Just Painted Charger-When can I put stripes on?

[BMOTOXSTAR]

Hi,
My 73' Rally Charger has been painted for 2 weeks. I used PPG base/clear. The guy that painted the car said i should wait 90 days to put the Rally stripe kit on.
How long should I wait. 90 days seems just too long.

[hemihead]

I always wait 30 days

[MTPOCKET]

You should listen to the guy that paiinted your car.

[Charger-Bodie]

You should listen to the guy that paiinted your car.

i agree totally with that !!

[Lurker]

if it is stored in doors at romm temp  you could prolly do it sooner but if the painter said 90 days i would do it in 92 days

[Silver R/T]

if you would bake it then you can do it sooner, all the solvent needs to come out from paint before you put vinyl decals on top of it.

[Back N Black]

I installed mine after 3 weeks, no problems so far.

[Charger1973]

Take it back and tell him to paint them on.   

[dads_69]

If your car was baked. You can install them now. We as a production shop do this all the time. Never any issues and many repeat customers also, so we would know if there was any problems with doing so. If not baked, then I would wait at least 30 days according to PPG's recommendations info. list.
Mark

[BMOTOXSTAR]

Thanks for the help guys. I wll take the advice and wait a little longer. I do not want to do the job twice & waste $.
Thanks again.

[bill440rt]

If you're going to sand & buff the car, do it first. I waited about 4 months before applying my stripes. There will always be some shrinkage or "die back" with the paint while it is curing, you may have to buff it twice if it's a show car job. As the paint continues to cure, some texture may come back. It almost looks like "micro-peel." And, my car was baked. You WILL see any shinkage or die back thru the stripes if you look closely.
So far, mine still looks great. It's best not to rush.

[Nacho-RT74]

As stated on the other thread I installed same day, in fact WAS STILL at paint shop when I installed by myself. My car came out from paint shop with stripes on it. Was allmost 2 years ago, and no prob with that.

BTW hey bill440rt there is a clone of your car down here, just with stripe delete exception... the one down here is manual and A/C... your ?
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,30439.0.html 

[BMOTOXSTAR]

If you're going to sand & buff the car, do it first. I waited about 4 months before applying my stripes. There will always be some shrinkage or "die back" with the paint while it is curing, you may have to buff it twice if it's a show car job. As the paint continues to cure, some texture may come back. It almost looks like "micro-peel." And, my car was baked. You WILL see any shinkage or die back thru the stripes if you look closely.
So far, mine still looks great. It's best not to rush.

The Charger was wet sanded & buffed.
Man, what to do. I want them stripes on.

[68chrgrwife]

If you're going to sand & buff the car, do it first. I waited about 4 months before applying my stripes. There will always be some shrinkage or "die back" with the paint while it is curing, you may have to buff it twice if it's a show car job. As the paint continues to cure, some texture may come back. It almost looks like "micro-peel." And, my car was baked. You WILL see any shinkage or die back thru the stripes if you look closely.
So far, mine still looks great. It's best not to rush.

The Charger was wet sanded & buffed.
Man, what to do. I want them stripes on.

Should of had them painted on like we did...then it would be complete!   LOL

[Charger-Bodie]

i personnally like the look of the decals verses painting them on it just has better contrast when its not the exact same gloss leval .....just wait the time and it will be like getting a diferant car when you get the stripes on

[eSJayDee]

As the paint continues to cure, some texture may come back. It almost looks like "micro-peel." And, my car was baked. You WILL see any shinkage or die back thru the stripes if you look closely.

Thanks for that info.  I've been meaning to ask that myself.  I painted my car about 6-7 weeks ago (PPG Omni BC/CC); managed to sand & buff shortly thereafter & I've noticed that some orange peel has returned.

BTW, I'm also waiting to put hood decals, stripes & pentastar (gotta glue it) on.  Figure I'll wait another 2-3 weeks.

[Charger-Bodie]

that orange peal returning is called "pinching" and its usually a sign of the material being applied to heavy or not letting it flash long enuf between coats .

[bill440rt]

that orange peal returning is called "pinching" and its usually a sign of the material being applied to heavy or not letting it flash long enuf between coats .

I always thought that culprit was solvent pop? 
I kept a wall chart going when I painted my cars showing the time I walked into the booth, & the time I exited. That way, I knew the exact flash time to give between coats.
Any catalyzed urethane cures by chemical reaction. I had to sand my '70 with 2000/3000 again after the paint was 5 years old to get that "flat as glass" look again. If I had left a little orange peel texture in the paint the first time, I probably wouldn't have had to do it again a second time. I left a little of that texture in my '69, so far so good.

BMOTOXSTAR, how long did you wait before you sanded/buffed the car?

[Charger-Bodie]

that orange peal returning is called "pinching" and its usually a sign of the material being applied to heavy or not letting it flash long enuf between coats .

