New paint care

[Patman]

I got my Civic back from the body shop yesterday and the paint looks really good! They put on a new rear bumper and also repainted part of the rear quarter panel.

I’m wondering how long I should wait before going through the soft cloth car wash? The shop said one week but I was thinking maybe waiting two just to be safe. In the meantime do you think it would be safe to put Adam’s Graphene detailing spray on the new paint? I was thinking of maybe waiting a few days before doing that though, but I just wanted a little bit of protection from the elements if possible just in case a bird makes a mess on it.

How long should I wait before applying a coat of Meguiar’s Ultimate Fast Finish? (I still have a big supply of it that I grabbed before it was discontinued)

 

[walterjay]

I would wait a month before putting any coatings on the new finish.

 

[Boomer]

I agree with Walterjay..At LEAST a month...maybe 6 weeks to be really safe. Last thing you want to do is to put permanent swirl marks or stains in the new paint. I had the hood on my All Track painted in March and did nothing to it (no wash, no wax) until the end of May.

 

[Patman]

I agree with Walterjay..At LEAST a month...maybe 6 weeks to be really safe. Last thing you want to do is to put permanent swirl marks or stains in the new paint.

That’s a good point but my concern is also about having protection from bird droppings (as mentioned) as well as the fact that when my car is parked in Niagara Falls for my tours, occasionally the mist from the falls reaches my car and that water leaves very hard spots on the finish due to the limestone and other minerals in the water there. I would be concerned about that etching permanently into the paint if there is no protection on it

 

[walterjay]

Maybe drive a different vehicle for a month

 

[Boomer]

If my paint job looked as nice as yours, I would get a car cover for it to use for a couple of months.

 

[Patman]

Maybe drive a different vehicle for a month

I could drive the Corvette more often for a while. I’m taking it to Niagara Falls today actually.

Another concern is that at my girlfriend’s house she has a lot of trees which are currently dropping a lot of sap on the cars in the driveway. I’m actually going to park on the road for a while when I stay there because it’s so bad lately for that

 

[Patman]

If my paint job looked as nice as yours, I would get a car cover for it to use for a couple of months.

I would worry about a cover scratching the new paint more than anything, especially if it’s windy out

 

[iahawk]

I would never run a car through a non touch free car wash! I don't care how soft the cloths...you don't know what dirt and grit was on the car ahead of you. Please don't do it!!

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Good to know about waiting a month before sealing any new paint work. Obviously, it's needs to cure. Wish the can would have told me that. It didn't. I haven''t touched the work I've done on my 06'Camry'. Mostly touch up and spray can clear coat. Looks terrible. But, I really don't care. It will be my daughter's 1st car when she starts driving soon. Yeah, she'll get laughed at at school, but she doesn't care. She just wants to DRIVE. ( Chip off the ole block. LOL ). I'll just remove any overspray from surrounding areas in the meantime. Learn something new on this forum everyday !!! Thanks

 

[Patman]

I would never run a car through a non touch free car wash! I don't care how soft the cloths...you don't know what dirt and grit was on the car ahead of you. Please don't do it!!

I have a monthly membership for a local car wash as I’m more concerned about having the salt washed off the car more frequently in the winter. As much as I want to take care of the paint on this car I do realize it’s my daily driver that I put 25,000 miles a year on it. So it’s not really a show car and the finish does have some light swirls on it

With the Corvette it never sees an automatic car wash

 

[Patman]

Maybe I’m crazy but I’m thinking that if I keep my car in this exact parking spot for the next few days it might help the paint cure quicker because we have sunny weather all of this week and in this particular spot it gets a good amount of that sun for at least the first half of the day and it shines on the side that got the fresh paint. Can the hot sun actually cure the paint quicker?

 

[97prizm]

This isn't hard lacquer paint, it's water based paint. 60-90 days and I'd go with a synthetic sealant over the Maguires

 

[JHZR2]

I wouldn’t put it through a soft cloth wash at all. I’d go very easy on it, maybe waxing in a month. Weather may be a factor. I’d want something sealing it before salt and cinders.

 

[Patman]

I wouldn’t put it through a soft cloth wash at all. I’d go very easy on it, maybe waxing in a month. Weather may be a factor. I’d want something sealing it before salt and cinders.

Thankfully they won’t be salting the roads here for a couple of months so by then I will have a coat of protection on it.

So far my plan of leaving it in the same parking spot is working, no birds have pooped on it and it hasn’t gotten dirty. I’m going to drive the Corvette the next two days for sure. The longer I can go without exposing the new paint to any “risks” the better. I still remember back in the late 80s when I got my 84 Laser repainted (it was brown so I paid Maaco $800 to paint it red) After I got the car out of the body shop I went to the gas station to fill it up and gas spilled out of the fill hole and got onto the fresh paint! It left a terrible mess that was permanent

 

[The Critic]

Uncured aftermarket paint tends to be incredibly vulnerable to permanent etching from bird droppings and water spotting — don’t ask me how I know. I would clean up and contamination as soon as possible.

 

[Patman]

Uncured aftermarket paint tends to be incredibly vulnerable to permanent etching from bird droppings and water spotting — don’t ask me how I know. I would clean up and contamination as soon as possible.

I keep checking the car frequently just to see if that happens and so far so good. I took the Corvette to my girlfriend’s house yesterday and this morning it was covered in tree sap so I’m glad that I didn’t take the Civic. I will probably bring the Corvette there this weekend as well. Her driveway is a huge danger zone for contamination

 

[Patman]

I went out to take a look at the paint again and I noticed a very small spot on it that needed to be wiped off so I just ended up putting some Adam’s Graphene Detailing Spray on all of the freshly painted areas. So I now have a little bit of protection on the paint at least. I will still wait a while before going through the car wash and I will also wait to apply some Meguiars Ultimate Fast Finish.

 

[TMoto]

I keep checking the car frequently just to see if that happens and so far so good. I took the Corvette to my girlfriend’s house yesterday and this morning it was covered in tree sap so I’m glad that I didn’t take the Civic. I will probably bring the Corvette there this weekend as well. Her driveway is a huge danger zone for contamination

Note to self...

If I ever start online dating, be sure to request pics of driveway.

 

[Trav]

Too bad you don't know who the manufacturer of the clear is, if you can find out that would be a big help. Some clears like Nason don't really get bothered by anything after a couple of days, Chroma clear and some PPG are a bit more finicky and SPI clear is a real bugger but a really nice clear (possibly the nicest and most clear of the clear coats), this is what they say...

3. We do not recommend ceramic coatings over any SPI product due to the extensive range
of available products and lack of long-term testing.

9. Use only a pure carnauba wax or a fresh paint safe hand glaze. Only after 90 days of
sunlight can a traditional wax be used.