Advice On Paint Care After Re-Spray?

[TM7GTR]

Hey guys,

My r34 is about to get a full re-spray done in r33 midnight purple, and I was just wondering what steps should be taken after the job to care for the new paintwork? (i.e. how long before I should cut back and polish, etc)

[SoulScene]

Hey guys,

My r34 is about to get a full re-spray done in r33 midnight purple, and I was just wondering what steps should be taken after the job to care for the new paintwork? (i.e. how long before I should cut back and polish, etc)

Abit of topic, But LP2 midnight purple? Looking at getting my R34 resprayed midnight purple, having trouble finding some photos to compare the different paintcodes. Love to see some photos of yours when its done! If you don't mind me asking how much is it roughly costing?

[trustr32]

Hey man you won't need to 'cut back and polish' the paint at all. If your getting it done by a professional they will paint it and de-nib it (remove any little specks of dust from the clear coat) and polish it all for you so it's ready to go. Really with today's technology if it were a perfect world and you didn't get any dust in the clear coat at all you could just drive it out of the oven and drive away without touchng it but nothings perfect so they need to fix a few little things.

As far as maintainence just have a chat to the painter once he's done and ask him what polishes he prefers. Good painters always have their own preffered products but ask any of the decent detailers on here for a reccomendation. But really your only concern should be a) not scratching it b) keeping it nice and clean and chamois it after you wash it and c) give it a hand polish/wax evey 3-6 weeks and that will protect it against most things and make washing dirt etc off it an absolute breeze.

[Hadouken]

I have seen first hand what they do. They will Give your car a brand new shiny coat of paint. Then they will take to it with a buffer, a wool pad might I ad.

Now they start cutting the polish and get all the "little blemishes" out. What they dont do and what should be done is use a fine polish after to take out all the hologramming that is caused by their coarse buffing.

It also depends what clear they use, mate of mine recently got the front end resprayed and was told to not touch it with wax or polish for 3 months.

I am very very fussy with paint condition and everytime i see a freshly painted part I wait for the sun, as soon as it hits I guarantee you will see those holograms. I hate holograms haha. And mnp loves making them

[ARTZ]

Just get a good carnuba (or similar) wax and practice practice good washing procedures, I have found that is where most people fail...

DO NOT SCRUB YOUR CAR CLEAN!!

NEVER GO THROUGH AN AUTOWASH!!

NEVER USE A CARWASH BRUSH!!!

Assuming your PB has done a good job that doesnt need correcting.. Which we all hope he has!..If he hasn't you may need some correction work done..in which case seek help

The simplest way is my favourite....

Just clay bar it and apply a good Carnuba or similar wax. after that the most you should ever have to do is a light wash with a soft mitt and a light soap, you will find the dirt just falls off...Once a fortnight wash is fine, but if you see something like for eg.birdshit or tree sap, wash it off asap...even if you just go to the carwash and hit it with a hose...

Then once every six months, wash it with good strong dishwashing detergent to remove your old wax and contaminents, then claybar and reapply your wax...NB.. if you use a liquid wax like NXT 2.0 you will need to reapply every 3 months..My panel beater actually recomended this as his preferred method and his car looks amazing ..i still prefer a proper Carnuba myself

Pretty simple really and results will last for years, decades even...the longer you can stay away from a buff the better...

most of the fancy products you find on the market these days including buffers are there to fix/mask the problem of people not maintaining the paint properly in the first place...

But if you have a new car or paint and you want to try something a bit fancier with a little extra protection, talk to user Mavric on here. I believe he has a good product that might be good for what you want...

[trustr32]

I have no doubt you've seen them at it with the lambswool pads artz lol. when i was at tech the old workbooks even had them using cornflour and a dry pad to "finish" buffing lol. but nowdays most decent painters use foam pads with 3 step cut swirl remover and then polish all with different grade pads. i use liquid polish its much easier to use and has great results. like i said most "decent" painters will remove swirls most shit ones won't.

[ARTZ]

yeah i get the feeling finishing is something that often gets given to the new recruits to do...I've never actually used a lambswool pad only foam...but i know many PBs still do and to be fair, some do get good results.I guess its what you know..good lighting can also make all the difference.

cornflour? thats new to me..

this is a botched paint job i'm working on atm, the paint is terrible, its all different thicknesses and I dont know if it was even buffed..theres alot of peel, hell it barely has a reflection..

wet sand 1500,2000,3000

and after just 1 pass with a buff it has a reflection again..

im yet to finish it but 1 more buff and it should look golden once again...if i have time or it needs it i might hit it a third time

[TM7GTR]

Abit of topic, But LP2 midnight purple? Looking at getting my R34 resprayed midnight purple, having trouble finding some photos to compare the different paintcodes. Love to see some photos of yours when its done! If you don't mind me asking how much is it roughly costing?

Yeah LP2 midnight purple. It won't be done for a few weeks yet, but I'll get some photos up asap. As for cost, I'm getting a lot more than just the paintwork done, so I can't really give you an accurate figure for the re-spray alone sorry. Front bar, bonnet, front diffuser, front guards, rear guards, side skirts, and rear bar are all being worked on at the same time haha

I have seen first hand what they do. They will Give your car a brand new shiny coat of paint. Then they will take to it with a buffer, a wool pad might I ad.

Now they start cutting the polish and get all the "little blemishes" out. What they dont do and what should be done is use a fine polish after to take out all the hologramming that is caused by their coarse buffing.

It also depends what clear they use, mate of mine recently got the front end resprayed and was told to not touch it with wax or polish for 3 months.

I am very very fussy with paint condition and everytime i see a freshly painted part I wait for the sun, as soon as it hits I guarantee you will see those holograms. I hate holograms haha. And mnp loves making them

What do you mean by holograms? Do you have any examples you could post up?

Thanks for all the info btw guys, currently looking through a lot of the detailing threads on here and you all seem to be very knowledgeable, plus you've done some amazing work.

[Hadouken]

See all those streaks? That is one of many forms of holograms

[junkie]

I could be wrong, but Ive heard many people suggest not to use sealant for the first couple of months, the let the paint "cure" a bit more. normal wax should be fine though.

this may not apply to 2pack but im not sure, best check with the painter

[trustr32]

Yeah it is recommended as the solvents are still coming out of the paint for a few months even with 2 pack but it wont hurt to use a liquid polish we used to polish them 2 days after painting. Unfortunately you have to in the crash repair industry. Same as baking in an oven. it's better to let it cure naturally rather than force dry but you cant have each job sitting in the oven for a day or two and leave them a week before fitting them up.