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My dad said he was told not to wax his Mustang for at least 30 days after taking delivery to let the paint "breathe". Is this true?
I was originally planning on giving the MINI the whole nine yards with my new bundle of Prima etc. products when I take delivery. Will I need to forgo waxing, though?
I wouldn't call it "breathing" but fresh paint needs a "curing" period of about 30 days, and you can still wax within that period. The paint film is just a little softer during the curing period.
Like the folks above said, your new Mini is ready for waxing.
I'm having my vinyl replaced with painted stripes, and the rep said that the paint & clear coat will need three weeks to fully cure. Apparently I can wash it all I want, but if I put any sort of sealant on it, the gases from curing are trapped in and will screw up the process.
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Foamy, the funnest little car in Gainesville since Dec '06
You can even polish fresh paint, as long as you use a purely-mechanical polish that doesn't also contain a sealant. (If the polish bottle says "paintable" on it, you're fine.)
As fresh paint dries, the volatile compounds evaporate and diffuse evenly through the clear coat and out into the atmosphere. If you put a coat of wax or sealant on top of the paint before it's done off-gassing, the evaporating compounds will build up under until they break through the weak spots in the clearcoat, forming little pockmarks that look like miniature volcanos or pimples.
The painter's term for this is "solvent popping", and it's more of a problem when you try to apply subsequent coats of clear before the initial coat has finished "flashing off", but it can also happen like you're describing (putting wax or sealant on very fresh paint).
You can even polish fresh paint, as long as you use a purely-mechanical polish that doesn't also contain a sealant. (If the polish bottle says "paintable" on it, you're fine.)
As fresh paint dries, the volatile compounds evaporate and diffuse evenly through the clear coat and out into the atmosphere. If you put a coat of wax or sealant on top of the paint before it's done off-gassing, the evaporating compounds will build up under until they break through the weak spots in the clearcoat, forming little pockmarks that look like miniature volcanos or pimples.
The painter's term for this is "solvent popping", and it's more of a problem when you try to apply subsequent coats of clear before the initial coat has finished "flashing off", but it can also happen like you're describing (putting wax or sealant on very fresh paint).
You new car is cured when you take delivery. The longer curing time is no longer needed with todays watere based heat cured at the factory paints.
So I presume that that is what it makes it safe for the factory installed stripes to go on so soon then? I started to panic a little (over protective expectant parent) thinking that maybe the paint should cure before the stripes go on, but I guess the factory knows what it's doing. Thanks!
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Order placed: 6/30/08
Picked up: 11/14/08
Happily motoring since
You can even polish fresh paint, as long as you use a purely-mechanical polish that doesn't also contain a sealant. (If the polish bottle says "paintable" on it, you're fine.)
As fresh paint dries, the volatile compounds evaporate and diffuse evenly through the clear coat and out into the atmosphere. If you put a coat of wax or sealant on top of the paint before it's done off-gassing, the evaporating compounds will build up under until they break through the weak spots in the clearcoat, forming little pockmarks that look like miniature volcanos or pimples.
The painter's term for this is "solvent popping", and it's more of a problem when you try to apply subsequent coats of clear before the initial coat has finished "flashing off", but it can also happen like you're describing (putting wax or sealant on very fresh paint).
I didn't think my baby would be going through puberty this early!
