Maintaining your paintwork or ceramic coating

5 Ways to Maintain Your Cars Paintwork

The following scenario plays out way too often: a car enthusiast decides to get their paintwork done, whether it be car paintwork detailing or ceramic coating, and it looks amazing. However, they either forget to care for it completely or they care for it inadequately; leaving the ‘fresh out of the factory’ feeling to slowly fade away into the abyss with the paintwork deteriorating over time.

The secret to preventing this horrible scenario from playing out for you is simple, and really it’s not much of a secret, maintain your car's paintwork in the correct way. You may be saying to yourself, ‘well, of course, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out’, and I completely agree but do you know exactly how to take care of your paintwork? I thought not. And that is why you are in the correct place because today I will be presenting you with five ways to maintain your sweet paintwork:

1) This is the simplest step and arguably the most important - Regularly wash your car using the correct technique. Pre-rinsing or even better pre-washing the heavy loose dirt from surface helps to remove any scratch causing grit. Next use a high-quality car shampoo which has no wax or gloss enhancers in it and apply it using a high quality wash mitt and the two bucket method. Next, rinse the car with clean filtered water.

It’s recommended that you use products from the same brand, this ensures the best level of aftercare.

2) Properly dry your car with a microfiber cloth - using anything else such as rags or paper towels will likely leave small scratches all over your car. On the other hand, leaving your car to airdry will leave mineral deposits and water spots which first of all, look horrible and second of all, can be harmful to your paintwork.

3) Please, at all costs avoid using an automated car wash. These are likely not cleaned thoroughly, leaving dirt and sand in amongst the brushes. These can then act like sandpaper, tearing into your car as you have it washed.

4) Even if you follow all of the above steps, it is likely that your vehicle’s paintwork will pick up bits of tar and other dirt. I strongly recommend that you have these removed from your car at around six-month intervals. This is important in establishing whether the coating still has appropriate protection properties and is contaminant-free.

5) Lastly, remember that paintwork detailing or ceramic coatings do not last forever. They will wear off and when they do, your car will need another application if you want to keep it looking great and keep it protected.

If you follow these five steps to maintaining your paintwork, not only will you keep your car looking great and your neighbours jealous, but the value of your car will increase. If you have any questions about removing dirt and tar from your vehicle or paintwork detailing / ceramic coatings, please don’t hesitate to contact me at ppmcarcare@gmail.com.