How do I care for Single Stage Paint?

[mjm813]

I just have repainted my 1972 MGB with a single stage paint. The color is teal blue, which is a medium blue. What products do you recommend for this type of paint?

I was told by the paint shop not to wax for a few months and just use a polish for now.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi mjm813,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!


Sounds like a nice color for that car. You want to take care of a single stage paint just like you want to take care of a clear coat finish except that in most cases you'll find single stage paints more forgiving to work on and easier to create a deep wet look as compared to a clear coat finish.

When you're painter told you to hold off an applying a wax that was to allow any residual solvents and other ingredients in the paint to outgas.

Waxes, or paint protectant by their very nature are products formulated to seal the paint and thus protect it, for this reason you don't want to apply a wax to fresh paint.

On the other hand, all of Meguiar's polishes are completely safe for fresh paint as they won't seal the paint and will allow any solvents to continue to outgas throughout the curing, drying and hardening process.

For more information on this topic, here's an article I wrote that delves into the deeper things about fresh paint.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3704

[Mike Phillips]

As for how to take care of a new paint job, here's a related link on how to take care of a new car, skip the waxing step and all the information still applies.

Suggested Products for Taking Care of a New Car


Probably the most important thing you can do if you wash your car yourself is to get a high quality car wash soap, a plush wash mitt and a Grit Guard Insert

[Mike Phillips]

Besides the above, here's the best advice I've ever heard when it comes to taking care of a car that's important to you...

”Find something you like and use it often”

If you find a product you like, then apparently the results look good in your eyes, if you use it often, then your finish will always look great. It's only when you begin to neglect or abuse the finish that it goes down hill.

[Mike Phillips]

And of course, here's some great threads for your reading enjoyment...


List 'O Links

Many of the things we cover in our Saturday Classes are discussed and talked about in the threads found in the sub-forums of the Information Station


For example,

Circles or Straight Lines?
Which LSP is Best for Light Colors
How To Remove Swirls By Hand
Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line
How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX
How to locate Meguiar’s Professional & Detailer products in your hometown
How to tell when a Meguiar's wax is ready to remove - The Swipe Test
The Dual Action Counterweight "Controversy"
What are the Differences Between Meguiar's Waxes
What's the Deal with "Layering"?
Measuring Clear Coat Thickness
Rotary vs. PC vs. Regular Orbital Buffer
Glass Polishing...Deep Cleaning
NXT Tech Wax Cure Time
Suggested Products for Taking Care of a New Car
Colored Waxes - Do they really work?
PC + #83 not "Cutting" it! - The Limits of the Dual Action Polisher
What it Means to Remove a Scratch
Why Meguiar’s Recommends Polishing Paint
Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle
A Lesson From White Paint
Each one, teach one... Ferrari Fiorano 355 F1 Spider

[Mosca]

Mike, I'd like to take a second to point out that mjm813 has the perfect opportunity here, the one that we ALL wish we had; the chance to care for the finish right from the start. Even a new car owner doesn't usually get that!

So I'll ask, do you think that the use of a glaze at this stage, maybe #5, will pay off handsomely down the line in improved depth of finish?


Tom

[mjm813]

Tom/Mike:
Thank you both for replying . I have a couple of more questions:

Would number Show Glaze #7 work better? Can I use #7 with an orbital buffer on new paint or should I do it by hand?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Mosca
Mike, I'd like to take a second to point out that mjm813 has the perfect opportunity here, the one that we ALL wish we had; the chance to care for the finish right from the start. Even a new car owner doesn't usually get that!

So I'll ask, do you think that the use of a glaze at this stage, maybe #5, will pay off handsomely down the line in improved depth of finish?


Tom

I don't see where were different on our approach, if you look above I recommended using a pure polish, M05 is a pure polish.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by mjm813
Tom/Mike:
Thank you both for replying . I have a couple of more questions:

Would number Show Glaze #7 work better? Can I use #7 with an orbital buffer on new paint or should I do it by hand?

#7 is a great product for taking care of your brand new paint and yes you can apply it with an orbital buffer. If you're talking about a traditional orbital buffer with an 11" or 12" bonnet on it, then you're going to use a lot of product just saturating the bonnet.

If it were mine, I would use a soft, clean foam applicator pad and apply a thin coat of the #7 Show Car Glaze and then remove it using a clean, soft microfiber polishing cloth or a clean, soft 100% cotton terry cloth towel.

Remember, pure polishes should be applied using a thin coating, not a thick coating. also, pure polishes by Meguiar's don't have to dry and shouldn't be left to dry, instead, apply a thin coat and then remove it. Some people apply a section at a time and then remove it while a lot of skilled professionals apply to the entire car and then remove it.

Your car is small enough I think you could easily apply it to the entire car and there remove it all at once.

Also, when removing, don't try to take it all off at once, but instead, remove most of it and move on, and then remove what you didn't get with a second pass using these techniques...

Final Wiping Techniques

[Accumulator]

mjm813- The #5 vs. #7 (and also #3/#81/Deep Crystal Step #2) will boil down to personal preference. Like Mosca, I sorta prefer #5 as it's downright idiot-proof. But if you use #7 properly it'll give the best look, especially on single stage.

Whichever pure polish you use, you'll have to redo it after every wash (one reason why I like the easier #5 for use during the curing period).

[Mosca]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
I don't see where were different on our approach, if you look above I recommended using a pure polish, M05 is a pure polish.

Yep, I understand that; I'm asking a little bit different question. Aside from the glaze providing gloss, a little bit of protection, and allowing outgassing at this stage, do you think that the paint will look better a couple years down the road because of the way it got cared for in the first couple months, with the glaze? Or do you think that it will look about the same, that the extra care at this stage makes it look better now but will have no affect on the appearance down the road?

What I hypothesize is that the extra care today will help smooth the paint, but I have absolutely no reason to think that other than it makes sense. I could be right, I could be 100% wrong. Personally I would always err on the side of "care for the paint".


Tom

[sneek]

take a look at joe's mg exteme makeover

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Mosca

Do you think that the paint will look better a couple years down the road because of the way it got cared for in the first couple months, with the glaze?

Or do you think that it will look about the same, that the extra care at this stage makes it look better now but will have no affect on the appearance down the road?

Tom

Instead of thinking, let's look at history, history shows paint that is cared for looks better and lasts longer than paint that is neglected. (Assuming the paint in question is on a daily driver exposed to wear and tear.

Also, whether the owner of a freshly painted car applies something or not, keep in mind often times someone at the body shop applied something, this could be as little as a hand applied glaze or a wet sand, cut and buff using a number of different compounds, polishes and glazes. Often times the owner of the car may pick it up from the body shop and never know what was done to it in total.

Meguiar's has been making pure polishes for paint ever since paint has been applied to cars, knowing this, if it were my car, I would apply a pure polish to the paint after taking my car home.

I know plenty of people have picked up their car from the body shop, parked the car in a clean, dry garage and let it sit untouched for a month while the paint cures, dries and hardens.

Either way, in the big picture, maintaining the car will insure the car will always look good versus neglecting.