Hello all,

I know waxing is a pretty taboo subject in the jeep community as is, but I'm hoping to get some opinions and anecdotes from people who have done this.

I ordered my brand new '14 and a week after I got it (so about 3 weeks after it was built) I waxed it. I live in New England, park outside year round and near tons of trees that put sap all over the place. I find wax to be invaluable due to the protection it provides in this regard. It's nice to have my Jeep looking good, but before I get flamed, it's mostly for protection and I think everyone here understands that, especially New Englanders.

Anyways, I came in to work the next day and told a co-worker I did this. He said I shouldn't have waxed it for 6 months because the paint needed to dry. I started freaking out and did three things:

1. emailed someone who's opinion I trust on such things, who said that it was the most ridiculous thing they ever heard and that new paint is extremely strong right out of the oven (at least from the factory, where it is oven baked)
2. emailed Chrysler who said it was recommended that you wait 4-6 months to wax a new vehicle *(no where to be found in the owner's manual)*
3. scoured the internet which has a vast array of opinions

I am really looking for someone to weigh in who either waxed their jeep the first day they owned it (hopefully someone who bought it right off the truck like I did) and can vouch for the fact that their paint didn't melt off, or someone who knows a lot about paint and whether or not this is true.

As of now, the paint seems fine. Is it gonna start running like Ivan Ooze?

 

haha i think you're overreacting a bit about paint running. What's done is done, nothing you can do to reverse it, so don't worry about it. Besides, I would guess you just gave it a basic wax, not a hard buffing with a wheel. The paint is certainly dry, just a matter of reaching full cured strength. But paint has nothing to do with waxing, the clearcoat does. If you don't have a bunch of swirl marks, i think you're fine.

 

Don't worry you are good. You stated three weeks since the build the paint is most likely cured.
if you are truly worried about tree sap then get a cover for it.

 

I waited at least 4 months before waxing. I read somewhere that new paint needs time to cure thoroughly. I use Turtle Wax Ice 4 times a year.

 

Old wives tale. You are fine. As for the sap am sure you are well aware that most times not even wax protects your vehicle from it.

Perfect excuse to build a garage or carport.

 

Call me stupid but wax on a jeep sounds kind of wierd. Had mine 2years and only used a pressure washer when the mud got too caked up.wax never crossed my mind

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Thanks for the responses.

 

eh i wax mine a few times a year with the spray stuff and once a year with "wax wax". Not a clean freak or meticulous, just makes it feel nice lol. My jeep is dirty more that it is clean tho.

 

Like some of the others said. It's OK to wax a new vehicle.

On the internets there are multiple sites that say it is fine to do, but back in the day before the factories used ovens and new modern 2 stage paints it was not OK. The old paint did have to "cure".

Mothers web site has a few comments about claying and waxing new vehicles and they say you should do it right away.

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Agreed with the other waxers. Waxing it out of the box is fine, and is even recommended for the newer water-based 2-stage paints. The atmosphere is hell on paint, regardless of how you drive or where you take your Jeep offroad.

I'd call the information you got from Chrysler just plain wrong, as they're just trying to limit their liability as much as possible. They don't want you coming back saying "someone from Chrysler told me it was okay to wax my Jeep" if anything bad or unintended were to happen.

Forget for a moment what waxing does or does not do. It's a really cheap way to spend some time around a hot Jeep in the garage, or on a nice day (in the shade, of course).