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Getting car back from body shop. Paint care in winter??

PunkST

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#1
In what ways can i make sure this newly painted front end is going to be protected from the rest of this winter's weather??

I have a car port, and a collapsed garage, lol. There is a coin op car wash nearby with heated water.
Or should i just wait until spring to ceramic coat it?
 


SteveS

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#3
The body shops tell us you don't have to wait with water based paints because there is no outgassing time period. (I own a sign and graphics shop)
 


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#5
Don’t tailgate and avoid driving behind trucks... No brushed car washes. Most body shops say wait 30 days before ceramic coats or clear bras.


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Ford ST

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#6
Paint takes serious time to cure. I would definitely wait till spring.
Even interior house paint takes time to cure that's water-based. My car smells like paint 2 months after a few touch ups. If you can smell it it's off-gassing. The definition of off-gassing is vocs being released.
Do some research on your own don't take our word for it.
I would read up on some body shop forms or something.



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Last edited:
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PunkST

PunkST

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Thread Starter #7
The aviod trucks thing is gonna be a pain. Driving environment is all farm land.
 


Intuit

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#9
Aside from the minute amount of sand-blasting at speed, the road salt doesn't really much harm the paint, as much as the metal underneath. Aesthetics aside, the paint and primarily undercoat's job is to keep the water and salt off the metal. Oxygen finds its way in even the tiniest of breaches and accelerates the corrosion process.

Regarding road salt..
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004A7J8FW/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064N1FOW/
WARNING: The forum software has been known to hijack links. You may be taken to a totally different site for the product. Use copy & paste instead.

I don't let the vehicle sit wet after a rain or wash. Drive it long enough for all the little hidden cracks and crevices dry out. I typically time my washes to go along with the rain, as embedded particles come right off without any clay-barring or hard rubbing/scrubbing.
 


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Location
Bettendorf
#10
I'd call whoever painted and ask them what they recommend, hopefully they know from experience how long it takes . Just wash it in the meantime with something without waxes like Meguiars Gold Class.
 


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Location
Rochester
#11
I would wait until spring then correct it followed by ceramic coating or wrap. it was just painted so it should have plenty of clear coat to correct into I would also avoid washing or touching it for 30 days or so to let it harden, even if the ship says it doesn't need it it's the safe thing to do with no downside.
 


M-Sport fan

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#12
I’ve heard that the paint takes a long time to cure, to wait a while for any coatings, films and waxes. I’d ask the body shop.
The body shop told me to wait AT LEAST one full month for the paint/clear coat to cure, until I wax/coat the roof that they repainted under warranty. [wink]

Sometime in February, when we get a 'thaw', I will Wolfgang 3.0 sealant coat the roof, and then Collinite 476 the rest of the car (the roof was done just before Christmas).
 


SteveS

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#14
But the clear coats are NOT water based, according to my body shop. [nono]
I'm just telling you what they tell us when they have us come and replace rally stripes etc. after they do repairs. I say aren't we supposed to wait for the paint to outgas, and they say, no, there is no outgassing any more. They put vinyl graphics on the same day they paint and bake and they say that they don't get bubbling under the vinyl. I've never been called back to redo stripes for that reason, so it seems they are right.
 


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Location
Grass Lake
#16
But the clear coats are NOT water based, according to my body shop. [nono]
No. The clear coat is not a benign brew! I like PPG products. I use their low VOC speed clear for challenging paint damage correction as well as general topcoat work. It's a very forgiving product. But, that bitch can kill ya' if you don't respect the safety rules.
 


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Canada
#17
You cannot put any kind of product on fresh clear, nor decals/stickers, etc. You must wait approx 3 months for clear coat to fully cure. Then, a simple wax will do just fine.
 


OP
PunkST

PunkST

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Thread Starter #18
Its more than cured. Ive since discovered lot of other issues. Not gonna go into more detail, other than my car is kinda worthless now imo. So im just gonna have fun with it.
 




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