When to wax/seal a new car

[mbguy]

I was of the belief that new cars no longer had to wait several months prior to waxing or sealing. I'm waiting on delivery of a German car that was mfg'd the end of Sept and want to use Menzerna FMJ when it arrives the end of Oct. Do I need to wait?

[mbguy]

I may have answered my own questions with this reference I found. Seems as this was my understanding as well.

How long should you wait before waxing it for the first time?

"A new car that has a factory paint job can be waxed the moment it is rolled out of the plant," according to Meguiar's (Dept. ETD, 17991 Mitchell S., Irvine, CA 92614, 800-347-5700, Car Care Products: Car Waxes to Leather Cleaners, Meguiar's the Leader in Car and Surface Care since 1901), which offers a wide range of car care products for use by hand or with a buffer. "Cars that have factory paint jobs are cured at much higher temperatures, because the car goes through the paint booth without the rubber, plastic and cloth components. This means the paint is cured by the time the car is completed.

"Aftermarket paint finishes, however, are cured at a much lower temperature to ensure the booth doesn't melt nonmetal components. In this case, allow for a 2- to 3-month curing process before your first wax application."

[derek80]

For a new car, I'm pretty sure you can use wax/sealant upon delivery.
Do a full detail as well

[ANGELA]

i think they should be waxed asap!

[Juztang]

Yes you can wax or seal right away. I do a lot of new car prep right off the showroom floor, I usually clay,polish, and seal right away!

[TOGWT]

Polymer Sealant or Waxing New Paint:
New cars-
Paint curing process; new cars go through the painting and baking process without any of the rubber, plastic, and cloth components installed. This is why they can expose the cars paint to such high temperatures these high temperatures and special paints used at the factory level ensure the paint is fully cured by the time the car leaves the assembly line.

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) water based paint and its clear coat are cured at high temperatures; sometimes as high as 300oF in multiple oven zones where the paint is baked with radiation and convection heat so that 90-95% of the paint systems out gassing has taken place, the additional 5-10% will cure within 2-3 days and the vehicle’s paint can be waxed the moment it is rolled out of the manufacturing plant.

By not applying some sort of paint protection soon after purchase the customer is actually damaging the paint surface instead of helping it. Salesmen that advise a customer not to wax a car for 3-6 months are relying on old paint methods and are misinformed about the latest paint technology.

The newer paints are catalyzed (a chemical reaction that cures the paint) lacquers and enamels needed an extensive time for the solvents to release, with modern water based paints this is not necessary. This is a huge problem in dealerships because customers tend to take the advice offered by a salesman who usually knows nothing about paint, rather than a trained paint professional. This goes a long way to understand why fairly new vehicles paint surfaces are in such bad shape even after a relatively short period of time.