"car wax will ruin clearcoat"

[The Enforcer]

thanks yakky and longdx.....those are probably the best ways i have seen it put!

[yakky]

Originally Posted by The Enforcer

thanks yakky and longdx.....those are probably the best ways i have seen it put!

No worries. Just let him feel your freshly clayed, polished and waxed paint. Then have him feel his.

[Scottwax]

Originally Posted by the_invisible

BMW advises owners to use ONLY approved BMW waxes and quick detailer spray waxes. None of their car care products has any cleaner or polishes in it.

Removing defects is simply removing paints to even out the scratches. Why would manufacturers want you to do that? In case there is clear coat failure on a vehicle under the warranty period, the entity responsible for paying for the damage is ultimately the manufacturer. One must understand the reasons for manufacturers to make these suggestions.

Yet BMW will spot buff cars out of the paint booth, which not only removes paint but they do so horribly, I have to go behind them and remove more clear to remove the swirls.

[advs1]

why do people say you have to wait for paint to cure before waxing? or washing? or sanding?

i have been working with body shops for decades, and each and every one washes, color sands/buffs and waxes the cars 1 day after painting. not saying they do the best job finishing, but even high end cars are handled the same. i have painted a few panels myself and seeing all the activator and infrared lights used to cure them, i dont see how waiting 2 months makes a difference?

and now in cali we have water borne paints that are way different than the older base coat/clear coat. i have been working with a painter recently and he's been showing me the new system and that paint is rock hard!

[the_invisible]

Originally Posted by Scottwax

Yet BMW will spot buff cars out of the paint booth, which not only removes paint but they do so horribly, I have to go behind them and remove more clear to remove the swirls.

hehe I agree.

Besides if I somehow burn through the paint using my polishes, I would not ask BMW to warrant for my own defect.

[efnfast]

Originally Posted by yakky

Anytime you touch your paint, you put swirls on it. If you are carful, you won't be able to see them with your own eyes.



"The leading car wax"

From:

Optimum Car Wax is a spray wax made with real carnauba and synthetic paint sealants for protection & shine! high-grade carnauba wax and silicone

That's pretty vague. "Leading brand". What does that mean - turtle wax in a can?

[the other pc]

Originally Posted by advs1

why do people say you have to wait for paint to cure before waxing? or washing? or sanding? ...

Because every paint manufacturer says to wait (typically somewhere between 60 and 120 days) before waxing a newly sprayed finish.

Sanding, washing, compounding and polishing? People make that up because somebody misinterpreted the waxing thing and it grew from there. Paint manufacturers give you specific instructions on how you're supposed to do those in the first so many hours after spraying.

Originally Posted by advs1

...each and every one washes, color sands/buffs and waxes the cars 1 day after painting. ...

There is no reason to wax a car in the paint shop. The rest of the stuff is part of the painting process.

Originally Posted by advs1

... seeing all the activator and infrared lights used to cure them, i dont see how waiting 2 months makes a difference? ...

Ovens and IR panel heaters only knock the first few hours off of the curing cycle, enough time to get to sand, cut and buff right after spraying instead of waiting until the next day. Full cure still takes weeks.




pc

[the_invisible]

Originally Posted by advs1

why do people say you have to wait for paint to cure before waxing? or washing? or sanding?

i have been working with body shops for decades, and each and every one washes, color sands/buffs and waxes the cars 1 day after painting. not saying they do the best job finishing, but even high end cars are handled the same. i have painted a few panels myself and seeing all the activator and infrared lights used to cure them, i dont see how waiting 2 months makes a difference?

and now in cali we have water borne paints that are way different than the older base coat/clear coat. i have been working with a painter recently and he's been showing me the new system and that paint is rock hard!

I agree. Would bodyshops hand the newly repaired cars back to the customers while the cars are covered in thick bodyshop dust? Probably not. Waxing, of course, is a different story. Solvent still needs to be able to scape, and wax hinders the evaporation process.

I have wetsanded and buffed new paint jobs literally 5hrs after they were flash baked with infrared or UV lights. No issue whatsoever. In fact, the paints were fairly hard then. Of course, being new paint jobs, I still opted for gentle methods for sanding marks removal by using a PFW and M105.

And you are correct, for environmental waste, energy saving, and health reasons, the bodyshop industry is slowly transitioning from using solvent based paints to water based paints. Solvent based paints is believe by the European Union agencies to be a source of skin and nasal cancer among autoworkers.
Water based paints cure much quicker. They can also finish much smoother in some cases than solvent based paint with skilled techniques. I am extremely impressed by some of the quality and durability of water based paints. They don't even smell as strong as solvent based paints.

[RS1TC]

That photo of the "leading brand" is used in the article to indicate that some car waxes have abrasives in their "wax" which is why when you look for a wax you need to check the ingredients for abrasives. Reading the included link does the picture more justice than its use in this thread.

[craigdt]

So what product has been done an injustice by the photo's use in this context? Which "wax" has abrasives in it, and not simply chemical cleaners?

[MuttGrunt]

The Invisible, I agree with you to a point. Water-borne and water-based base coats are picking up a lot of momentum thanks to them not having all the VOC's that solvent-borne & based base coats have. What's being over-looked is that there still isn't anything other than solvents for clear-coat.

The custom painters / guys doing crazy paint jobs will no doubt really like the water based stuff once they get the hang of it due to the super fast application of various layers. No need to wait and wait and wait. The Europeans have been all over this stuff, and it's at least good to know there are more positive things about it other than just air quality/pollution.

Aside from that - once again The Other PC gave very good information about spraying and cure time, and when it comes down to it - it's not worth the risk of waxing too early

[jdoria]

Tell your boy to read the owners manual. I'm sure there are notes about washing and waxing.