New Paintwork

[Milarepa]

Evening all.
Lovely old Redline Campers, have told me they would like to take our van back to repaint some panels that they thought, just before delivery, could have been better painted, (they offered to keep the van until this was rectified but we needed to collect the van ).

I would like to protect and wax the paintwork asap afterwards, especially as we are travelling to the NEC in Feb along the motorway, but am I right in thinking I should wait before washing and waxing freshly painted panels?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Tourershine]

Evening all.
Lovely old Redline Campers, have told me they would like to take our van back to repaint some panels that they thought, just before delivery, could have been better painted, (they offered to keep the van until this was rectified but we needed to collect the van ).

I would like to protect and wax the paintwork asap afterwards, especially as we are travelling to the NEC in Feb along the motorway, but am I right in thinking I should wait before washing and waxing freshly painted panels?
Thanks in advance.

No, it will be fine to wax.

Out of interest, what panels are they painting? Just seems odd that a converter would offer to do this off their own back.

 

[Milarepa]

I believe it’s the driver door and bonnet. Does the paint not need to cure?

 

[Tourershine]

I believe it’s the driver door and bonnet. Does the paint not need to cure?

Not anymore no. That's what the paint oven does.
In basic terms, a bodyshop preps the area, paints it and then bakes it in an oven/booth as the painting process. This is then removed from the booth, wet-flatted to remove any imperfections, and then machine polished to a finish.

The only time you need to wait for what you refer to as 'cure' is if you're having the paintwork wrapped, or sign written, PPF etc. It's advised that paint is left untouched in these situations for several weeks to allow the chemicals to cure. Waxing isn't an issue.

I had both sides of my T6 re-painted by the main dealer due to a warranty issue, and I waxed the van the day I collected from the dealers, no issues here.
On the same line, I had a bonnet painted about a year ago, then fitted a bonnet bra a couple of days later to try and stop the stone chips. This caused the surface to totally matt off after just a week of fitting the bra, which was put down to the chemicals not being able to cure properly.

 

[Milarepa]

Okay thank you for the replies

 

[Ads_Essex]

No, it will be fine to wax.

Out of interest, what panels are they painting? Just seems odd that a converter would offer to do this off their own back.

Paul,

Same question but with plastic parts that have been recently painted - I’ve no idea whether these would have been ‘baked’ but I want to wax them (particularly as one part feels dry and harsh to the touch): should I wait?

 

[Tourershine]

Paul,

Same question but with plastic parts that have been recently painted - I’ve no idea whether these would have been ‘baked’ but I want to wax them (particularly as one part feels dry and harsh to the touch): should I wait?

If it's been into a proper bodyshop, it will of been in the booth. Rule and regs will mean any painting has to be done with extraction and filtration where chemicals are involved. So should be the same principle for plastics.

All the paintwork I've had done or been involved with has always been booth painting.

Dry and harsh might mean they've not been flatted and polished, or they have overspray over them from other jobs. Can you hear it when you rub your hands over the paint? Because you shouldn't be able to.

 

[Ads_Essex]

If it's been into a proper bodyshop, it will of been in the booth. Rule and regs will mean any painting has to be done with extraction and filtration where chemicals are involved. So should be the same principle for plastics.

All the paintwork I've had done or been involved with has always been booth painting.

Dry and harsh might mean they've not been flatted and polished, or they have overspray over them from other jobs. Can you hear it when you rub your hands over the paint? Because you shouldn't be able to.

It’s a proper shop with a booth - the part in question had some bubbles / debris that I took back for rectification - which I was told was debris - and it’s come back sorted, but just with an area that feels a little harsh. You can just hear the harshness, and this particular spot has what looks like some rub marks in the lacquer (like you’d see when someone’s taken a scouting pad to their paintwork to get rid of a mark, but the swirls are not as harsh).

 

[RattyMcClelland]

As a painter myself its fine to wax and seal paint with ceramic straight away.
I do recommend waiting 3 days just to be safe but most bodyshop or smart repairs use ovens or infrared lamps that will cure the paint off fine.

As Tourershine said wrapping etc on fresh paint I'd recommend waiting a week just so the paints crosslink properly and dont rip off when the vinyls/ppf get peeled off.

For the most part you will be fine. The myth of waiting a month was from back in the day with the older paints that have heavy gasses and isocyanates that take a while to gas out and the curing technology isn't like today.

 

[Tourershine]

The myth of waiting a month was from back in the day with the older paints that have heavy gasses and isocyanates that take a while to gas out and the curing technology isn't like today.

When paint finishes were far more toxic, yet far better finishes.

It’s a proper shop with a booth - the part in question had some bubbles / debris that I took back for rectification - which I was told was debris - and it’s come back sorted, but just with an area that feels a little harsh. You can just hear the harshness, and this particular spot has what looks like some rub marks in the lacquer (like you’d see when someone’s taken a scouting pad to their paintwork to get rid of a mark, but the swirls are not as harsh).

Sounds to me like it's just not been done properly. It might of looked ok when you collected it, but over a short period of time it now looks like it does in your description. I've seen this when paintwork has been polished with products full of fillers. I love the 3M range of cutting compounds, but the Yellow top hides a multitude of issues. It might just need wet flatting and polishing properly, but better off done by a pro, as the plastic can heat up and smear the lacquer really easily.

 

[Ads_Essex]

Sounds to me like it's just not been done properly. It might of looked ok when you collected it, but over a short period of time it now looks like it does in your description. I've seen this when paintwork has been polished with products full of fillers. I love the 3M range of cutting compounds, but the Yellow top hides a multitude of issues.
It might just need wet flatting and polishing properly, but better off done by a pro, as the plastic can heat up and smear the lacquer really easily.

Cheers mate - typically it’s on a splitter that I want to sell. I’ll see if I can polish it up ok with some wax (unless that’s a no-no).

 

[Tourershine]

Cheers mate - typically it’s on a splitter that I want to sell. I’ll see if I can polish it up ok with some wax (unless that’s a no-no).

If it's too rough, a wax wouldn't remove or cover any harshness. Maybe go over it with some compound first if it's just a Splitter. If it's just overspray or fine imperfections, you should be able to remove this by hand, although it's not the proper way to do this, it should work.