How Long Does It Take to Get a Car Back After Paint Repair?
2 Answers
If it's a small area of paint repair, the car can be picked up in 24 hours. For larger areas of paint repair, it may take 3 to 5 days before the car is ready. Below are some methods for car paint maintenance: Waxing: Car waxing involves applying a layer of wax to the car's surface to protect the paint from contaminants. Waxing offers numerous benefits, such as waterproofing, heat resistance, UV protection, and anti-static properties. Coating: Coating is similar to waxing, but it provides stronger protection. Coating also offers waterproofing, fire resistance, heat resistance, UV protection, anti-static properties, and a glossy finish. A coated car paint appears smoother and shinier than a waxed one, and stains, watermarks, and bird droppings can be easily cleaned off. Nano-coating (Crystal Coating): Compared to coating and waxing, nano-coating provides better brightness, oxidation resistance, memory repair, higher hardness, waterproofing, and other benefits. Paint Protection Film (PPF): PPF has ultra-high toughness and, once applied, isolates the car's paint from the air, preventing dust and contaminants from adhering to the surface, thus offering long-term paint protection. PPF features excellent elasticity, anti-yellowing and anti-aging properties, high resistance to stains, and paint memory repair capabilities.
I run a quick repair shop, and the pickup time for paint touch-ups varies depending on the situation: If the car just has a few small scratches and needs a local touch-up, you can drop it off in the morning and pick it up by evening. Nowadays, with quick-drying repair paint and infrared baking lamps, it dries completely in 3 hours. If it's a large area like an entire door or front/rear bumper, you'll need to leave it overnight because it requires at least three coats of paint, each needing to dry and be sanded between applications. If the metal body is also dented, it's even more troublesome—first, we have to hammer it flat and then apply filler. Just drying the filler alone takes at least 12 hours, and the whole process can't be completed in less than two days. Metallic paint also depends on the weather; with all the recent rain, the rework rate has been particularly high.
