Applying ceramic coating to fresh car paint
A common question with us, as well as on the Internet: How long should I wait to apply a ceramic coating to my car paint after it has been repainted or freshly painted?
Freshly painted car paint
So what is it best to pay attention to with freshly painted paint? First of all, it is important that the paint has been sprayed correctly. Any defects in the paintwork after spraying, such as dirt, fish eyes, etc., will remain in it when it is coated. For that, you can go to the painter or a professional detailer: he will re-sand the paint with the appropriate sandpaper and polishing paste and polishing pads. In our future blog posts, we will discuss this in more detail.
But other defects can also crop up during spraying, such as a color difference, runners in the color layer, paint sprayed too thin, and so on. Unfortunately, a detailer cannot always fix these defects. Therefore, it is crucial to go over these aspects of the paint carefully before you think about coating. Do you like to be completely sure? Then you can also come to us for a paint inspection.
How do you prepare fresh paint for ceramic coating?
Proper car paint preparation is necessary for any ceramic coating. Paint sprayed properly? Then it's time to put it in perfect condition. As already known, any defects under the ceramic coating are permanent until the coating is removed again and the paint is given a correction.
First, we make sure the paint is clean and free of any contamination. We do this by thoroughly washing the car using the 2-bucket method. A chemical deep cleaning with iron particles and tar removers is the next step. After that, we give the paint another clay job. This way we clean the paintwork again and there are no more chemicals, oils or other contaminants on the paintwork.
Paint all clean? Check!!! Then we can remove imperfections such as small wax scratches, marring, pigtails,.... We do this with the most appropriate polishes and polishing pads. However, for polishing fresh paintwork you cannot always use just any polishing paste: not all polishes and compounds are suitable for fresh paintwork! We personally use 3D ACA 500 for deeper paintwork defects and 3D ACA 520 as a finishing polish and for light paintwork defects. These 2 polishes are specially designed for use on fresh paintwork. Are you using a polish that is not designed for this purpose? Then you may damage your new paint finish. The polishing pad does not affect the fresh paint, so you can choose it yourself.
Degreasing fresh lacquer
Before you go ceramic coating, the car paint must also be completely free of grease, oils, silicones and so on. Are these present anyway? Then the ceramic coating will not be able to adhere properly, and its lifespan will be significantly reduced. But can you use any degreaser on fresh paint? No, not every degreaser is suitable for fresh paint. Many are too aggressive for fresh paintwork, which means you damage the paint.
We always recommend the Gtechniq Panel Wipe for fresh paint. This degreaser works excellently and also safely. This way you apply the perfect ceramic coating without any paint damage!
Many try to save costs here by making their own blends of isopropyl alcohol. This is highly discouraged! Panel Wipe is indeed based on isopropyl alcohol but has a special ratio and formulation in it. You will find that if you compare your own blend of IPA and Panel Wipe that PW degreases better that your own blend. In addition, Panel Wipe is harmless to the paint, which is not the case with your own IPA degreaser mixture. Finally, it is also necessary to use distilled water with your own mixture, which is also often not done that will only harm the paint and coating. Therefore, definitely do not try to save 5€ on this crucial part!
Applying a ceramic coating to fresh paint?
And finally we come to the frequently asked question: How long should you wait to apply a ceramic coating when your car has just received a new coat of paint? On the Internet, the answer is almost always “2-3 weeks.” But is that correct? Well, yes and no. People often ask this question because of the presence of certain solvents in a ceramic coating. These make the coating spreadable, but can also cause paint damage on freshly sprayed paint. In addition, freshly sprayed paint has to gas out.
In general, it is not recommended to give a freshly painted car paint a ceramic coating within 72 hours. Since the car also needs to be washed first and then prepared again with a necessary paint correction, that also does not happen quickly within 72 hours. So does that mean you can give your paint a coating after 72 hours? No, that depends on the coating you're using.
Paint should gas out for 14 to 24 weeks. This means that the solvents and gases present in the lacquer should slowly “gas out” or dissipate from the lacquer over the next few weeks after spraying. To ensure the quality of the lacquer, it is important not to disturb this process. Then you may already be asking yourself, “Does that mean I have to wait six months to coat my paint? No, not that either.
As indicated earlier, the type of coating is very important. Almost all coatings on the market require waiting at least 2 weeks between spraying fresh paint and applying a ceramic coating. This is because the coating does not allow the gases to dissipate once the coating is applied.
But, you just said the paint needed 14 to 24 weeks to gas out. So why are we allowed to work with these coatings after only 2 weeks? This is a question that is often overlooked, but at the same time a question that we ourselves have no problem with.
In fact, we recommend anyone with freshly sprayed car paint to use Gtechniq's ceramic coatings. Gtechniq's ceramic coatings such as, for example, the Gtechniq CSL Crystal Serum Light and the Gtechniq EXOv4 may be used perfectly on freshly sprayed paint as early as 72 hours!
In fact, Gtechniq's coatings still allow the paint to gas out even after the coating has been applied. This is a huge first and a very exclusive advantage in the detailing world! You don't have to wait 2 weeks as is the case with other detailing brands. And then you would also have to hope that no adverse effects come from the “limited” outgassing of the paint.
With Gtechniq's ceramic coatings, you enjoy a huge time advantage: you only have to wait 3 days to apply it, and the preparation will take less time. Because the car paint can often be coated before the car leaves the workshop!
Conclusion
Stick to the checklist below to apply a ceramic coating.
- Make sure the paint is sprayed without mistakes.
- Make the paint clean and free of any contamination.
- Remove all paint defects.
- Use a polishing paste that is safe for fresh paint such as 3D ACA 500 & 520
- Use a safe degreaser such as Gtechniq Panel Wipe
- Wait at least 72 hours after the paint has been sprayed before applying a ceramic coating.
- After 72 hours, you can apply a Gtechniq ceramic coating.
- NOTE: Other brands usually require at least 2-3 weeks to wait! Not using a Gtechniq? Then check with your distributor just to be sure!
Ceramic coating on fresh car paint