Fresh Paint and protection

[zebedy]

Hope someone can set me straight here. As you may or may not know I'm in the process of painting my car and should be complete (fingers crossed) in about two weeks time. Obviously the weather is now changing and is set to get colder and wetter by the week, so it stands to reason I need to protect my newly painted toy.

 

Q. Will it be too soon to apply a coating of something the week I finish the painting? if so, how long should I leave it?

 

Q. Also what product should I use for complete protection against the nasties of winter that will last say 3-4 months. I'll also need something similar for the wheels too.

 

Please advise which products would be the better option for me and how to apply and how soon after painting.

 

cheers in advance. (TOTAL NOOB REGARDS TO DETAILING ETC)

 

Zebb

[Stutopia]

I bet Ed at Divine and Ricey would be full of useful info, and along shortly.

 

Some people talk of waiting for paint to "de-gas" before applying but that aside. If I was getting fresh paint all over I'd be looking into the Quartz/Silicone/Nano long life coatings or possibly even a full clear vinyl wrap.

 

Edit: before Matt thinks I don't rate him, what I should have stated is, I'd get a pro to do it on brand new paint, rather than DIY. As it's the best chance you'll ever get to protect it and it brings all the tricky to use coatings into play.

[Ricey]

Honestly after a week your prob ok with most products but as Stu said the solvents will still gas off for a bit

 

That I guess leads us on to solvent based sealants......couldn't tell you 100% but they would bey only concern in case they could some how soften fresh paint.

 

That said you're only looking for 3-4 months protection so a decent wax will probably do the trick and not cause you want issues.

 

Ed is obviously a leg-end in detailing but Ilogikal will probably give you a very well informed opinion as well as he's experimented with loads of products.

 

One important tip I'd given is to do a wipe down with isopropyl alcohol before applying as you'll almost certainly be lathering the car with G3 to polish the lacquer back in after its been flatted.

 

You need to get that completely off so the wax/sealant can bond properly.

 

Ceramic/glass/nano will last longer but are more expensive and tricky to apply

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

 

[ilogikal1]

My two pence;

 

It all depends on how you're painting it really though. If you're baking to finish, you'll need to allow less time to gas out. If you're not, you'll need to leave it longer. Some paint can take up to a month to fully gas out - although I have to admit my knowledge of painting doesn't stretch as far as being able to tell you how what paint needs what gassing time I'm afraid.

 

I would be a little weary about using a panel wipe or IPA on fresh paint, tbh, but after a week it should be fine. If the surface isn't suitably cured and the IPA isn't suitably diluted, it can smear the top coat. A bit of common sense will go a long way to prevent that though. To be quite honest though, I would assume that if the paint is cured enough to polish then IPA shouldn't be an issue either. However I would be sorely tempted to allow a reasonable amount of time (depending on how you're painting...) before polishing, refining and protecting the new paint anyway - I'd be looking to allow at least week before doing anything to it.

 

What I can tell is that less than a week absolutely will be too soon to apply a full on coating. The paint needs to be fully gassed out and cured before you apply a solvent heavy coating that will then harden to an airtight layer trapping in the solvents from painting.

Sealants of waxes, I would suggest less than a week would be too soon unless you're baking - if you're baking you'll be fine with either within a week of finishing.

 

 

 

As for what to use;

For 3-4 months protection, almost any decent synthetic sealant or wax will see you through. If you don't want to break the bank, Poorboys Natty's is very good for the money, but FK1000P is better.

 

Wheels, assuming you're not painting them too (otherwise the above applies), then the cost vs. effort brings it squarely down to FK1000P vs. Gyeon Rim/GTechniq C5 (or C4, or C1....)/ A. N. Other coating of choice. If you're buying FK for the paintwork, slap it on* the wheels too - it should see 3 months on the wheels and 4 or more on the paint.

*Figuratively, not literally. FK doesn't play well when over applied.

 

In terms of application, coatings are trickier but some long as you're methodical and careful they're not too taxing to apply. Prep is not just important, it's absolutely essential - make sure the paint is spotlessly clean and free from all oils, etc. (IPA wipe down as Ricey mentioned) and dry before applying - each coating is slightly different so if you go down this route, let us know what you're thinking of and we'll advise accordingly between us all.

 

FK is easy and fool proof, all you need to remember is to keep the layers thinner than a particularly thin thing during the National Thin Things competition in Thinsville, Thinshire - apply a panel at a time or to the whole car (it's very forgiving) then buff off, allow a minimum of an hour, better still 24 hours, apply a 2nd coat to ensure coverage. Job, jobbed. Do not get any on black plastic or rubber trims, otherwise it'll stain, or on glass because that's just silly.

For the wheels - if they're being painted too, treat as above, otherwise... Wash, decontaminate with fallout remover (and de-tar if necessary), re-wash and then as above. IPA wipe down beforehand will only extend the durability, but it's not as important as it is with a coating.

 

Or, to put it another way, I agree with what Ricey did gone done say only he did gone done say it much more concisely.

 

What I haven't mentioned yet is that I also agree with Stu (even if he doesn't rate me... ), personally I'd paint it, let it cure fully and properly (depending on how it's being painted) before even polishing and refining the paint and then I'd be looking at sticking a coating on it straight away. Whether you DIY it or take it to a pro is up to you of course, but as a novice, I'd recommend the pro over DIY as coatings can be tricky to apply properly/well and even trickier to correct if it goes a bit wrong.

[Ricey]

Clearcoat even without baking is usually ready to flat off with wet and dry and polish back in the following day after spraying in my experience (or at least that's what we do and I've never seen us have an issue).

 

I've used ceramic on the missus bumper 4 days after it was painted without causing any issues but as Ilogikal said common sense and doing a test spot wouldn't be a bad idea

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

 

[ilogikal1]

I stand corrected.

 

In my defence, my knowledge of painting comes almost solely from people who used to do it back in the 70's & 80's. I should have assumed modern paints would be much more user friendly!

[Ricey]

To be honest mate (not that it would give a great finish) if you put enough rocket hardener in it you could theoretically paint in the morning and flat at the night but I wouldn't want to chance it.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

 

[zebedy]

I'm baking the paint. Water based base coat with 2pk clear coat. Huge amount of knowledge between you guys so thanks for that. If you don't mind, I'll bump this thread in three weeks time. That would be then one week after the last panel has been painted wet sanded and polished back with farc' G3. Thanks again.

[Ricey]

Don't know how much you know about painting so forgive me if I'm telling you how to suck eggs so to speak.

 

When your polishing back in I'd be tempted to do a second stage polish with a lighter compound like farc' finessit to refine your polishing marks out before you seal.

 

Rotary and G3 is a very blunt instrument but an unavoidable one unfortunately.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

 

[ed divine]

Can't really add anything so what the guys have said 😟 Spot on advice. I would avoid coating it for a few weeks just due to the chemicals and better to be safe than sorry.