Proper Car Wash Process and Coating Care
You just bought a new car and it’s perfect. As in, you couldn’t buy the floor model so you ordered it and waited months and looked at hundreds of photos while you waited. Finally you’re sitting in the driver’s seat… terrified. How will I keep it looking this good for more than a week?
Ok maybe that is a bit dramatic, or maybe you’re on the floor laughing because that was literally you checking your phone everyday for delivery updates. Either way if you are reading this, you take a lot of pride in your car and want to take proper care of it so it looks brand new years after delivery day.
Continually Updated
Choosing ceramic coatings to protect your car is an essential step in keeping it looking fantastic for years to come. If you have a ceramic coated car, you probably have questions about how to properly take care of it. This post is specifically being made for you and will be continually updated to be an ultimate guide to ceramic coating maintenance!
Before we jump into the proper way to wash and maintain your coating let’s briefly go over the common misconceptions about coatings and other forms of paint protection. Simply put, there is no product that you can put on your paint or leather that will protect it for multiple years with zero maintenance. The highest level coatings with 10 years of protection will never last that long if you never wash it. Coatings, paint protection film etc all require proper wash methods and occasional maintenance to achieve the full durability and beneficial characteristics.
Coatings are incredible. They have amazing characteristics like incredible water beading and sheeting that self clean. This keeps your car cleaner longer. The 9H hardness will help resist light scratches and maring during your washing and drying stages. The chemical resistance will help against acid rain and bird droppings. Overall washing your car will be super easy and it will look brand new after each wash! You must do washes and proper maintenance to get full durability out of your coating and get the benefits of amazing coating characteristics.
The Slapper
Let’s start with the basics; what not to do. Don’t ever bring your coated car to a $3 dollar car wash or a mechanical car wash with swinging brushes and spinning slapper things that might rip your windshield wipers off! If you pay to have your car washed only use reputable hand wash businesses, reputable detailers, or in a pinch a touchless wash. Touchless meaning no brushes contact the car, just water soap and air.
Polishing
Polishing is a great way to enhance your paint’s gloss and remove imperfections. We recommend polishing your paint BEFORE the ceramic coating is installed. This locks the shine in for years. Polishing or using any abrasive compounds with a buffer will degrade the coating durability. Polishing can and will fully remove a ceramic coating depending on the methods and products used. It is not recommended that you polish your coating ever, unless nearing the end of its durability. Proper wash and maintenance methods will result in flawless paint and no need for polishing.
When To Wash
Knowing when to wash your car and when not to touch it is very important. If the car is just dusty and not dirty, many people will grab a quick detailer or spray wax and start wiping the car down. This is a very bad idea and ultimately will rub dirt into your car’s paint! I know what you’re thinking, “it has a 9H coating that resists scratches!”. Yes the 9H coating will RESIST scratches, it will not stop them indefinitely. So we always exercise best practices when it comes to washing. Many car enthusiasts will often over love their cars paint and scratch it on accident by over obsessing over specks of dirt or smudges resulting in what is commonly called “love marks”.
Rinse Foam Dry
If a coated car is only slightly dirty or dusty, pull out your pressure washer and rinse the car down. The super hydrophobic paint will bead water relentlessly! As the water beads up, it will encapsulate the dirt and dust and blow off the car! The same effect happens when you drive in the rain! Attach your foam cannon to your pressure washer and give it a good foam bath. Let the foam sit for a few minutes then rinse again. This will remove essentially all dirt from the car’s paint and we never touched it! If we don’t touch it, we can’t scratch it. Finish up with an electric leaf blower and dry the car. This method of cleaning takes less than 20 minutes if you have a decent wash set up organized in your garage that is ready to roll when needed.
Full Wash
The rinse, foam and dry method is great for cars that are only a little dirty. If you complete your rinse and are not satisfied with your car’s cleanliness, it’s time to do the full wash. Foam the car down as we did before, but this time pull out the buckets and wash mitts. Be sure to shoot your foam gun into your wash bucket for lots of soapy water. We want at least one Grit Guard in each bucket to help keep the dirt at the bottom of the bucket and out of our wash mitt. Grit Guards are essential; they help keep the fine grit and dirt in the bottom of the buckets. This results in cleaner water for our wash pads and helps prevent swirl marks! We also want a separate bucket just for wheels. Discover Premium wash products
Proper Wash Technique
After the car is dripping in foam we will wash from top to bottom. The heavy contamination and dirt will always be on the lower panels. A bright color wash mitt, such as a yellow, gold, green etc. will help spot dirt build up in your mitt. When the mitt gets dirty or after every other panel you wash, you must rinse your mitt out on the grit guard in the rinse bucket. Then put your mitt into your wash bucket and get it soapy again. Continue the process until the entire car is washed. Remember as you get to the lower panels of the car you want to rinse the mitt out more often due to the dirtier panels. Premium Wash Pad
Rinse And Dry
After the full wash is done, we need to rinse everything back off. The car should be looking perfect now as long as we didn’t miss any spots. Simply get your leaf blower out and dry the car with air. The super hydrophobic properties of the coating will make drying very fast and 100% safe. Drying with towels instead of air is an option but we do not recommend towel drying an entire car. Simply put, using towels increases chances of swirl marks and scratches while gaining no advantages over drying with air. Once the car is dry, you may use a high quality microfiber towel to clean up any small drops of water or dripping water from mirrors etc.. Premium Edgeless Microfiber Premium Drying towel
How To Maintain Properly
A proper wash is recommended once every two weeks. Beyond that we recommend every 2-3 months you do some specific maintenance detail routines after the wash is completed. These steps are crucial to maintaining a coating.
Maintenance Products
Gyeon Cure, Carpro Reload and Gyeon Wetcoat are all types of ceramic sealants. They are essentially spray wax on steroids and specifically designed to bond and boost your coating. Think of these products as vitamins for your coating. You don’t need them, but they certainly help and make a difference! These should be applied to paint and glass.
Leather maintenance is pretty straightforward and easy. Using a product like Gyeon Leather or Letherique and a quality microfiber is all you need to keep your interior in tip top shape. Wipe the interior surfaces down and add a small amount of pressure when cleaning any dirty areas like your steering wheel leather, interior handles and front seats. These see the most wear and tear. Do not over apply pressure or scrub extremely aggressively as repeatedly doing so can damage your leather. This is a gentle process that should not take longer than 20-25 mins. Our goal is to prevent dirt from building up with quick maintenance wipe downs.
Keep It Simple
Many people often try to say coating care is more complicated than caring for normal paint. These people are often the ones destroying their paint with improper washing and maintenance methods. The facts are these; a coated or uncoated car both need washing and maintenance cleaning. There is no magic product that will allow you to never wash your car for years on end. A coated car can be washed in a fraction of the time as a non coated car. It will stay cleaner for longer and overall look better for longer as well. Spending roughly an hour to wash a car monthly and an additional 40 mins every three months on maintenance is pretty simple. Your coated car is now a breeze to clean. You know the methods to properly care for it, so keep it simple and enjoy years of protection!
