Washing ceramic-coated vehicles isn’t much different than washing cars with some other form of paint protectant, or even without them. However, if you want your ceramic coating to last as long as possible, you should always follow some basic guidelines.
In this article, I decided to show you how to wash your ceramic-coated car, so you don’t do any damage to the ceramic coating or, even worse, to your car’s paint.
Through this article, I’ll only concentrate on washing the car’s paint. I won’t concentrate on washing the wheels, but if you don’t know how to do that properly, here’s a fantastic guide on washing car wheels and tires.
Step 1: Pre-Wash The Car
Pre-washing is a crucial step that helps to loosen and remove dirt, grime, and other contaminants from the surface before you begin the contact wash phase. By removing as much dirt as possible beforehand, you’ll minimize the risk of scratches to the ceramic coating and the paint during the wash.
One of the best options to pre-wash your vehicle is to use a pH-neutral pre-wash foam, also known as snow foam. These products are specifically designed to break down dirt and grime, so you can quickly rinse them off.
The best way to apply pre-wash foam to the vehicle is by using a pressure washer attachment. However, if you don’t have a pressure washer, I highly suggest you check out some of the best foam guns for garden hoses.
Just spray the foam onto the car and allow it to sit for a few minutes to work its magic. After the foam loosens the dirt, dust, and grime, you should then rinse the car thoroughly by using a pressure washer or even a standard garden hose.
Step 2: Wash The Car With a Soap
After pre-washing your car, you can move on to the main washing process. The key to washing a car with ceramic coating is to use some high-quality ceramic-safe soap. One of the best ceramic soaps on the market is Nexgen Ceramic Soap.
Nexgen Ceramic Soap is specially formulated to both clean and protect ceramic-coated vehicles. It contains SiO2 particles that bond to the surface of the car, adding an extra layer of protection on top of the ceramic coating. So, when used regularly, it will act as a ceramic coating booster, extending the life of your ceramic coating.
Simply mix the soap with water (2 oz. of soap per bucket), and then use a wash mitt to apply the soap to the surface of the car, working from the top down. Only work in straight motions (up-down-left-right), and make sure to rinse the mitt frequently (after each panel) to avoid scratching the surface of the car. After contact washing the whole vehicle, you can then proceed to the next step, which is drying the car.
Step 3: Dry The Car
Drying your car is an important step that helps to prevent water spots on the car, especially the car with ceramic coating protection, since they’re more likely to attract water spots. There are two main methods for drying a car:
- using a microfiber drying towel
- using a car dryer.
The easiest and most affordable version is to use a microfiber drying towel. Microfiber towels are incredibly soft and gentle on the surface of the car, which makes them ideal for drying vehicles. To dry the car, simply start at the top of your car and work your way down. Make sure to flip the towel frequently and squeeze if needed. If you use high-quality drying towels, you’ll probably be able to dry the whole car without squeezing it even once. So, investing in some more expensive towels is, without a doubt, worth it.
The second method for drying your car is to use a car dryer or a clean pet dryer. These tools use a stream of air to blow water droplets off the surface of the car. This especially applies to ceramic-coated vehicles since water will easily go off of the vehicle’s paint because of the hydrophobic properties that ceramic coating adds to the clear coat. Just make sure to blow water from all the nooks and crannies, wheels, and other places that trap the water.
Enjoy Your Clean and Shiny Car
As you can see, there are only three main steps that you should do in order to maintain car ceramic coating and keep your car clean and shiny all the time. Once again, using dedicated ceramic coating shampoos is extremely important to get the best results and to extend the life of the ceramic coating. However, nothing bad will happen if you use any pH-balanced automotive soap.
Read: Car Maintenance: What You Need to Know
This content was written by “Petar Dzaja” at CarDetailingPlanet.com
