% correct.

 

[nickk678]

Thanks for the info so far guys. I should get the car back today, so I'll ask the guys at the shop what they think regarding curing. I'll report back with info.

 

[Seer]

most paints "out-gas" in less than 2 weeks. 99% of cars aren't painted with old school lacquers. This is another one of those old rules that need to go away, like oil changes every 3k.

It's perfectly ok to "wax" paint thats only a few days old. Since Carnauba's are pourous. Sealing on the other hand, you may want to wait 2 weeks.

 

[DKS]

most paints "out-gas" in less than 2 weeks. 99% of cars aren't painted with old school lacquers. This is another one of those old rules that need to go away, like oil changes every 3k.

It's perfectly ok to "wax" paint thats only a few days old. Since Carnauba's are pourous. Sealing on the other hand, you may want to wait 2 weeks.

I'm no body man or paint expert by any means.

I'd say you're right. However, when I got mine painted at the dealership after hitting the deer, the shop told me to wait 3 months to be on the safe side before I used anything other than "paint booth safe" polish. I feel it's better safe than sorry. I talked to these guys a lot over the time my car was being fixed and they were always talking about all these paint conventions and crap they had to go to all the time. I'd hope they were up to date on the paints they used if the were constantly being sent to seminars on the subject. But, who says they paid attention, lol

 

[DKS]

you mentioned not an all in one polish ive been using Meguiars Ultimate Polish that says use with a DA. What do you know about this?

From Meg's site. . . .


Aftermarket / refinish paint jobs continue to cure for two to three months after being sprayed onto the finish. During this curing time paint manufactures recommend NOT to apply a "wax" or "protectant" to the finish. This is because solvents and other volatile paint components are still evaporating out of the paint.
However, you can safely use many of Meguiar's washes and polishes during this curing period on fresh paint without fear of causing any damage. Many of Meguiar's polishes are wax and silicone free, and will not seal the surface of the finish. This means the paint can continue to properly cure throughout the recommended curing period.
Meguiar's fresh paint safe polishes

• M-03 Machine Glaze
• M-05 New Car Glaze
• M-07 Show Car Glaze
• M-09 Swirl Remover
• M-80 Speed Glaze
• M-82 Swirl Free Polish
• A-21 Deep Crystal Polish

Funny that they don't mention M205, cause I'm relatively positive it's safe as well.

 

[Seer]

I'm saying from experience, its safe to wax, just don't seal. Just wait a few weeks for the out gassing. Solvents found in a carnauba wax are not anywhere near as volatile as those found within a sealant.

I'm no body man or paint expert by any means.

I'd say you're right. However, when I got mine painted at the dealership after hitting the deer, the shop told me to wait 3 months to be on the safe side before I used anything other than "paint booth safe" polish. I feel it's better safe than sorry. I talked to these guys a lot over the time my car was being fixed and they were always talking about all these paint conventions and crap they had to go to all the time. I'd hope they were up to date on the paints they used if the were constantly being sent to seminars on the subject. But, who says they paid attention, lol

I'm not a body guy either, but I've been asked to detail a few cars that were recently painted, and were on tight deadlines to be sent to shows.

From Meg's site. . . .


Aftermarket / refinish paint jobs continue to cure for two to three months after being sprayed onto the finish. During this curing time paint manufactures recommend NOT to apply a "wax" or "protectant" to the finish. This is because solvents and other volatile paint components are still evaporating out of the paint.
However, you can safely use many of Meguiar's washes and polishes during this curing period on fresh paint without fear of causing any damage. Many of Meguiar's polishes are wax and silicone free, and will not seal the surface of the finish. This means the paint can continue to properly cure throughout the recommended curing period.
Meguiar's fresh paint safe polishes

• M-03 Machine Glaze
• M-05 New Car Glaze
• M-07 Show Car Glaze
• M-09 Swirl Remover
• M-80 Speed Glaze
• M-82 Swirl Free Polish
• A-21 Deep Crystal Polish

Funny that they don't mention M205, cause I'm relatively positive it's safe as well.

Thats because Meguiars does not make a pure carnauba wax. Even their M26 and Gold Class contain silicones and polymeres. They're hybrids.

M26/Gold Class clout themselves as "waxes" but at the end of the day, their properties are still very sealant like. I knoq for fact like NXT Gold Class also has cleaners in it, since it is a retail formulated product. They love the "tech" waxes.

