How to Maintain Your Car’s Paint

You’ve probably spent a lot of money on your vehicle, whether it’s a factory ride or customized with the special touches that make it yours.

The most highly viewed part of your vehicle is the paint. That’s the part everyone sees; the part that’s most visible. It only makes sense then that you take good care of it, but how?

Keeping your car clean is important. The paint can be easily damaged just by someone bumping into your car if there is dirt and grime on the outside. Keeping the dirt and grim is a low cost step toward keeping your vehicle’s paint cared for. Washing your car regularly is something you definitely need to take time for. Though not required with the technologies we have today; hand washing is a traditional “right of passage” for a vehicle owner. You will still find that all the top custom paint jobs are still hand washed every single time.

Beyond basic cleaning of the surface is actually preparing the surface for waxing and polishing. This preparatory process includes removing oxidized clear coat (or color coat if there is no clear coat), which is very important. You don’t want your red car polished with an oxidized orange color because you didn’t take this step properly. Red paint when left to ultraviolet and other environmental damages will often become a faded orang-ish color instead of the beautiful red it once was. Bottom line, it’s very important to prepare for the next step.

In addition, this is the step where other damage and impurities should be removed from the paint. Things like water spots, those 100mph bug-splats and bird doo-doo, which is often exceptionally hard to remove because it can contain phosphates which can bond to the paint’s surface. Of course there are tire marks, road grease and tar; all the gunky stuff that doesn’t belong gets removed at this point as well. You can tell that this is no job for a “lightweight” and unless you’re a “car person” you may want to leave this to the professionals.

Waxing the exterior is an extremely important maintenance item. We recommend waxing your vehicle with a high quality wax every six months. This doesn’t mean running it through the car was and having wax sprayed and rinsed off. Proper waxing will keep your vehicle cleaner and make the paint last longer by protecting it not only from dirt and grime, but in some cases actually protecting it from UV light. Not surprising, it is likely to make you feel good as well. There is nothing like getting into a freshly cleaned car to make you feel better. It just lifts your day. As a part of our Shield packages, we offer waxing as a regular service item.

Using the right products to keep your vehicle looking it’s best is important, too. Selecting the right car care products is something we can help you with. We would be pleased to give you recommendations on car care products that are based upon your vehicle and our experience. Or if you prefer, we have our favorites and are happy to save you the time and trouble.

Having your car detailed is a refreshing experience and can benefit both the interior and exterior. Some detail shops, like ours, provide exterior reconditioning services that make a huge difference in both the appearance of your car and the paint’s longevity. A finely polished car is visible from far away. It retains value better and can make a huge difference if you’re thinking of selling your vehicle. If it’s been a while since you have had your car waxed and polished, consider asking us about our car care services. We would be delighted to help you get the exterior of your vehicle back into tip-top shape.

Share:

Related Posts