My car is soon to be collected from bodyshop ... what should i do for the best??

[S3 Paul]

My Nogi Blue S3 has been at the body shop for some work i wanted doing... mainly stone chips and a pigion shapes chip in the paint.
As with most things it snow balled into alot more things being done !
So its had quite alot of new paint , They painted it yesterday and i will be collecting it monday.
How long should i leave the paint to harden? They have baked it so does it still want leaving for a while? Should i just hose it off to remove dust ? then after a few days wash it?
What products should i use? im sorted on washing and drying its more a case of what pollish and wax? i have used auto glyn super resin pollish before ( after dodo lime prime if time allowed ) then either rain forest rub, hi deff wax or dodo super natural wax. As a detailer spray i use megs ultimate detailer...
I dont have a buffer/ power polisher so it will all be by hand.
Am i using the right stuff? Will it be good for the fresh paint?

 

[XFi]

No need to leave the paint to harden as it's been on the oven already. It will of already been polished also so it's unlikely you'll take away much of the new paint polishing by hand. Autoglym SRP is good stuff and has a lot of filling properties to reduce the scratches. As for wax, Dodo SN is the most expensive and 'up market' one. Wax is all personal preference, the HD wax is a hybrid (and also has filling properties if I remember right?) so will probably last longer than the RFR but I can't comment on how long SN lasts.

As for a QD I can't comment as I've never used one

 

[S3 Paul]

Thanks.
I seem to live in an area that suffers from "hard water" rain.
Meaning water marks from rain if left for a long time ( when lazy have sometimes only washed my car at weekends ) are a real task to shift.
Any ideas ( other than building a garage) how to avoid stains like this? will any products help protect my paint??

 

[XFi]

Sounds like you may benefit more from a sealant. Waxes give lots of lovely beading but this will also leave dust spots all over the roof and bonnet etc. The Werkstatt products are good from what I've seen.

 

[S3 Paul]

Ah... when i first got the car i bought some wolfgang paint sealant...
That kind of thing?
from what i was told... wash...pollish... sealent ... wax?
is that roughly how it goes?

 

[XFi]

Sounds right. You might want to clay it before the polishing stage but I wouldn't have thought it'd need doing due to fresh paint. Wax over a sealant is fine but not the other way around!

 

[John @ PB]

Hi,

On your colour of blue, I would recommend the Werkstat Acrylic Kit: Werkstat Acrylic Kit | Werkstat Car Care & Detailing Products

The first aspect is Prime which is a chemical paint cleaner - it also lays down a basecoat of sealant. One application of this product is required. The Acrylic Jett is the sealant product and this is applied in, what is essentially, a mist and wipe process. It can be layered to great effect with further improvements in the finish, beading and durability.

This sealant will maximise metallic flake, give a highly reflective, slick, glossy finish. A wax is not required above this.

The third aspect, Acrylic Glos, will be very useful to you to to overcome your hard water issue: after washing the car, prior to drying it, mist Glos onto the surface and use it as a drying aid - the added lubrication will make drying faster and safer whilst the Glos will replace the small amount of protection lost during the wash process.

If the car is properly prepared at the bodyshop, it should not need polished. We recommend polishing is only carried out every 12 to 18months at most. If careful washing and drying procedures are observed, it should be possible to go 18months without inducing any swirls or wash marring.

If you'd like any more advice, feel free to email or call if you'd prefer.

 

[S3 Paul]

Bit of an update...
My plan is to clean the car on sunday ,
Today i cought a glance of the car with sun light across the rear quarter... it has buffing marks...
So... by hand i need to remove these before sealing the paint... how should i go about it?
Should i try super resin polish ? will this be gental enough? or do i need something stronger? ive used dodo juice lime prime before to remove swirls but that wasnt on new paint... where should i start??

 

[XFi]

Lime prime will be fine as its not too abrasive. Even if it's new paint is shouldn't really make any difference as it's already been hit with cutting and polishing compound. The paint won't be any harder say in a few months times compared to how it is now. SRP will do but I don't think you'll get anywhere near full correction by hand.

 

[S3 Paul]

Thanks for the help here,
Would i be better using dodo juice lime prime or lime prime lite?