 

[nickk678]

Hi guys,

I picked up the car and talked to the painter today. It looks fantastic first off (until driving home I got stuck in the rain for about 2 minutes). The shop spent A LOT of extra time fixing small dings and chips that they didn't have to and normally wouldn't. In fact, they shouldn't have repainted the whole car but did anyway. Having a father-in-law that spends boat loads of money at the same collision shop paid off! (he builds and restores late 60s, early 70s Camaros for those that are interested)

Anyway, the body shop actually waxed the car 5 days after painting. He said with today's paints, you don't need to wait a long time like you used to. He also recommended nothing but waxing (if necessary) until at least next spring/summer when the car comes back out as long as the car is taken care of and stored properly.

 

[nickk678]

Here's an update.

Just bought some stuff from autogeek's website.

3 Cobra Micro-Chenille Wash Mitts
128oz DP Auto Bath shampoo (doesn't strip wax)
2 5 gallon buckets with grit guards
Wolfgang Tire and Wheel Kit

The body shop put a lot of wax on the vehicle, so I imagine I won't need to do anything to the car other than wash it for the next month or so. Once I feel the wax starting to wear, I guess the next step is to buy a wash that will strip the wax so I can re-apply. My question then becomes - do I just re-apply wax?

Here's a cell phone pic as well (bought this from paypay, you may have seen it before)

I'll get some better pictures up after my autogeek delivery arrives and I wash it - it is dusty right now!

 

[Seer]

Well... wax doesn't layer. So the body shop either put some wax on the car multiple times which did nothing but just ensure uniform coverage. Or they did nothing at all.

There is no such thing as "putting a lot of wax" on a car. Just a fyi.

 

[nickk678]

Well... wax doesn't layer. So the body shop either put some wax on the car multiple times which did nothing but just ensure uniform coverage. Or they did nothing at all.

There is no such thing as "putting a lot of wax" on a car. Just a fyi.

Seer,

Then it is a high quality wax? It feels much different than the NXT I am used to putting on my vehicles. Very smooth and uniform. Looks better too (though I'm sure the fresh paint helps). I did not know that wax doesn't layer - that is good information to know for detailing-idiots like myself.

 

[NastyStang113]

Seer,

Then it is a high quality wax? It feels much different than the NXT I am used to putting on my vehicles. Very smooth and uniform. Looks better too (though I'm sure the fresh paint helps). I did not know that wax doesn't layer - that is good information to know for detailing-idiots like myself.

I doubt the body shop is using anything we consider a "high quality wax". More than likely you're just feeling the difference between a paint with wax that doesn't have containments in the paint and paint that does and needs to be clay bar'd.

 

[Pumpkinfish]

They probably used Ardex products. Seems like every body shop I have been too has Ardex on the shelves.

 

[Seer]

Seer,

Then it is a high quality wax? It feels much different than the NXT I am used to putting on my vehicles. Very smooth and uniform. Looks better too (though I'm sure the fresh paint helps). I did not know that wax doesn't layer - that is good information to know for detailing-idiots like myself.

The term layering, is a marketing gimic, spun by a certain company that goes by the phrase, more is better to get people to buy more, and feel that if you don't have 50 layers on your car, your car isn't protected.

The most amount of coats any car can really sustain is roughly 2, and that's really just to ensure you have uniform coverage.

What you're experiencing is fresh paint, no contaminents. The surface prep and paint is 90% of a car's overall finish. The last 10% goes into waxes/top coats. So if we took two cars both with $20,000 paint jobs, they would both look amazing.

You take one of the cars and put some low grade wax, say Turtle Wax Ice, it would still most likely win most car shows because of its paint and prep.

Take the other car and put on a Concours style wax, and there will be a difference. But at the end of the day, the real shine is in the paint work and prep.

 

[paypay2345]

Man i miss that Car let me know when you are ready to sell it back haha!!!!

 

[Tungsten Stang]

I agree 100% with SEER and Nasty Stang. I have been in the paint and body industry for 13 years. Paints of today don't need the cure time they used to require. A kandy paint job will take a little longer. (I recommend 2-3 month) but for a base,clear paint job maybe 3 weeks. just use a "breathable wax" (carnuba) and you will be fine. Most likely there is no wax on the car just buffing compound, swirl remover, and a glaze. The owner of the shop I wprk at freaks out if he sees you use a wax, or a customer with a car bra on he is so old school and clueless!