Hey I was in an accident a few weeks ago and they had to put a new hood and bumpers and quarterpanel, when will it be safe to claybar my truck without damaging the paint?

 

i would wait at least a week maybe a month, depending on how well it was painted with what paints and reducers and if you park in the sun or shaded

 

Was it baked?

 

When i was 15 i worked for my dads Ford dealership and we used to run clay on them immediatly after they came out of the oven. So you should be fine at this point

 

Talk to someone at the shop that did the paint work. I wouldn't think fresh paint would need to be claybared right away, but not sure.

 

I would wait at least 2 weeks. If it was baked you might be OK sooner, by why be in such a hurry, and take a chance. Just let the clearcoat harden as much as necessary.

 

I wouldn't touch it with anything but mild soap and plenty of water for 4-6 weeks. Any thing with a potential to stain the paint (bugs, tar, birdcrap) should be removed asap.

 

^^^ X2 ^^^

I'd also move this to the 'Detailing' forum where the OCD's will see it


MGD

 

So was it baked or not baked? That's going to be the determining factor.

 

Now that ive been thinking about it, why would you run clay on it right now, if theres already crap in the clearcoat then they did a ****ty job at the paint shop and i would make them fix it

The only reason we ever ran clay on new pain jobs was if overspray got on a already painted peice we would use the clay to get that off.......

If it was baked, your ok, but if it wasnt then maybe thats how you got stuff in the paint as it was hardening.......

This is all just speculation at this point cause nobody really knows what happened and why you need to run clay on it already

Enlighten us please so we can help!!!!!!!

 

If the paint feels smooth to the touch, it doesn't need it. Only use the clay bar if you have contaminants embedded in the paint. After you wash your truck, feel the paint with your hand. It should be smooth like glass. If not then it needs to be clayed. 2 or 3 times a year should be enough. I don't think your new paint would have this problem. I could be wrong though.