Caring for your vehicle's new paint job...
 

We here at DTM Autobody recommend that you follow these recommended regimens for for the first few months of your new paint job in order to maintain its optimal quality.


In the first 90 days...

Do not wash or polish the vehicle--this will allow the finish to dry and harden completely. (Do not use silicone--containing waxes or polishes.)


In the first 30 days...

Do not use a commercial wash. Stiff brushes or sponges could damage the surface. Wash the vehicle by hand with cool water and a very mild car wash solution. Use a soft cloth.

Wash the vehicle in the shade--never under the sun.

Do not "dry wipe" the vehicle--always use clean water. Dry wipe may cause scratches on finish.

Extreme heat or cold are to be avoided. Keep the vehicle parked in the shade whenever possible.

Do not drive on gravel roads. Chipping the finish is easily done in the first days.

Avoid parking underneath trees or near factories with heavy smoke fallout because these can cause spotting on the paint.

Avoid areas with a lot of birds. Bird droppings have high acid content and will damage paint surfaces so should be cleaned off as soon as possible.

Do not spill gasoline, oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, or windshield solvent on the new finish. Should accidents happen, IMMEDIATELY rinse the content off with water. DO NOT WIPE.

Do not scrape ice or snow from the surface. Your snow scraper can act like a paint scraper if the finish is new. Brush off loose material with a soft snow brush.


We hope this information is useful to everybody and enjoy your day guys!!!

Not many cars come to the owner fresh from the factory. Some/many are probably well over 30 days old, and 90 or more as well. Check the build date if your worried. Given the low-to-nothing VOC finishes required these days, I'd be surprised if the finish took more than a fews days to be completely cured.

Agreed, it seems that there's near a 90 day delay from Japan to the dealership lot (I know I received my car in April, with a January build date), so I was able to do clear-bra right away (not supposed to be done on <90 day old paint)

How do you check build dates?

Data plate, drivers side door jam.

drivers side door jam (think thats the term) there's a sticker that'll have the month and year built, plus the info about proper tire inflation pressure. I just picked my car up last thursday, came right off the boat the day before, build is 6/13

Driver's side do................. beating dead horse.

-alex

That's fresh, yo! Or something like that.

Considering how thin the paint is, it'll dry rather quickly.

Not to mention cars do sit...

Yeah, seems that a month and change for cars to arrive on lots. My car is a 5/13 build date, dealer took delivery 7/15/13, I took delivery 7/30/13.

This. I had my tail lights painted and the shop told me the same. "You can wax it tomorrow, it'll be fully dried in 24 hours"

Same here, how true is that 90 day rule? I'm pretty sure the factory paint is already fully cured right? When I got delivery of my car it was dirty and needed a wash so I had to wash it and planning to wax it next week. It'll be about 60-90 days now since it was manufactured and I can't stand not having it wax because of the color and how easily water spots shows up.

Interestingly, it rained for the first time since I got my car. It's obvious that someone waxed my car because the water had that obvious bead roll and clumping that waxed cars show.

Maybe mine was waxed also but I rather wax it myself anyways, at least then I'll know if it's actually waxed or not.