# How long before I can polish?



## cdubu (Aug 9, 2006)

I had some paint done on my car last week (I scuffed the bumper :-( ) how long should I leave it before I polish it, won't be anything harsher than ag srp or megs compound, or af Tripple, just needs a little more shine...


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## Blueworm (Feb 7, 2007)

I wouldn't be going near any new paint with abbrasive polish eg srp?


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## Jem (Aug 10, 2007)

You could have polished it 2 seconds after you picked the car up from the bodyshop.


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## mr paint (Jul 11, 2009)

Hi, 

depends on how the paint is dried tbh 

air dry upto 1 month 

baked in oven couple of weeks 

baked with i/r next day 

hope this helps 


tommy


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## cdubu (Aug 9, 2006)

Thanks guys I'll find out how it was dried. Same goes with pressure washer I assume?!


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## Jem (Aug 10, 2007)

cdubu said:


> Thanks guys I'll find out how it was dried. Same goes with pressure washer I assume?!


You can do anything you like to it as soon as you collect the car from the bodyshop. The bodyshop will have polished it and most likely wet sanded it before you collected the car anyway.


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## mr paint (Jul 11, 2009)

cdubu said:


> Thanks guys I'll find out how it was dried. Same goes with pressure washer I assume?!


yes if air dried be cautious with jet wash on edges etc

keep a distance you will be fine ... ask them ..stick to what they say ...if anything goes wrong you take it back

tommy


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## cdubu (Aug 9, 2006)

Thanks very much


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## Bmwjc (Apr 2, 2012)

mr paint said:


> yes if air dried be cautious with jet wash on edges etc
> 
> keep a distance you will be fine ... ask them ..stick to what they say ...if anything goes wrong you take it back
> 
> tommy


This is your best advice in my opinion, take the advice the company that did the work they give you and stick to it.


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

I'd be very cautious if the bodyshop has air dried it, why would you have an oven but air dry things, we don't air dry anything at all. If you say the gloss level has dropped slightly, this could be because of the activator used, sometimes with faster activators you will get a drop in gloss levels. You should be able to polish it with what you like. It's sealents you can't apply to it for at least 8-10 weeks as this will stop the out gassing/curing process. As tommy said steer clear of jet/pressure washer and holding it to close or going near any edges.


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## cdubu (Aug 9, 2006)

Thx how long before I should be confident jet washing that panel again?


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## mr paint (Jul 11, 2009)

a month should be fine... you can do it just dont go too close and stay away from edges.. you will be just fine 

usually when we paint a car we will take out booth flatten polish then snowfoam the full car then jet wash off ...saves marking the fresh paint !

tommy


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## 3R PROJECT (Jul 14, 2012)

You never , ever use anything , nothing that is not body shop safe . The only aftermarket product that will allow gas out , offer some protection , clean paint and look really good is Black Light . Chemical guys in the US has personally guaranteed me that the product is body shop safe and it will indeed allow paint to fully gas out . Relevant question was also submited by myself on their youtube channel as proof in case of a customer claim and i received the same answer . To revive your paintwork there is nothing better though than Xpert jewelling polish since it is body shop safe and it has no harsh abrasives for your fresh paint . It offers no protection but your paint will be renewed and and look even better from the day it left the booth .


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