Repainted panels - precautions?

[Wes8398]

Once AG puts on a sale that I just can't pass up, I'll be doing my first correction jobs on my wife and I's vehicles. The plan is to be using GG's DA with LC hydro tech pads, m105, m205, optimum poliseal, and collinite 845.
My question is regarding panels that have been repainted within the last year. Do I need to take any precautions with them? I'm assuming that the layer of clearcoat is thinner than OEM, but with a DA, that's really not a concern, right? The most recently repainted panel has had 6+ months to cure. The car with the repainted panels is a 2006 Cadillac. The other car (which has far more aged-looking paint) is a highway commuter 2004 mazda3.

Thanks for any input.

[sohail99]

The repainted areas have more clear than OEM paint, making wetsanding and refinishing on them, easier! OEM paint is really thin and personally I would never wetsand it unless absolutely necessary and then too with a PTG!

DA is ok! Do the repainted panels have orange peel?

2-3 months is enough for paint to cure. You can go ahead and work on them like you would, on any other panel

[tuscarora dave]

Just be aware that some painters may use a little more hardener in their process than others so your repainted panels may be harder than the OEM painted panels. What is working well on the OEM painted surfaces may not be sufficient for the repainted panels. Of course this could work the other way around too. I always do a separate test section where I am aware of a repainted section on a car that I am working on.

Another consideration when compounding or polishing repainted panels could be whether or not there is body filler underneath the paint on the repainted panel. The presence of body filler will change the rate at which the resulting heat dissipates from the panel and could result in overheating of the paint on that particular panel while machine compounding or polishing. Some may think that this would be more of a concern while rotary polishing and that may be true but on many occasions I have seen a thread with photos of DA backing plates where the velcro has been completely melted off of the backing plate so it is something to be aware of while DA polishing as well.

These are my thoughts and observations about the subject, all of which come from my own experience polishing cars. Hope it helped. TD

[BobbyG]

If the paint is 6+ months old then you'll treat it like any other automotive finish.

The film thickness may not be and more than likely isn't as thin as a factory applied finish.

Automobile manufactures use an electrostatic process to tightly control the amount of paint applied to a car. Most if not all are sprayed as a dry coating and then baked to complete the process.

All of the shops I'm in touch with use a more conventional wet spray method and have the luxury of adding more paint is desired.

Typically rotary polishers generate more heat due to their design vs a dual action polisher but it's not impossible to warm things up with a dual action polisher.

Optimum Poli-Seal is a nice product that cleans and protects. In this case it would not be my first choice in sealants.

Optimum Opti-Seal is a true paint sealant with no cleaning properties. It seals and protects paint under a crystal clear barrier of cross-linked polymers. Dirt, moisture, oil, and UV radiation are all sealed out of the paint to maintain optimum gloss.

[Wes8398]

Thanks a bunch for the info so far folks. I'm taking it all into consideration.