I just got my car out of the shop this weekend with a new shot of KH3. I understand that the paint must take time to "cure" but what precautions should i be taking? What can I do to wash/detail the car? Glaze?

Should i be using soap and water, or should i just leave it alone for a while?

There was a couple spots of birdsh!t on my trunk so i used some water and lightly scraped it off. There are now "swirl" marks...will that be ok?


Thanks for the tips. Here are some pics of my new paint job. http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=402265

 

WOW, that's a great looking paint job!!

One school of thought is to wash the car only with water till the paint cures. I would say that you could use a mild solution of car shampoo to help suspend any dirt.

Ask the body shop how long they recommend waiting before doing anything else. The minor swirl marks can be removed after the paint is fully cured. I'd use a quality MF towel and water for removing any bird droppings. Cottn or terry cloth are much more likely to cause swirling.

 

Just as a thought, I always believed that repainted panels needed 3-6 months to cure before being waxed. I was talking with a friend of mine that owns another detailing shop here and he went to the Detail King seminar last month in Pittsburgh, and they told him that baked paint can be waxed a couple of hours after being baked, and all other paint only needs 48-72 hours before it can be waxed. Someone feel free to correct me if that is wrong - the baked paint seems alright to me, but I've always told my customers to hold off on waxing new, unbaked paint for a month at least.

 

Usually you want to do all the buffing before the paint fully hardens, that way its easier to get rid of all the swirls. I wouldnt apply any waxes for atleast a month or two. You got plenty of time too, no winter for awhile.

Paint looks great, any closeup shots? Did they color sand?

 

When I got my '02 out of the shop, I was advised by the person who did the painting that I could not do anything but wash with soap and water for 60 days.

 

I guess it depends on the shop, when I got my car back, they said not to do anything besides wash with soap and water for 30 days. BTW, car looks great.

 

If it depends on the shop, then how do we know which one is right? Oh, the confusion...