Washing freshly painted area

[werly]

Advices I've got so far are not to wash freshly painted area until 30/60/90 days later (the longer the better I suppose!?) But darn my OCD cannot live with that.

I have a newly painted spoiler which is already on the car, I plan to wash the car this coming weekend, by then the new paint will be on the spoiler for...2 or 3 days at most

Assuming I can have it washed (if not I would also like to know the reason behind it, I heard that the new paint needs to breath? It'd be wonderful if someone could elaborate on that), here is what I plan to do:

1. no polishing for sure

2. pressure washer rinse

3. foam cannon

4. hand wash mitt (gentle touch up on the spoiler especially)

5. pressure washer rinse

6. air blower dry

7. microfiber towel dry (again, will go easy on spoiler)

That's basically all, I am thinking about using quick wax spray but uncertain about how it will treat the new paint.

If there was any step not new-paint-friendly please let me know.

Or any opinion on revising my wash is welcomed as well Thanks!

[AutoCon]

The thirty days thing is that the paint is "Out gassing" and curing and that pertains to putting on a LSP(Wax or sealant), doing what you described should not harm anything as long as you are gentle, your wing was baked and sanded then compounded/polished right after it was painted so the polishing step has already happened.

If you use a quick detailer just make sure it is silicon/wax free until the paint has hardened up and cured.

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by Auto Concierge

The thirty days thing is that the paint is "Out gassing" and curing and that pertains to putting on a LSP(Wax or sealant), doing what you described should not harm anything as long as you are gentle, your wing was baked and sanded then compounded/polished right after it was painted so the polishing step has already happened.

If you use a quick detailer just make sure it is silicon/wax free until the paint has hardened up and cured.

+1. Washing is fine, just no waxes, etc. til the paint fully cures.

[M3PO]

You definitely want to wash it and do so carefully IMO. When the paint is still curing, it is soft and is susceptible to etching from water and at higher risk for impurities embedding in the finish.

[werly]

Thanks for the feedback guys

So no quick wax spray for this weekend, but what about pressure washer + foam cannon? Will it damage the still soft paint? Pressure washer is 2000 psi/137.9 bar

[werly]

Originally Posted by M3PO

You definitely want to wash it and do so carefully IMO. When the paint is still curing, it is soft and is susceptible to etching from water and at higher risk for impurities embedding in the finish.

I have a filter system for water so maybe that will help?

[mikenap]

Just as an aside, I recently spoke with Dr. G at Optimum and he stated that Opti-Seal and Optimum Car Wax are both safe for fresh paint. I'd heard this before, but wanted to verify it first hand. He claims he has body shops using both products after resprays and neither will affect outgassing. If you are unsure, give him a call.

[M3PO]

Originally Posted by werly

I have a filter system for water so maybe that will help?

I was referring more to water from the road that will be full of all kinds of nasty stuff. No matter how bad the water is that you wash with, as long as you dry it well, you should be okay.