Alright guys, I got a call from the dude thats painting my Maverick. He said he buffed and sanded or whatever this morning and that he was going to spray it tonight. How long is it going to take for my paint to be dry enough to drive it down the road, etc?? I don't know if hes trying to RUSH or what, but he said that he would spray this afternoon im guessing 4ish... and that he would have the car put back together by tonight for me to pick up, or if not he would have it done by tomorrow morning put back together and ready to go. Now I dont know ANYTHING about paint so this is why I'm kind of stressing. I want it done correctly, and this guys been in business for 30 some years and has great work and eerything, so I trust that he's going to do a good job. What are your thoughts toward this?
If he is painting it basecoat-clearcoat, the clear will be dry in 4 to 6 hours. Depending on how much has to be reassembled and if the car is to be buffed or not, you could be driving around town less than 12 hours after the car is painted.
Since i paint a little...well the past 15 years this goes out to anyone that is interested......... when you paint a car you should not drive the vehicle for at least 24-36 hours to let the piant "set". the paint will dry to the touch in 6-8 hours ....yes...but it is not "cured".... that takes as much as week to happen depending on the outside air temp. faster in warmer conditions...shorter in colder...etc... the bad part about any paint job is the paint chips from rocks... if you get a rock chip in the curing time, and some water gets under it...no matter how hard you tried not to.....you have just comprimised the integrity of the paint system.. i suggest to everyone, paint the car and let it sit minimum 24 hours before reassemble. and make sure you put tape on your screwdrivers and tools. one little scratch will make a great paint job look like someone was impatient. and TAKE YOUR TIME.... reassembly is where most people make a lot of mistakes because they want to go show off their car to everyone.... but with all that hard work and patience....why falter now? Hope this helps good luck everyone
Thank you for the information, it was VERY helpful. I was wondering how long it takes before you can wash a car with mild car wash like Mothers or something after you get a paint job. Its been a little over a week since my car got painted, and I know I cant rush into anything, but I was just curious as to when I can get back into detailing my car, etc. Thanks.
dont wash a car after paint for at least 30-45 days..... and when you do...get a real good car wash soap and a fine cloth .... try and stay away from the pressure washers and do not use the AUTOMATIC CAR WASHERS....these will leave scratches like you wont believe
I agree that it would be nice to be able to wait 30-45 days before washing the car but in real life, in a production shop, this is not possible. If you have a curing cycle in your paint booth which fortunately I do, you can carefully wash a car 2-3 hours after it has came out of the booth without doing any harm. I always try to wait till the next day but have had to deliver many a vehicle, washed, the same day it was painted. I run 25-30 cars through my shop every week so it's all about production. If the paint booth doesn't have a bake cycle then by all means it needs to dry overnight before putting any kind of water on it but it still can be washed the next day with mild soap and soft cloth without doing any harm. Like stmanser said, stay away from automatic washers...hand wash only.
I would say 100% of body shops wash a freshly painted car before returning it to the customer ... especially after they have buffed and polished it ...
So do you think it'd be alright for me to hand wash it? Yeah, I heard that automatic car washes in general are really bad, regardless of the freshness of paint.
Yes, it will be okay. I would recommend just using a mild dishwashing soap with a soft terry cloth towel. Be sure to keep your water clean.
dish washing soap is for dishes.....it does work good to get all the junk off of paint...but on a fresh paint job....i wouldnt recommend it. mcguiars makes a real nice car wash soap and i cant think of the name but checkers or any auto parts store will have it... you can wash a car after paint... certainly after buffing and all that....i just meant that you should wait 30 days before washing it on a regular basis...
Well....I suppose 2 1/2 years....I can finally do something with my freshly painted car....but then again....what's the hurry.
