Tips For Washing and Waxing Your Car Finish

Can I Wax My New Paint Job?

We use compounds, polishes and glazes in the body shop environment, but wax contains silicone, which is a problem for spraying paint. You should not wax on top of fresh paint. A paint finish may appear fully dry, but can take time for it to fully cure. Wax seals and protects your paint, which may not allow your paint to breath and cure properly. I have heard that you should not wax a new paint job for 1 month to 6 months. However, this is something that I can’t get a straight answer.  It’s different depending on who you are talking to.  I feel that paint should be fully cure in 30 days, so I vote for 1 month. However, not knowing for sure, I called PPGs Technical line. This is what they said. The paint is not fully cured for 90 days, so this is the amount of time to wait according to PPG.   Seams like a long time, but it’s always best to go with the recommendations, as they know more about their products than I do, so 3 months it is!

After 3 Months Should I Wax My Car?

Even though we will not be waxing in the body shop, there are still a lot of questions about it. And when it’s time, a good coat of wax is recommended and will help protect your paint finish. So, here is a video that does a good job of explaining the washing and waxing process.

Here is another video that I took at SEMA a few years ago. They are demonstrating a product that helps remove scratches and swirls left from drying the vehicle. If you have a black car, you know exactly what I am talking about and how hard it is to fight this problem.