Best practices for maintaining a Ceramic Coating

There are several ways to maintain Ceramic Coating that are quick, easy, and simple. Without maintenance one can tamper with the protection and therefore leave the paint exposed. Achieve a superhydrophobic, super glossy, super durable Ceramic Coating that is fully maintained by following our recommendations. 

1. Wash the exterior every 2 weeks- Do not WIPE DOWN the exterior 

It is extremely important that you do not wipe or dust the exterior with a dry microfiber towel. Why? When you wipe the exterior with a towel you are essentially rubbing all of the dirt, sand, or salt against the coating. Think of it as a scrub, everything that is stuck on the exterior when wiped down with the towel is scrubbed against the surface tempering the protection as well as causing scratches. 

The key is using an effective car soap that essentially works like a lubricant to remove all of the impurities and particles hanging onto the surface. This way you can remove these impurities from that exterior without damaging both the Ceramic Coating and the exterior. 

But why is it so essential to wash every other week? 

If you leave any bird droppings or other contaminants on the exterior for too long it can start to break down the Ceramic Coating, leaving the exterior a lot less protected.

EXTRA TIP: Curing time can take up to two weeks, meaning it takes two weeks for the Ceramic Coating to fully harden and therefore completely protect the exterior. During this period of time do not wash the exterior. Don´t touch the surface once the coating has been applied. it has a cure time of 24 hours, from then onwards it is safe to drive in a rain. Think of it like glue, you have to wait for it to dry and set.

 

2. Hand wash only

As frustrating as it can be and no matter how much time you or your clients may lack, car washes only cause scratches and leave circular marks on a car’s exterior.  

Be careful when removing impurities from the surfaces. Just like with the previous recommendation, if you scrub the surface to remove bird droppings you may end up doing more harm than good. Make sure to use a good car soap that does most of the work in terms of dirt, bird dropping, dust, or salt removal. 

Do not use brushes to clean the exterior. It is crucial to use a microfiber towel and not use any other materials to clean the car as they can cause damage and harm the protection. 

Rinse the exterior with care and polish the exterior after cleaning. When the water dries, all the minerals and impurities in the water leave water spots behind. Make sure to polish the exterior after cleaning it to get that deep, glossy shine back. 

If you just simply don’t have the time to wash your car, we have fabricated the perfect waterless wash that will get the car exterior clean and clear of imperfections, contaminants, or dirt in no time. 

 

3. Removing tar & sap

Over time there can be a build-up of sap and tar that cannot be removed by a simple hand wash. This can harm the performance of the Ceramic Coating and affect its hydrophobic properties. Every 6 months (to a year) we recommend that you get Ceramic Coating decontamination to remove all embedded particles that are impossible to remove with one hand wash. 

This step must be done by a car detailer using two products: an Iron & Tar remover. 

The first step is to apply the iron remover to dissolve all of these particles. Once it has been on the exterior for a few minutes rinse the exterior. Then go in with a tar remover with a microfiber towel, rinse and wipe the exterior carefully. 

Just with these two products, the exterior will return to having that glossy, deep glow as well as having the hydrophobic layer that was before covered in contamination. 

 

If you are not sure which Ceramic Coating to choose, check out this blog article.