Coating cure times

[c5longhorn]

I applied McKee`s 37 ceramic coating on Monday, May 4th in Houston Texas. I just noticed a scratch I would like to polish out and then touch up with the coating while I`m doing another vehicle tomorrow.

Is it ok to apply painters tape to the surface after 5 days of cure time to mask off the areas around the small spot?

Thanks,

Rick

[Stokdgs]

Painters tape applied 120 hours after the application should not be a problem..
Dan F

[The Guz]

You can give it a shot. Most coatings don`t blend well to touch ups as that one spot will look a bit different. Worst case you have to polish the entire panel.

[c5longhorn]

You can give it a shot. Most coatings don`t blend well to touch ups as that one spot will look a bit different. Worst case you have to polish the entire panel.

Thank you both for the replies. It`s in the grill area on the hood of a Viper so worth a shot before redoing entire hood.

Rick

[Accumulator]

You can give it a shot. Most coatings don`t blend well to touch ups as that one spot will look a bit different. Worst case you have to polish the entire panel.I`d wondered if that`s still the case (products advance all the time..), sounds like it is.

[Ron Ketcham]

Be it the older PDMS polymer or the new ceramic sealants, all require air to create the crosslinking/cure.
While most may be "buffed" with a towel,etc to remove the dried indicators, actually the curing usually continues for 7 days, as air is the needed element--aerobic cure is the term.
Flush with water and the ability to attain a full cure comes to a stop.
Much as if I held your head under water, no air--results not good.

[Ron Ketcham]

This not allowing full cure before flushing with water, be it a car wash or a rain maybe why some do not get the full lasting protection from some brands of products.

[Accumulator]

Ron Ketcham- You might`ve seen this Q coming: What`s the "cure" info for FK1000P. It always seems a little different after ~24hours or so, and I try to keep anything other than FK425 off it for that long.

[Desertnate]

You can give it a shot. Most coatings don`t blend well to touch ups as that one spot will look a bit different. Worst case you have to polish the entire panel.

Very good advice. I learned this lesson the hard way.

[William_Wallace]

Be it the older PDMS polymer or the new ceramic sealants, all require air to create the crosslinking/cure.
While most may be "buffed" with a towel,etc to remove the dried indicators, actually the curing usually continues for 7 days, as air is the needed element--aerobic cure is the term.
Flush with water and the ability to attain a full cure comes to a stop.
Much as if I held your head under water, no air--results not good.

most of the coating need the water vapor in the air for the magic to happen. The one coating I used kisho 901 was such a difficult application it require extra H20 to cure. For every 10 drops of coating I did 2 drops water. Put them together right on applicator then applied. Also the one Modesta coating needs damp applicator... I’ve heard .... that one is out my league. The kisho coating itself has lasted two years for me on multiple occasions and could keep going but a polish was need. It only costs 12$ straight from Japan shipping is 35$ and u can buy bulk or multiple bottles.

The comments about hard to spot match is good advice doing spots never worked out always had to do the panel

[c5longhorn]

Yeah, I may end up having to do the panel but will give it a shot since it`s in a recessed area.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200511/cfa50255f0821aacb6f390276c24172c.jpg

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Ron Ketcham]

It is polymer based but with little carrier solvent, while it performs well within a few hours,same as any aerobic cure polymer- up to 7 days to complete.

[The Guz]

I`d wondered if that`s still the case (products advance all the time..), sounds like it is.

It’s not the actual protection product. It’s the polishing that makes it stand out more. More pronounced on a an aged coating.

[Accumulator]

C5Longhorn- Oh boy, I sure hope you *can* do just that small area...this is one of my big issues with the current Coatings.

Ron Ketcham & The Guz- Thanks guys, appreciate the info as always :D

The Guz- That did, however, raise another, or at least a more specific, Q: if the polishing were done just to the extent necessary to get the coating to "work right", would it still show? Eh, I`m probably not being clear :o Gotta repolish before reapplying the coating or the coating won`t adhere, right? Like...I`m wondering about what C5Longhorn will really have to do over that little area..sheesh, redoing the whole hood?!?

[Desertnate]

The Guz- That did, however, raise another, or at least a more specific, Q: if the polishing were done just to the extent necessary to get the coating to "work right", would it still show? Eh, I`m probably not being clear :o Gotta repolish before reapplying the coating or the coating won`t adhere, right? Like...I`m wondering about what C5Longhorn will really have to do over that little area..sheesh, redoing the whole hood?!?

From my experience, there is something about polishing out an area and re-applying a coating that makes it look different. You have to be really careful. The area in question may be OK if he only polishes the vertical area and it doesn`t extend beyond that recessed area.

Last year when I got my new car I tried to apply a coating in weather conditions that were really not suitable. It was way too hot. On top of that, I rushed the job because of the heat and I cut corners on setting up the lighting. What I ended up with was a royal mess of high spots and smears. I attempted to fix the worst of it by polishing out the bad spots and re-applying the coating. In bright sunlight it all looked pretty good unless you knew where to look. In cloudy conditions or diffused light, my car looked like a patchwork quilt. The spots I fixed were VERY obvious. In the end, when the weather cooled off I bit the bullet and polished out the entire car again and did the job over.

I`ve polished out very small high spots in less visible places with success. However if it is in the middle of a door, hood, or fender, I`d just do the whole panel over. It doesn`t take long and uses a minimal amount of product.