[aintsheperty66]

i got my stang painted a few weeks ago, and they said it was ok to wash, but i don't want to ruin the paintjob. any tips on what to use?

[68pony]

Im a big fan of hand washing. the thing about the car washes is the pressure sometimes can mess up the paint. If you want wax, Im sold on turtle wax ICE. It does an amazing job and you can wax just about everything but I dont use it on chrome. For that, I use Never Dul, it does a great job,

[Horseshoeing]

I was told you need to let the paint to cure for 6 months before you wax you car.

[69fastback]

Curing time depends on if they baked it and what kind of paint was used. If it was done right with good base coat/clear coat paint, and baked, you should be able to wax it immediately. You should ask the guy who painted it about it so you'll know.

You can wash it at the car was if you want, but here are a few tips.

1. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING THE BRUSH! I take a microbiber wash sponge with me to scrub my car with. Always make sure it's clean before you use it. You never know what those brushes have been used on, and the brushes are too abrasive anyways.

2. Spray water on your car before you spray soap on it. On a hot day the pores in your paint will expand, and if you spray water on them fist, it will cool it off and the pores will contract. If you spray the soap on first, your wax will not last near as long, and your paint will not stay shiny.

3. Rinsing the car thoroughly is very important too. If you leave any soap residue behind, it won't shine.

4. Clean your fender wells, and door jams. It cracks me up to see a car that the paint is clean on, and the fender wells are full of dirt. It takes just a few minutes but makes a huge difference. It's the detail thing that set a car apart from the rest. It also makes a big difference to clean your windows.

5. Dry it off, but don't use towels, and this includes terry cloth towels. Always use a chamoise, of something of that nature. I use the absorber, and it works well. Towels will spiderweb your paint extremely fast, and hard on the paint.

6. Buy a good QUALITY wax. We're talking about your baby here that you just payed good money to get painted. Don't skimp on the wax. A lot of people like Zaino, and it's ok, but a lot of detail shops will sell you the wax they use, and it's usually much better. I use a wax made by Ardex, and it's what I used when I ran a detail shop, and it's super great stuff. Just check around with some detail shops in your area and see if they'll sell you any.

[tnknepp]

Agreed, curing time depends on what they do to it. I've always had good luck with turtle wax myself.