[Thrasher]

Hi Guys! I hope I am not posting this in the wrong section...

We are about to file insurance claim to repaint three panels of my wife's car because of deep scratches from getting hit by motorcycle

I will definitely choose the best body shop in the city I live in. However, I have heard that there should be special treatment to those panels after they are finished, i.e. I can't polish & wax those panels for three months until they are completely cured, I should use special kind of sealant, etc but since I just barely heard it I am still not sure what to do....

Please kindly help me out on this guys....

Are there really special treatment that I should do to this panels once they are finished repainted???

Many thanks in advance

[P1et]

Once the panels are finished, make sure they are baked at the bodyshop. If they bodyshop doesn't bake or let the paint cure/harden, leave the car outside in the full sun for one to three months. Don't seal it, but QDing it should be fine.

[Pro-Techt]

I'd rather leave an unprotected car in the garage instead of outside for 3 months. The biggest thing baking does is speed up the drying aspect of a body shop's production rather than the curing process. Baking allows a shop turn out their work faster, meaning they'll be able to buff/reassemble the vehicle quicker.

[JLs Detailing]

Sealants won't allow the paint to breath so you need to wait about 3 months before applying those. Waxes will however and if I'm not mistaken you can wax after about a month. You can wash it all you like and I doubt if QDs would hurt but I'd wait a month before doing anything other than washing.

[Pro-Techt]

Originally Posted by JLs Detailing

Sealants won't allow the paint to breath so you need to wait about 3 months before applying those. Waxes will however and if I'm not mistaken you can wax after about a month. You can wash it all you like and I doubt if QDs would hurt but I'd wait a month before doing anything other than washing.

What's the logic behind waiting 30 days for applying wax, when you're saying it allows paint to breath? If it allows it to breath, why not wax the next day?

[JLs Detailing]

Originally Posted by Pro-Techt

What's the logic behind waiting 30 days for applying wax, when you're saying it allows paint to breath? If it allows it to breath, why not wax the next day?

Paint still requires a cure time but after 30 days it has had minimal cure time but it still needs to breathe so you can go with a nuba. I'm not sure thats 100% correct but what I've been told by a couple of auto painters I know.

[Nica]

Like JL said, after 30 days you can apply wax and the reason why you don't want to apply it earlier is because the wax can fade the paint. Yes, the paint needs to breathe so it can cure so if you put the wax, the oils/minerals ect..ect..from the wax will go directly on to the paint and that's what causes the fading effect on the paint.

Now I'm no expert here but that's what Gerry told me, Gerry is a friend of mine who owns a wicked body shop here in town and I visit him from time to time to pick his brain

[dionnfr]

Yeah Nica is correct, but body shops will tell you different stories. Just had my wifes car painted (a few panels) for basically the same thing. The body shop told me not to paint it or wash it for a few weeks, but a good friend of mine who owns a body shop in Florida told me not to do anthing for at least a month.