Paint Gurus: How long between painting and waxing for my Targa bar?

steve911 · steve911's Garage

I'm going to (finally) repaint my very faded targa bar this weekend. Once the bar is painted, how long do I/should I wait before waxing it?

FWIW, I'll be spraying the bar with Wurth's Satin Black enamel.

Any other tips/thoughts are always welcome!

philfran · 04-07-2003, 02:45 PM

Not sure about Wurth. But, most paints should not be waxed for 30 days.

scottb · 04-07-2003, 03:03 PM

Shouldn't the Targa bar be a matte finish? Won't waxing it give it something of a gloss?

Kurt B · 04-07-2003, 03:09 PM

Paint has to be totally hardened. They say a month.
I agree.
If you don't, you'll wax it and notice that what appear to be wax swirls won't rub out. They actually get embedded into the paint if not sufficiently dry.

steve911 · steve911's Garage

ScottB-
It never occurred to me to wax the targa bar (or the black part of the fuchs wheels for that matter), but I was talking to the guys at carcareonline a while back and Larry (I think) said - "Well, its painted, so why shouldn't it be waxed - you wax the paint on your car to protect it, don't you?"

He didn't say it in a mean way, just put it into terms that made sense and convinced me that it was something I should be doing that I hadn't.

I think the reason why Targa bars are matt finishes (now) is that many have been on the car for 15+ years and never seen any wax to protect them and have just plain oxidized. FWIW, I resprayed both the vent (cowl) grille and the rear deck lid grill and they now look MUCH nicer than before.

I'm using the Wurth's Satin, which is a low luster, so the wax shouldn't raise the shine that much, which is what it might look like if I were using a high gloss or clear coat. Anyway, it'll look a heck of a lot better than what the targa bar looks like now.

Harlan Chinn · Harlan Chinn's Garage

No Less than 30 days, the longer you wait the better chance for the paint to thoroughly cure or harden.

jtratza · 04-07-2003, 04:23 PM

My Targa is a 1987 and resides in Texas so you can imagine it gots lot's of sun. Especially as a daily driver. I wax it with Klasse about once or twice a year and use McGuires quick wax ever so often when I wash the car. The finish looks fine. Not glossy but not flat black either. I do need to rub it out with a terry cloth towel after using McGuires otherwise it leaves streaks. You may need to just clean and polish the bar which is a far site easier than repaint.

911SC Pilot · 04-07-2003, 04:55 PM

Didnt know you can wax enamel.Arent Targa bars painted with a coat of paint and a coat of clear coat ?

And On a side note, some should learn the use of a high speed buffer, and some industrial wax`s, polishes, and sealers. What you buy at your local auto store cant touch these products. Its really not that hard to learn how to use one, so you dont burn your paint.

911SC Pilot · 04-07-2003, 04:57 PM

O and yes, you should wait 30 days to wax, or wash your car with soap (even though you shouldnt use soap at all. ). This also applies to Paint shop painted cars.

lateapex911 · 04-07-2003, 09:48 PM

As long as you're shooting, spray some scrap material in the same way you spray the targa bar. Then after waiting at least 30 days for the paint to gas out and properly cure, test the scrap part with wax. Try different types of wax on different sections to see the difference in finish gloss, and be sure to leave a section unwaxed as a control.

Also, I know it goes without saying, but use no wax that contains silicone.

Zendalar · 04-07-2003, 10:33 PM

Acrylic paints (like the ones you paint the rest of the car with) are usually hardened in the oven. When the car is painted it gets to be in oven for lets say 24 hours. In this time the car is 60-70 celsius hot and the paint cures/hardens pretty well.

Although the painters I have talked with have said that one should not wash the car with any dirt dissolving agents in couple weeks and one should not wax the car in a month or so. Even though the paint is dry, it might suck some chemicals from the wax/dissolving agents therefore ruining the paint.

Dan Owens · 04-08-2003, 05:05 AM

Steve,

Are you pulling the Targa Bar cover off the car or doing it on the car? I need to do the same but haven't given much thought to figuring out how to pull the bar off or any complications it might create. Anyone ever done that?

Dan O
84' 3.2 Targa

steve911 · steve911's Garage

Dan-
I'm leaving it on and masking all around. There's a tech article on Rennlist that gives a good step by step on doing this (supposedly its on PP also, but I couldn't find it).

There have been several threads on doing this and removing the bar; I know there are a couple of bolts up in the wheel wells that are a challenge to remove and you have to also take care with the Targa seals. All in all, I decided to leave it on and do the best I could. My car is nice, but not concours materiall, so I figure if I goof it up, worst case I can have a body shop respray it another time.

Tom F2 · 04-08-2003, 05:38 AM

The only problem with pulling the targa bar cover is that you've got to unglue the rear roof seal. Other than that, it's a piece of cake. It also helps to loosen the two nuts on each trim piece (the one outboard of the targa bar, which goes under the rear window seal), in order to give it some play to clear the targa bar cover.

Another reason to pull the cover is that it exposes the drains, which often need a good cleaning.

scottb · 04-08-2003, 06:50 AM

Steve: Can you post a link to the Rennlist article?

Thanks.

Scott

steve911 · steve911's Garage

Scott:

go here:
http://members.rennlist.com/5150targa/page3.html

Wil Ferch · 04-08-2003, 09:31 AM

Another option.....
Yes, 30 days or so for paint to cure is better than sooner, but if you use a product that is *not* wax...there are no time limits to consider.

I don't know if Wayne would allow this, but I've come across an incredible product that is used by one of the local high-end collision and restoration shops. It took a long time for me to come around, but I'm convinced...to the point that I now sell this stuff more as a hobby to like-minded enthusiasts, instead of as a small-time business.

This stuff is not a wax, but gives an incredible shine, no silicones either as much as we can determine. Silicones would be *murder* anywhere near a body shop ( can we say "fish-eyes" ?). This shop uses this product on newly refinished cars before delivery, even on new paint. No wax build up or yellowing either.

If Wayne allows, I'll go further only after he responds and says it's OK. If we get the green light, then I can identify the product, costs, delivery, etc.....if some of you would like to try it. Otherwise, I'll gladly retreat if people think this is getting too far into a spam. No problem either way.

--Wil Ferch