Maintaining Your Car's Original Paint: Useful tips to keep your car looking shiny and new

One of the things that instantly grab everyone’s and make your car attractive is its paint. To keep your car looking fresh, it's important to preserve its appearance and maintain its condition over time. However, harmful things such as environmental hazards and oxidation could ruin your car’s paint over time. So, how can you take care of its paint to prolong its life and preserve its like-new luster? Read on below as here are some ways to take better care of your car’s paint job to keep it looking shiny and new.

Regular Car Wash 

Regularly washing your car is still the best way to protect the paint job. Use a good quality car shampoo and apply it with a foam sponge using straight lines, not circular motions. Rinse with clean water and dry using a microfiber towel.

Basic Car Wash Procedure

• Spray the whole car with water to loosen any dirt and grime. 
• Clean the wheel wells and tires. 
• Using a different clean bucket filled with car shampoo and water, start washing with the roof first and work in small sections. Proceed washing the hood and trunk lid next as you work towards the sides and, finally, the bottom part. 
• Use a clean microfiber towel, and immediately dry your car to avoid water spots and streaking.
• Treat areas as needed, like applying tire dressing and all-purpose cleaners on door sills and other interior parts.

Waxing

The outermost layer of the car’s exterior paint is called the clear coat. It is often mistaken for some super high-tech protectant; it is simply clear paint and therefore needs to be protected. The simplest solution to protect it from fading would be regular waxing. 

Hand Waxing Basic Procedure

• Put a small amount of wax onto a foam applicator and apply it to the paint. Allow it to dry to a haze before buffing it with a clean microfiber towel using circular motions.
• Reapply if needed using the same procedure.
• Use another clean, microfiber towel to give the bodywork a thorough wipe over and buff, checking reflections and wax residue from tight crevices and gaps to ensure you have removed every last trace of wax.

Keep it out of the Sun.

Harmful Ultraviolet rays from the sun threaten our skin and your car’s paint job. Not to mention the interior as well. Sunlight can oxidize and prematurely fade the paint on your vehicle, making it look much older than it is. So, park your car in the shade or under a covered parking space whenever possible.

Paint Correction

This refers to removing imperfections in a vehicle’s finish and restoring it to a better-than-new finish. These imperfections include swirl marks, light scratches, water spots, and dull spots.  Expertly done by trained technicians, this involves several steps and utilizes machine polishers with different polishes and graded pads. When viewed in direct sunlight, a fully corrected vehicle will show only accurate reflections and the absence of swirl marks, scratches, or blemishes.

Basic Paint Correction Procedures

• Cleaning/Removing debris and grime via clay bar
• Wet sanding/Leveling
• Waxing/Polishing
• Resealing the Paint

Ceramic Coating

This second layer of coating utilizes nanotechnology, which is tiny particles that come together to form a very thin and transparent layer that is entirely invisible to the naked eye. This layer seals the pores on your car’s paint, forming a protective seal against water, UV rays, scratches, chemicals, and extreme heat. The ceramic coat forms a semi-permanent bond with the surface, meaning it will not wash away or break down over a short period. This process lasts longer than waxing but is also more costly. 

Basic Ceramic Coating Application Procedures

• Prep Work/Paint Correction
• Nano-Based IPA Cleaning
• Application area and Conditions
• Application of Ceramic Coating

Paint Protection Film (PPF)

The paint protection film is a transparent, multi-layer sheet covering a vehicle's entire body. The primary objective of this layer of film is to protect and maintain the condition of what's underneath from UV rays, chemicals, light scratches, toxins, and road grime. What’s great about PPF is that the scratched or damaged area can be easily replaced by simply removing the old one and replacing it with a new sheet of film. The only downside is that this is more costly than ceramic coating.

Basic Paint Protection Film Application Procedures

• Car Wash and Decontamination
• Clay Bar
• Polishing
• Precut PPF
• PPF Installation