Detailing after bodywork

[PeterGreen]

Well, my wife's 2015 MDX has turned out to be a magnet for dents, one of them by me, a couple of others by a hit and run and a landscaper's trailer. Going to the body shop this weekend, where a fender and a door will be repainted.
Once it comes out, what kind of detailing should I do? should I let the new paint cure before doing anything, or should try to buff out the inevitable overspray that will be on the untouched panels. ?

Would you recommend just a light wash and wax, or a little bit of light polish? Same treatment for the newly painted panels as the old?
Thoughts?

 

[raytseng]

Ask the body shop person when you pick it up.

They should return it to you in really good to perfect condition if they are any good where you don't need to detail anything.

 

[doitmyself]

There should be no over spray anywhere.

A good shop will have a paint booth and they will "bake" it, but nothing like in the factory where they can achieve higher temps..

The rule of thumb is to let it cure a minimum of 30 days before doing anything, especially wax/sealant.

Make sure you tell them you expect them to get the paint color matched well. It's somewhat of an art on many colors.

 

[ryan2022]

Generally you don't want to wax a freshly painted area until it's cured completely. Usually two weeks.

Otherwise, you can buff any areas that a bit of overspray may have landed. I'd hope that they'd mask the whole car though. If it's really mild (paint dust)a clay bar would work too!

Pics after she's out!

 

[Nick1994]

I was going to have my door repainted by an old buddy of my grandfathers who has owned his own body shop for 40 years. I asked this and he said to wait a couple months before waxing it.

 

[Powerglide]

6 months.

 

[mclasser]

Have you considered paintless dent repair?

 

[ryan2022]

Weird, I'd heard two weeks. Well, to be honest I'd listen to the bodywman!

PDR would be the best bet if it was doable. If there are small scratches they could be wet sanded after.

 

[2010Civic]

Do not use any wax or sealant for at least a month. But 2-3 months is even better. You can thowever compound/polish it.

The solvents in the paint take time to be released. A wax traps the solvents in and can weird out the paint.

Leaving the car out in the sun will accelerate this process if you're in a hurry.