Repaint question

[danwatt]

Doing a Land Rover Discovery on Sunday. Just got the two driver side doors repainted (neighbor hit it). So it will be about a week after the repaint when I detail it. I know I shouldn`t use any wax or anything on those panels, but what about wet-sanding or compounding (highly doubt the bodyshop did a flawless job). How careful should I be with pad and product selection, or will it not make a difference?

[SpoiledMan]

Nothing special other than the paint is likely still pretty soft so it should polish easy. Top it off with some #80 if you have any.

[HomicidalSloth]

Nothing special other than the paint is likely still pretty soft so it should polish easy. Top it off with some #80 if you have any.



Definitely. Paint is known to be soft after a repaint, so don`t be too agressive on it to start out until you`ve got a good feel for how hard it is. If it really is hard, you can compound, sand, whatever. Just be warned that there`s a chance it could be softer than normal.



As you said, you`ll want to skip waxing, and use a body-shop safe glaze to protect it.

[Accumulator]

DanoWatt- Unless you already have something, you might pick up some Meg`s Deep Crystal step#2 for the repainted panels. It`s not my first choice (that would be #5) but it`s cheap and commonly available.



Be careful with the #80, sometimes it`s too aggressive for paint that fresh. Unless there`s something really awful, I`ll generally wait a while for it to harden some more and correct it then. If possible, I wait until it`s fully cured and just correct it once.

[Accumulator]

DanoWatt- Unless you already have something, you might pick up some Meg`s Deep Crystal step#2 for the repainted panels. It`s not my first choice (that would be #5) but it`s cheap and commonly available.



Be careful with the #80, sometimes it`s too aggressive for paint that fresh. Unless there`s something really awful, I`ll generally wait a while for it to harden some more and correct it then. If possible, I wait until it`s fully cured and just correct it once.

[MorBid]

I`ve wetsanded (starting w/nothing lower than 1200 Grit ) and buffed out w/3m microfinishing compound and a wool pad panels/cars I`ve painted as little as a 24 hours ago (ambient air temp while drying 75 degrees).



Your not really waiting for the BC/CC to fully dry as you are for the solvents to finish "flashing" off when we talk about "fully cured" which is why we don`t "seal" the paint just yet.



The spec sheet for any CC will list when you can sand and polish (air dried or forced) and in the case of the former it`s usually in about 8 hours or less.



I mean bodyshops have to wetsand, cut/polish the panels and they aren`t waiting 90 days.



All that being said, just be mindful that you are working with fresh coats and don`t get to "jiggy" with your work and I think you`ll be find. Look at the non-re-painted panels and use that as a judge as to how much wetsanding you need to do on the newly painted ones.

[Accumulator]

..I mean bodyshops have to wetsand, cut/polish the panels and they aren`t waiting 90 days...



Yeah, but I`ve hardly ever seen fresh-from-the-shop work that`s really *perfect* ;)



I only posted the caveat about using #80 because of the way it was too aggressive for the RM b/c that got used on my old Volvo the last time. Until that paint had fully cured I had to use *super* mild stuff on it or I`d get micromarring; once it had cured for a few months it was much harder and I could use my regular products.



Similar situation with the S8- a week after painting I could easily correct the S-H clear by hand, three months later I needed the rotary; it was a dramatic difference in hardness.