Just got my car back from the body shop this afternoon after a fresh repaint and was curious if anyone here knows how if there are any special procedures I should take to maximize the shine with an integrated clear coat paint job. I've searched all over the net for paint care tips but it seems that all I can find are tips for two stage (base/clear) paint but nothing related to integrated. About the only thing that I was able to find were guidelines stating I should wait anywhere between 30 and 60 days before washing or applying wax and a minimum of one week before installing emblems, decals, trim, etc. Any other ideas on what I should do such as a fine polish to smooth the finish, or recomended products to use?

Definatly heed the warning as far as waxing..
You do not want to put wax or a polimer/teflon sealer over that fresh paint.If you "lock" in the paint before all the chemicals have dried/worked their way out you could be in for a world of hurt!!
Did you get the paint/clear combo paint?Like a one stage paint?If so I would stay away form heavy polishes.as it may burn thru real easy.You'll want to wait for a while if you are going to be doing any wet-sanding or any of the finish work.If the car was prepped good,and the paint was laid well,you should be in good shape!
Does'nt fresh paint look nice?

-Mark

(edit)BTW,I am not an expert,just my .02 :P

[This message has been edited by Indyellowgt (edited 02-15-2003).]

Yes this would be what I guess is called a "one stage". From what the paint guy talked like they apply a couple of base coats of paint, and the third and final coat is a mix of clear and base to give it an added shine above what would normally be acheived from just the paint. I definately know that I shouldn't apply any sort of "heavy duty" polish on it and should have been more clear and mentioned possibly using a fine or ultra fine polish. I have to say it does look purdy, and will look a LOT better when I take it out of the garage after it's set completely and has all the trim, emblems decals etc back on. I'm figuring at least a month, maybe two before I can finally take it out for a drive.

"integrated clear coat"??? Never heard of it. And I have sprayed alot of paint.

Sounds cool... Being that the clear and base are the basically the same stuff... just fancy wording that's all.

------------------
BlueGT

Cadaver, Check out Maaco or Earl Sheibe. Both offer a "budget" option that uses a base/clear combination as well as a two stage. Had to go the budget route as I couldn't justify spending more on a paint job than I've put into the whole car including purchase. I figure if I can get it looking better than it did with the crystalized clear coat and exposed gelcoat layer that was on it before it would be worth it. heh

You treat it just as any single stage paint. All they do is mix the clear into the color when they spray it...same as they used to do with high metallic colors before they thought up basecoat/clearcoat system. He is right even though it feels dry, it will take several months to completely cure especially in winter. DONT do any waxing. Rubbing compound will also 'smear' it.

just open any can of older paint and look in the can and youll see the top half of can is just clear, all the color particals are at the bottom.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 02-16-2003).]

You say they spray several coats of base THEN mix the clear with the base and spray it. Sounds like a two part system to me. And I still say I wouldnt do it.

Like Roger said... it take time to cure... Fresh paint has to breathe to cure. Waxing too soon tends to do some nasty things to paint. Some shops bake the paint to speed up the curing process. Some leave it to good 'ole mother nature. Humidity also has a lot to do with the drying time. It will take longer to dry this time of the year than it would if you painted it this summer or in a dryer climate. Don't play around with the paint too much, and don't press hard on it for a week or so.

------------------
BlueGT

So far the only thing the car has done since I got it back is sit in the garage. I did take a soft cloth this afternoon to wipe up all the kitty paw prints that accumulated overnight (d@mn cats! heh). I won't be putting any of the trim, decals or emblems on for at least a week, possibly two just for good measure. I don't plan on doing anything to the finish until at least april to give it extra curing and hardening time.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and I'll see about posting some "before and after" pics when I get the interior finished and get a real nice shine on the paint.

quote Originally posted by cadaver: You say they spray several coats of base THEN mix the clear with the base and spray it. Sounds like a two part system to me. And I still say I wouldnt do it.

no, its sprayed like an old single stage paint. Its just got 2 or 3 coats of color with the clear already mixed into it. Not quite as glossy as basecoat with a full clearcoat, but about 1/2 the price.

quote Originally posted by 862M4inCA: Thanks to everyone for the advice and I'll see about posting some "before and after" pics when I get the interior finished and get a real nice shine on the paint.

I'm seriously considering a Maaco paintjob like what you're talkin' about... Can't wait to see the pics. How long did it take them to do? Did you do any of the prep work? What/how did you check out their work to decide which place to do your car.

Rob

------------------
86 SE V6 4 Speed

I actually had Earl Sheibe do the work. They were running a special until tomorrow for up to 50% off. My package actually worked out to be about 40% off. I did some of the prep work myself and had them finish it for an extra $80 as I wasn't sure I would have the time to finish sanding before the sale was up. I also removed all the trim I could including the passenger mirror. One think that I would definately have to stress as I wasn't aware of all the damage I had is to really make sure you don't have any spider cracks in the body. I noticed after they painted it that several showed up on the doors as well as the front fascia. It's not noticable from 5-10 feet away but you can really tell when you get close and look at the right angle. I dropped the car off on the 13th around 1 or so and was able to pick it up on the 15th at around the same time. I may move the car out of the garage tomorrow to get some pics to post of it if the weather isn't too bad. They've been calling for rain lately so not sure what tomorrow will bring. In the meantime I'll go ahead and post a couple before pics.

[This message has been edited by 862M4inCA (edited 02-18-2003).]