I always thought that culprit was solvent pop? 
I kept a wall chart going when I painted my cars showing the time I walked into the booth, & the time I exited. That way, I knew the exact flash time to give between coats.
Any catalyzed urethane cures by chemical reaction. I had to sand my '70 with 2000/3000 again after the paint was 5 years old to get that "flat as glass" look again. If I had left a little orange peel texture in the paint the first time, I probably wouldn't have had to do it again a second time. I left a little of that texture in my '69, so far so good.

BMOTOXSTAR, how long did you wait before you sanded/buffed the car?

Bill solvent pop can also result from that but its more likely caused by the material skinning over to soon before the bulk of the solvent escapes is to fast activator or catilyst ...the solvent "pops" the film open to escape.

[BMOTOXSTAR]

that orange peal returning is called "pinching" and its usually a sign of the material being applied to heavy or not letting it flash long enuf between coats .

I always thought that culprit was solvent pop? 
I kept a wall chart going when I painted my cars showing the time I walked into the booth, & the time I exited. That way, I knew the exact flash time to give between coats.
Any catalyzed urethane cures by chemical reaction. I had to sand my '70 with 2000/3000 again after the paint was 5 years old to get that "flat as glass" look again. If I had left a little orange peel texture in the paint the first time, I probably wouldn't have had to do it again a second time. I left a little of that texture in my '69, so far so good.

BMOTOXSTAR, how long did you wait before you sanded/buffed the car?

The Charger was wet sanded & buffed 2 weeks after paint & clear. I am not a painter so I am not sure if that was long enough or not.
My friend that painted the Charger is pretty descent. No runs, fish eye, orange peel. The paint really shines like glass.For what I paid him I am really surprised at how well it turned out.
The only thing is that there are swirl marks and he said I will have to rub it out with some "Royal Purple". He is old school & that is what he said to do.
I guess maybe I should wait for the stripes after "rubbing" out the swirl marks?

[bill440rt]

2 weeks seems about a decent amount of time. I waited about 3 months, but as long as it's had a good amount of time to cure.

Definitely get those swirls out before applying the stripes. Use a right-angle electric buffer with a foam polishing pad. I like 3M's Perfect-It II glaze or Machine Glaze. Either one works well. Do a 2' x 2' area about 2-3 times each, the swirls should come out.
Use a wax/grease remover or denatured alcohol with a soft cotton cloth on the areas where the stripes go before applying them, to remove any wax/polish/glaze residue.

Here's how I did my bumblebee stripe for some good stripe tips:

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,29293.0.html

[dads_69]

For what its worth since we're on the topic of painting cars. I try to wet sand anything I paint the day after, mush easier vs waiting a week or two, clear isn't as hard as the next day and 99% of the time, it always comes looking like a show car finish. I never say perfect cause theres no such thing as a perfect paint job, not even the Chip Foose jobs. Also, clear coat lasts longer if not color sanded and buffed, minimal nibbing is best so clear will last longer vs color sanding method.
Thats my 
Mark

[Charger-Bodie]

For what its worth since we're on the topic of painting cars. I try to wet sand anything I paint the day after, mush easier vs waiting a week or two, clear isn't as hard as the next day and 99% of the time, it always comes looking like a show car finish. I never say perfect cause theres no such thing as a perfect paint job, not even the Chip Foose jobs. Also, clear coat lasts longer if not color sanded and buffed, minimal nibbing is best so clear will last longer vs color sanding method.
Thats my 
Mark

i agree 100%

[BMOTOXSTAR]

For what its worth since we're on the topic of painting cars. I try to wet sand anything I paint the day after, mush easier vs waiting a week or two, clear isn't as hard as the next day and 99% of the time, it always comes looking like a show car finish. I never say perfect cause theres no such thing as a perfect paint job, not even the Chip Foose jobs. Also, clear coat lasts longer if not color sanded and buffed, minimal nibbing is best so clear will last longer vs color sanding method.
Thats my 
Mark

Mark,
Mark is also the name of the buddy of mine that painted my Charger.
How long can I wait to get the swirlmarks out? 
Can you rub them out by hand? 
Should I be pissed that he wet sanded & buffed the car and did nt just leave the clear alone?
It did look nice before he sanded & buffed but he said that is the way it is done. 
I am glad yousaid that there is no such thing as a perfect paint job. I was getting stressed putting everything back. Found some minimal overspary on a spot or 2. Nothing major. But who wants a trailer queen anyway? I guess factory paint jobs even have some flaws.
Thanks for all the help Mopar buddies.

[dads_69]

I would go over the car completely with 2000 grit or maybe even 2500 grit wet sand paper and rebuff and final glaze buff also. Try a small area first, if that method works, then continue on. Do the worst area first so you'll know right then wether or not the rest of the car will be easy or not also. Trying to rub the scratches out by hand, that won't happen my friend, you'll be rubbing on that car for a week and still not be done. Use a machine buffer at around 1000 to 1400 rpm's speed, you'll get the hang of it if you've done it before, if not, I would have someone who has do it just to be on the safe side for burning through the clear coat. I wouldn't be upset w/your buddy who painted the car hes just doing it by the book it sounds like to me.
Mark