Paint Cure and Rain

R

RshaoKh

New member
Hi, I'm still new to this forum and I have already done a search... I recently got a new rear bumper and the paint is still new. I know that I should not wax for 30-90 days and that applying glaze is ok. My question is if there is anything I can do to protect the car's paint from all the rain we're getting in SoCal recently? I'm worried that Meguiar's #5 won't offer much protection against the rain. Sorry if this has been covered already... I couldn't find anything regarding rain and paint curing. =X Thanks in advance!
 
First of all:



Welcome to the Forum



secondly,



I would guess the paint is dry, it just needs to off gass to fully cure. That said, I sure you will get others opinions that have more experience with it that do I.



Cheers,

GREG
 
You will be fine in the rain. I also assume that your bumper was baked in a booth? That whole 30-90 days things will very between shop by shop. I don't agree competely with that theory but do what ever the shop said to do it.
 
If it has been baked, then 60 days at least. If not, 90 days at least. That's straight from a pro painter I know...
 
To be honest with you guys, I don't know if it was baked in a booth. I will just assume that it wasn't. I'm just worried that the rain would damage the paint if left on to dry (I work and it's going to rain on and off for the next 5-7 days so washing it after every rainy day is impossible for now...) since I have no wax on it...
 
Joseph K said:
If it has been baked, then 60 days at least. If not, 90 days at least. That's straight from a pro painter I know...
Click to expand...

And that still varies between painters. I know a lot of different painters and it all varies. Everyone has there own ideaologies to how to/how long and so on. I am a painter as well almost certified along with body repair, ect.

The best information I can give you goto the person who painted it and ask them since they painted it.
 
I did ask them. Hehe... I asked "So I read that I couldn't wax for like 30 days. Is that right?" They told me, "Nope you can do whatever." So I don't think I would trust them... They did an awesome on the paintjob though! =D So I don't really care if it's 30 days or 60 or 90.... I'm just wondering if Meguiar's #5 is good enough to protect my new paint against the rain. Sorry if the post title was labeled wrong...
 
The rain won't hurt the paint, you can wet sand and polish as soon as the paint is dry (whatever time the product sheet for the paint says). A freshly painted surface with glaze on it should bead quite well. If there is any water spotting that won't wash off after 90 days, give it a light polish before you put that first coat of wax on.



If it were my car I'd wash weekly and not worry about rain.
 
just leave it be and wash it when the rain lets up....its not going to hurt anything...then, once it stops raining here, wash it, clay it, polish it, and DONT WAX IT for 2 months...you can polish it once a week with a minor polish if you are concerned, but I wouldnt be...



I would honestly just let it sit as is with normal washing until after the gas out period is over...and let it sit outside to gas out faster with the winds and all....
 
RshaoKh said:
I did ask them. Hehe... I asked "So I read that I couldn't wax for like 30 days. Is that right?" They told me, "Nope you can do whatever." So I don't think I would trust them... They did an awesome on the paintjob though! =D So I don't really care if it's 30 days or 60 or 90.... I'm just wondering if Meguiar's #5 is good enough to protect my new paint against the rain. Sorry if the post title was labeled wrong...
Click to expand...

I had my rear bumper repainted a yr. ago, The shop said it was baked and could wax right away and I did with no problems. It's been over a year and it's been polished and waxed many times. So don't worry about it.
 
Monte78Carlo2k1 said:
You will be fine in the rain. I also assume that your bumper was baked in a booth? That whole 30-90 days things will very between shop by shop. I don't agree competely with that theory but do what ever the shop said to do it.
Click to expand...



Trust me when I say the shops baking lamps won't cure the paint enough to wax. I used to build custom boat trailers and we baked the trailers when they left the paint booths. All that did was keep us from getting prints in the paint while assembling them.



Also, I went on the recommendation of a paint shop that painted a car for me a few years back to wax immediately and that it was safe to do. I got home and waxed the car and the new paint never cured. A year later it was so soft a leave falling on it would scratch it. So don't trust your shop! Most of them know how to paint and after the paint is laid that is about where their knowledge ends. The same shop owner pays me to detail thier personal cars because they can't get the results they want without using heavy glazes.



My recommendations are 60-90 days.
 
What makes a bumper that's been freshly repainted at a local body shop any different that one that just came in at the dealer's lot from the manufacturer? Each one is baked at similar temps? People here advise to wax/seal your brand new vehicle immediately, but don't realize this tiny bit of info? Has anyone's bumpers began to show any signs of problems yet?
 
NickelPlated.45 said:
Here's an interesting link OEM Auto Paint Finishes
Click to expand...



Great reading information!







