Fresh paint, how long before I can apply wax?

[Ghost410]

I`m not sure if this is the correct section to post this in, I hope it is. But anyway, I just had my front bumper resprayed and am wondering how long before I can glaze/seal/wax?



Thank you in advance.

[velobard]

This has been addressed a bunch of times, a lot of us wish there was a sticky about it at the top of the forum. Conventional wisdom says 1-3 months. Lean toward the shorter time if the body shop had an oven to help kick-start the curing process, lean toward the longer time if you want to play it safe. Somewhere on here there`s a post from a user, I think the id is mirrorfinishman, where he contacted paint manufacturers who usually had a recommendation averaging about 3 months. That`s to allow the paint time to outgas as it fully cures and hardens. There are products that are safe to use, such as body-shop safe glazes and QDs, such as Meguiar`s #5 glaze and #34 QD. Finish Kare claims their 2180 sealant is safe and allows outgassing, but a lot of folks here are skeptical of that.

[imported_smprince1]

You can top with Megs #80 Speed Glaze for now.



However, wait some time to use a sealant or wax so that the paint can fully cure.



Cure times vary considerably with type of paint, temperature/humidity, etc. Personally, I would wait at least 2 months to be safe, and #80 or something similar will provde protection during that time. Many here say to wait longer, and I don`t dispute that either.

[chml17l]

This has been addressed a bunch of times, a lot of us wish there was a sticky about it at the top of the forum.





+1 :hifive:



OK mods, why no sticky????

[Wasatch]

I was told 30 days.

[velobard]

Here`s a link to MirrorFinishMan`s post on info he got from paint companies about curing time before it`s safe to wax a repaint.

http://autopia.org/forum/showpost.php?p=647893&postcount=19

[awahl63]

I wait 90 days...

[Accumulator]

What velobard linked to.



NO sooner than 120 days for me, better safe than sorry. And that`s on baked paint.



Watch it with the #80 if the paint is really fresh, sometimes it has to harden a bit before it can take the initial bite of the #80`s abrasives (had some RM b/c that was just awful in this regard for the first few months). I generally go with something like #3/#5/#7/#81/Deep Crystal #2 and just wait to use abrasives.

[imported_smprince1]

Watch it with the #80 if the paint is really fresh, sometimes it has to harden a bit before it can take the initial bite of the #80`s abrasives (had some RM b/c that was just awful in this regard for the first few months). I generally go with something like #3/#5/#7/#81/Deep Crystal #2 and just wait to use abrasives.



Thanks Accumulator for clarifying. You are correct if the paint is really fresh that the abbrasives in #80 can have too much bite. I usually wait a week or more and proceed with caution. Non-aggresive pad and light pressure also.

[Ghost410]

Alright well hopefully I can make this work. The bumper was pained 2 weeks ago (Just the front bumper) and the car is being shot for a magazine in about a month (I`ll post up some pictures of that day when it rolls around) I just wanted it to be detailed perfect when the time comes.



So I guess I`ll just wait it out and keep the bumper super clean.

[Anthony O.]

I have talked with 2 people, one an actual paint chemist....the guy who makes the paint used on repaints and also a person who manufacturers products and both state that you can apply a wax 24 hours after repaint.



David of Optimum Technologies is (and many people don`t know this) actually "DR." David Ghoudoussi. The guy is an organic chemist who used to make the paints for PPG and he staes that you can wax a fresh repaint hours after it is done. It will gas off through the wax.



Ron Ketcham of Valugard also told me the very same thing. ValuGard has a wax that can be used on fresh repaints. No one....NO ONE has sued ValuGard because their paint failed to cure as a result of using their wax.



Has anyone asked a paint rep or body shop how long they warranty their paint??



Antony

[Sad, little man]

What about applying badges to fresh paint? Wouldn`t that be as bad or worse than wax?

[Accumulator]

What about applying badges to fresh paint? Wouldn`t that be as bad or worse than wax?



I doubt anybody would care as the paint in question is covered by the badge.



Note that the *only* issue here is the hardening of the paint. If you prevent the outgassing it won`t fail, bubble, cloud up, or otherwise have issues, it just won`t get as hard as it potentially *can* get. Not the biggest issue in the world.



Anthony- Please don`t take this as an :argue or anything, but I`m gonna go with what the paint manufacturers say. When I experimented with fresh repaints (intentionally on the S8 and unintentionally on the Volvo :rolleyes: ) they got a *lot* harder over the course of a few months, and I wouldn`t want to risk compromising that hardening process by blocking the outgassing. I`m afraid that the proof will be soft paint that I`ll end up having redone and it`s a risk I just don`t want to take.



AutoInt (heh heh, no, I`m not gonna argue with Ron about it ;) ) and FK both claim their sealants are fresh-prepaint-safe, but they don`t explain the details of why/how a wax/sealant can allow the outgassing to occur, the details of it`s permeability (at least they haven`t explained it to me in a way I found satisfactory; I oughta ask Ron about it sometime). I`m not saying it can`t work that way, just that I don`t know so I`m erring on the side of caution and advising that others do the same.



Easy for me to say to wait, my vehicles are pretty pampered so using a glaze for 3-4 months isn`t a big deal for me. Might be a big deal to others, perhaps a bigger deal than how hard the paint gets.



I`ll allow that perhaps *the paint manufacturers* are erring on the side of caution also when they say to wait, doing a CYA thing so people don`t blame the paint for a problem caused by something else :nixweiss But they sure are adamant about not waxing too soon.