revhi

I had my rear quater panels and front fenders recently repainted. I was told not to wax them for a few months. Its winter now and my baby sleeps outside. Is there something I could use to protect the paint for now? I was told to use polish instead of wax. I thought polish was more aggresive, kind of like a compound?

petraidm

You weren't clear, did the shop tell you to polish instead of wax? Although some polishes provide minimal protection, in general, polishing removes defects.

Don't take this as Gospel since I am not a paint expert ... but I recently had work done and I was told by the body shop it was ok to wax right away. The way it was put to me is that today's paints are catalyzed and crosslinking completes within 24 hours. In addition, the paint is covere with a clear coat which cures quikly too. I only waited 1 week. Since I don't know what type of paint they used or whether your paint is clear coated I can not give specific advise.

As far as polish Vs Wax that depends on how good the body shop was. If you have buffer holigrams or micro marring from their repairs then you need to polish to remove the imperfections. Once polish you can seal away.

Make sure you wash and clay the car first

revhi

The body shop, which is owned by my friend, told me to use polish unstead of wax. He said I shoudnt use wax for a few months. It is regular paint and it was clear coated.

petraidm

Since the shop has to warranty their work, I would do what they said. Polish just does not provide any protection (in general)

73Zero

I recently had most of my S repainted as well, and I asked the same question to my painter. From what I gathered, the new paint needs time to set. It also has something to do with gasses in the new paint needing to vent off. Waxing the car will seal the paint and clearcoat, which you don't want.

I was told to leave the finish alone for about 4 weeks, maybe even longer due to winter weather. (I was told that paint sets faster in hot weather than in cold.) After that, I can wax it all I want. This sucks, as I wanted to have a clear bra installed, but it's the same deal as the waxing. So I guess it's car cover time for me....<sigh>....

Conedodger

I picked up my S from the bodyshop the day I put it away for the winter. Was told to wait a couple of months to wax, and leave the cover off for the winter. The shop manager said he'd seen marks in the paint on cars that were covered before the paint fully cured.

revhi

Well its been about a month now and I did put some wax on it. I'll see what happens.

RACER

NNY S2k

After a month you should be ok. What type of wax did you use?

revhi

Its made by black magic, its clear coat safe.