I've just had some paint work done on my 2011 C300 Sport 4matic. Specifically on he trunk where the license plate is. The dealer gave me the wrong screws, they punctured the rear lid and then the dealer had a body shop do a full repair on the area.

The body shop did a nice professional repair-painting the lower half of the trunk below the emblems where that crease is in the deck lid and blended it nicely. I can't even tell there was ever an issue (not that you could see tiny holes behind the plate anyways) or that it was resprayed in this area. The paint matches beautifully. I was told that the car can get wet but I wasn't advised on anything more specific.

My question is how long should I wait before I wash and wax the car?

I've heard that you can wash or get the car wet, etc. but just to be careful not to scrub anything freshly painted, and no waxing for at least 30 days.

The repair to my car is very localized to this one area, and that area of the car is where the wind vortex is created behind the car which throws all types of debris onto the car. I don't want road debris staying on the fresh paint, especially now during the spring season with all the rain. I'd really like to clean it, even if that means pouring soap on and hosing it off gently.

Also, my car sits in the sun all day long. Not sure if that speeds up paint curing time. I also use Meguiars Gold Class car soap and a microfiber wash mitt using a two bucket method.

Can anyone give me some advice, should I go ahead and wash it carefully?

 

You have to wait 30 days as you said after these 30 days passes I'd recommend getting the car clayed, highly quality sealant and then waxed.

You can wash you car normally as you always do

 

Honestly Wash away,

Buy Autogeek.net products or Chemical Guys. Meguires makes nice products but for car soap I stick with some of the best. Cheaper anyway to buy in a gallon. I usually get Mr. Pink, or Honeydew.

Use a high quality wool or sheepskin wash mitt only. HIGH quality. Some of the microfiber mitts will scratch a dark car if pressed down on. Lightly wash those areas freshly painted.

Repair shops tend to use a CC hardner that will dry quickly. However you hear questions like this all the time. ALOT of body shops will spray the panel, let dry for 24hrs and then lightly wet sand it with 2k and then buff to get rid of any trash from the spray and orange peel.

Using a spray wax for the time being will be fine also. Three weeks out your fine to put a Sealant on it, especially if its been in the sun this whole time. There are a ton of products out there to use. If your the type to just clean the car well, and put a sealant on 3-4 times a year, then try Blackfire Wet Diamond sealant, or Pinnacle Sovereign sealant.

Scratches and Swirls---- your car gets 95% of its swirls and scratches from the washing and drying phase. 70% from drying and 25% from washing. Make sure you rinse the mitt out in a clean bucket of water between every panel and wash from top to bottom only. I don't even do the bottoms till everything else is done to prevent moving debris from the lower areas into other areas.

Drying-- If your picky, then try the Master Blaster Sidekick (75$ or so) to dry it with. Takes like 15 min longer but the car is totally dried with no seepage, and you never touched it with a towel, thus no scratches.

Just some tips, if you want more specific advice please pm me.

Hope this helps. (I am in Charlottesville, so might be able to help)