I'm wondering how long I should wait to put on my decals after getting a new paint job. Also, the directions for the decals say use a naptha base cleaner. What cleaners are naptha based?

 

You can go to about any home center and find naptha, basically like a paint thinner type liquid, if your installing vinyl grafixs, you can just use a good pnemonia based cleaner to clean the surface like windex, and if your going to be installing the grafixs "wet" I've always used an old windex bottle filled most the way with water, add a little rubbing alcohol maybe 4 cap fulls-helps water evaporate just a little faster than by itself, and add about 2-3 drops of JOY dishwashing liquid not DAWN, JOY-different ingredients. Spray the surface sticker is going onto AND the back of the decal before you lay it on, then once you have it positioned, just take your little squeegy and work from the center out in a fanning like motion pushing all the liquid out, then let it sit a few minutes before you remove the top paper.
I went to featherlite for a company I used to work for and learned their techniques for applying decals, they do most of theirs dry, tape it into position, measure, check again, then pull back one side and apply, then the other, big ***** technique I call it, I used to decal all the semi's in our companies fleet and the ownwer/operators, and quite a few Budweiser trucks-they're tough, once I was comfortable doing this, it is much quicker doing them dry. Just can't F.... up. Know what I mean?!

 

Well I do all types of decals for a large body shop. My first question to you is what type of decals & how large are they? Personally we replace decals on fresh paint daily. The paint need to be dry & polished as if you are done with it. I then clean my surface with water, then regular rubbing alcohol ( this wont hurt quality paint jobs & you wont have to worry about that ) If I am wanting to ba able to move the decal around after its applied to the vehicle till i get it positioned as i want i use Sprayway glass cleaner ( blue & white can, that you should be able to buy anywhere ). I apply the glass cleaner to both the surface that has been prepped & the back of the new decal. Then I place it on the vehicle position where i want it to be, use a small squeegee to gently squeegee all the glass cleaner from the vehicle. Normally all the factory decals that I install have a paper backing i will then apply glass cleaner to the top of the paper backing & squegee again. I then wipe all excess glass cleaner with soft terry cloth towel & allow decal to set for 1/2 hour or so, or you can gently dry with heat gun or blow dryer. then slowly & gently remove paper backing. Then wipe clean with that terry cloth towel again, and Wala your done..... Like I said before, just my 2 cents worth, but there are many ways to do it. GOOD LUCK!!!

 

How "fresh" is the paint if its been polished? By polished do you mean buffed out/ I hope you dont buff it the day you paint it.

 

Normally you would wait a day or two to sand & polish a paint job after it has been painted. It depends on the products you are using and knowledge of the crew using those products. You actually can sand & polish a vehicle that has been painted that day if the right hardners have been used in the clears & the vehicle has been baked in a paint booth. But in most situations most quality shops make the time to allow them to set a day or two before this process takes place. Besides if you have ever done any polishing of buffing you will find that the longer you wait the harder that clear gets & this makes it that much harder to acheive that wet look type gloss we all love.

 

i buff paint the day i paint it... fresh paint has no problem taking a buff or laying decals on it...

like the guy a few post before said he lays decals the day the car has been painted....

typical day in the shop after all "body work" had been done...

8:00 Prep

9:00 Paint
Time Can Vary
10:00-10:30 Comes out if the Booth

10:45 Wash the Car, Wet Sand, Buff, Polish
Time Can Vary
So well say after lunch now

12:00-12:30 Decals are being layed on the car

1:30 Car goes to prep line

2:30 Car gets full detail (including wax)

3:30 Customer is Called

4:00-5:00 Car is Picked up
Sometimes picked up the next day

so what was the point of your post again???

 

if you bake a car the clear isnt going to get any harder really, that depends on bake temp (norm 140) and time of bake, and most of your high quality body shops are "production shops" which means they push through a lot of car, so they buff the same day.

now i cant say this for everybody so you do have one correct point,

but most people if they are painting cars for a living in a "quality shop" they know what they are doing

btw i paint cars for a living

 

Ive worked in a few shops and weve never finished the jobs that quickly. Theyve all been custom shops with a lot of detail put into the jobs. Im not in any way diminishing your shop or work, but I don't know of any top quality custom shops that work the finish that quickly. Yeah, it may be harder to get that look, but the finished product is what you see in mags and in shows. Once again, don't take this as a personal attack as you obviously have. I've just never worked at a shop that would receive and release a car in one day, unless the client requests that, in which case we explain the normal process and advise against a quick finish job. The fact that you paint cars for a living says little about your skill. The guy at the local Macco paints cars for a living also. I think he drives a Jetta too. The point of the post was, big assembly line shops may turn out cars in a day, but I don't think many custom shops do. Most high quality shops are "production shops"? I don't think many will agree with you on that one. By the way, the original post wasn't directed to you, or meant for you.

 

I'm 25 and don't know it all, but by 21 your already an expert. Good job!

 

WOW, we got way off this topic in a hurry, LOL ......

 

Yeah, I take responsibility for that. Sorry about wasting everyones time.