What is Cure time?
Definition
Cure time is the window a coating or adhesive needs to fully harden or bond before the vehicle is exposed to water or delivered. Ceramic coatings need protected cure time; PPF adhesive keeps bonding for days after install. Scheduling has to leave room for it.
Why it matters to a shop
Cure time occupies a bay while earning nothing, so a calendar that does not model it will cheerfully double-book the space. Protecting the cure window is the difference between a schedule that works on paper and one that works on a Saturday.
Related terms
More from techniques & prep — How the work actually gets done in the bay.
- Paint correctionMachine polishing that removes swirl marks, scratches and oxidation from clear coat to restore gloss and clarity. Graded by steps — a 1-step refines, a 2- or 3-step removes progressively deeper defects — and priced off the paint's condition and the bay hours it takes.
- Swirl marksFine, spider-web scratches in the clear coat, usually from improper washing and drying. They're most visible on dark paint under direct light and are removed by paint correction, not by wax or a quick polish.
- Clear coatThe transparent top layer of a factory paint system that provides gloss and UV protection. Paint correction works within the clear coat; cutting through it exposes the colour layer and means a respray, so measuring paint thickness matters.
- DecontaminationThe prep step that removes bonded contaminants — iron fallout, tar, industrial fallout — that a normal wash leaves behind, often with a chemical iron remover and a clay bar. Skipping it traps grit under film or coating and ruins the finish.
- Clay barA malleable resin bar (or mitt) dragged across lubricated paint to pull off bonded contaminants the wash missed, leaving glass-smooth paint ready for correction, coating or film.
- Plotter / pre-cut patternA computer-driven cutter that cuts PPF or tint to a vehicle-specific pattern from a software library, instead of bulk hand-cutting on the car. It speeds installs and reduces waste, though every job still leaves some offcut.
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