new paint: polish before or after decal install?

P

prowler-purple

New member
I'm doing a cheap resto on a 97 breeze for a friend. I'm getting it back from Maaco today (I said cheap:cool:). I have all new badges and pin stripes for it. And I'm going to use it as a practice piece for the Ultimate Detailing Machine that is in the mail along with lake country pads and Poorboys polish and sealer. Since I don't have much experience with polish, I am wondering if I can polish it and then put the badges on?

I don't want to polish it only to find that the stuff is like car wax and nothing will stick to it. Does all the polish come off during buffing? Or does it need to be removed first?

Oh, and I intend to put the sealer on after the badges are on.

Thanks,
Brian
 
prowler-purple said:
I'm doing a cheap resto on a 97 breeze for a friend. I'm getting it back from Maaco today (I said cheap:cool:). I have all new badges and pin stripes for it. And I'm going to use it as a practice piece for the Ultimate Detailing Machine that is in the mail along with lake country pads and Poorboys polish and sealer. Since I don't have much experience with polish, I am wondering if I can polish it and then put the badges on?

I don't want to polish it only to find that the stuff is like car wax and nothing will stick to it. Does all the polish come off during buffing? Or does it need to be removed first?

Oh, and I intend to put the sealer on after the badges are on.

Thanks,
Brian
Click to expand...

Welcome to the site to start....you should ask Macco about this but new paint need to cure, that's when the paint is releasing solvents...a rule of thumb is 6 weeks during that time you can polish and glaze but no wax or sealants. They seal the top and keep the paint from curing...as for putting on the striping I would clean the area of any product so that you get a good bond on the surface...again I would wait for the paint to cure before doing the striping...the badges are ok as long as they are not glued on..
 
prowler-purple said:
I'm doing a cheap resto on a 97 breeze for a friend. I'm getting it back from Maaco today (I said cheap:cool:). I have all new badges and pin stripes for it. And I'm going to use it as a practice piece for the Ultimate Detailing Machine that is in the mail along with lake country pads and Poorboys polish and sealer. Since I don't have much experience with polish, I am wondering if I can polish it and then put the badges on?

I don't want to polish it only to find that the stuff is like car wax and nothing will stick to it. Does all the polish come off during buffing? Or does it need to be removed first?

Oh, and I intend to put the sealer on after the badges are on.

Thanks,
Brian
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what products you are planning to use.
Poorboy's Pro Polish followed by one of Poorboy's sealants.
or
Poorboy's Polish with Sealant.

Anyway, I would not use a sealant on a fresh paint job.
A straight polish with no sealant or wax content such as PB's Pro Polish or the SSR line would probably be OK.
The badge adhesive would probably work fine after a polish, but I think you might run into problems if you apply them after a wax or sealant unless you clean the area where the badges go with something like Prep-Sol. Same thing with the pinstripes.
Poorboy's Polish with Sealant would not be a good thing to use prior to applying the badges or stripes.
IMO, it wouldn't be a good thing to apply to the fresh paint, either.

Charles
 
Thanks for the welcome. This forum looks like its filled with knowledgable and passionate enthusiasts who take their work seriously.

I'll ask Maaco about the paint curing time. The clear was mixed in with the enamel so it was sprayed once. They give it a 2 year guarantee of some sort.

I'm familiar with the wait time for real paint jobs. I'm mostly concerned with how this paint will hold up for an outdoor car. Any life extension I can give it would be great. It's going to spend its days outdoors near beachfront property, which isn't kind to anything made of metal.

I'll do a search for Prep-Sol.

And if the polish is fine to use prior to the badges, then I'll do that. It'll be easier than taping over them or avoiding them.
 
prowler-purple said:
Thanks for the welcome. This forum looks like its filled with knowledgable and passionate enthusiasts who take their work seriously.

I'll ask Maaco about the paint curing time. The clear was mixed in with the enamel so it was sprayed once. They give it a 2 year guarantee of some sort.

I'm familiar with the wait time for real paint jobs. I'm mostly concerned with how this paint will hold up for an outdoor car. Any life extension I can give it would be great. It's going to spend its days outdoors near beachfront property, which isn't kind to anything made of metal.

I'll do a search for Prep-Sol.

And if the polish is fine to use prior to the badges, then I'll do that. It'll be easier than taping over them or avoiding them.
Click to expand...

Your welcome and Macco will be able to tell you what time to wait for cure....Once that is up, I would look at a sealant for protection, they seem to be more durable...IMO
 
I think you'd be fine polishing straightaway. I'd follow the given advice on sealants/waxes. However, I would suggest applying decals & stripes to a freshly polished and IPA wiped down finish without any type of sealant or wax on it.
 
what is IPA?

Maaco said to wait 30 days for wax etc. The car looks much much better than I expected. I can see my reflection in it.

I'll pick a test spot for the polish to see if there is an improvement before I go over the rest of the car.
 
yes you can polish it and put the badge & pinstripe on it now. I'd wait 45 days before the sealant and leave the car in the sun as much as possible. :)
 
yeah, that's straight forward and plentyful around here. :-) Thanks again.

leaving it under the sun as much as possible you say? no problem!
 
It would also be a good idea to give the car a light rinse down everyday if possible after sitting outside to remove anything that may settle on the paint.
My ex-partner in the body shop biz did this and his TA looked like new ;)
 
Thanks for the tip.

I put the badges on yesterday and the car looks great. It has an identity again. I had to pull the front bumper cover off completely to put on the new plymouth ornament. In the process I think I found that the surface is very frail when compared to paint with a real clearcoat. It seems like anything could marr it. I'll have to look at it more carefully this evening. I can also verify the paint sticks to the surface very well :-)

I was hoping to put some XP-sealant on it in 30 days or so to work as a clearcoat. would that do the trick? Or is there something stronger out there?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top