A topic for consideration, about which many people are misinformed, is when you can wax the vehicle or apply paint sealant. Looking back at the curing process, both the 1K and 2K systems are 90-95% cured upon cool down, after the bake process, in the factory spray booth. The additional 5-10% will cure within 3-7 days. This means that by the time any vehicle reaches its destination at a dealer, the paint is fully cured. By not applying some sort of protection to the paint surface upon delivery or shortly after, the customer is actually hurting the paint instead of helping it.
Click to expand...



So, the 2K system is the equivilant of a body shop refinish right? Therefore, cure times are alot quicker than what people have been told to believe previously? The real question is whether or not this article is 100% factual or not? Others have supported documentation directly from paint manufacturers telling us otherwise? Who are we to believe??
 
OEM Paints are baked at a higher temperature than what a bodyshop can do mostly because the car bodies don't have interior or other components installed. So either shipping overseas or from factories to the dealership they can be waxed / paint corrected directly. It varies according to bodyshops, as they use different paint processes, curing aids/time, etc. I forget the exact range, I have it written somewhere but I believe OEM systems can bake around 150+ F (Very generally it's back inside my head and in my documents), while bodyshops are lower.



I would listen to the bodyshop that did the work, otherwise find out what exact paint system is on the car and email that company as they have a specific curing range.



Otherwise get a "Pure" Sealant, like OCW to protect the vehicle.
 
SilvaBimma said:
OEM Paints are baked at a higher temperature than what a bodyshop can do mostly because the car bodies don't have interior or other components installed. It varies according to bodyshops, as they use different paint processes, curing aids/time, etc. I forget the exact range, I have it written somewhere but I believe OEM systems can bake around 150+ F (Very generally it's back inside my head and in my documents), while bodyshops are lower.
Click to expand...

Not on bumper covers (2K) according to the above mentioned article. (see below)





1K system (sheetmetal) = factory assembly line

This type of system is baked at a very high temperature, typically 265-285 degrees farenheight for about 20-30 minutes.
Click to expand...

2K system (bumpers/trim) = similar to body shops

This system is baked at lower temps, typically 140-165 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.
Click to expand...



**********************************************************************

SilvaBimma said:
So either shipping overseas or from factories to the dealership they can be waxed / paint corrected directly.



I would listen to the bodyshop that did the work, otherwise find out what exact paint system is on the car and email that company as they have a specific curing range.
Click to expand...

both the 1K and 2K systems are 90-95% cured upon cool down, after the bake process, in the factory spray booth. The additional 5-10% will cure within 3-7 days. This means that by the time any vehicle reaches its destination at a dealer, the paint is fully cured.
Click to expand...



Body shops use the same systems and paint that the factory does on their bumpers. They're all done manually, not automated assembly line. So who should you listen to when there's clearly a contradiction?





SilvaBimma said:
Otherwise get a "Pure" Sealant, like OCW to protect the vehicle.
Click to expand...
This is what I also think is ok, but will any paint manufacturer endorse this? I know and have seen people mention that certain LSPs are fresh paint safe, but how certain are we?
 
When MirrorFinishMan queried all the major paint manufacturers, they *all* said to wait at least 90-120 days. I've experienced significant hardening after 90 days so I consider the 120 a minimum. People who disregard this risk ending up with repaints that are a lot softer than they might otherwise be, but I've never heard of anything worse than that happening. It's not like the paint coulds up, peels off, or otherwise suffers some catastrophic failure.



But I think RshaoKh already knows that:



RshaoKh said:
I'm just wondering if Meguiar's #5 is good enough to protect my new paint against the rain...
Click to expand...



Unless you have *really* nasty rain (acid rain, industrial fallout, something like that), then the #5 will provide adequate protection. Just wash more often than you otherwise might and reapply the #5 after every wash. I've played around with some not-too-scientific tests, and #5 *does* leave a bit of stuff behind and IMO/IME it's not only better than nothing, it's also adequate for short-term protection.



I left the Volvo (that I used to have) outside 24/7 after it had paintwork, with just #5 on it. No problems.
 
David,



It's a puzzle, but my format is to tackle OEM vehicles right away (I've actually read from Ketch @ Mobileworks saying you don't need to wait since the paints are cured), and wait 90-120 days for Bodyshop vehicles.



As per the OCW & Paint systems, that's where it comes down to believing the product brand you are using is reputable. Optimum has been working with some of the OEM factories from what I heard.



If I had the chance I would totally do the Kleen Car & AutoInt training, straight up technical information from industry leaders. Read MSDS sheets & fully understand paint systems.



Hope that addresses the questions... heh.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top