Best Ways To Wash Your Vehicle & Maintain Ceramic Coatings

Expert Tips To Provide Longevity To Your Ceramic Coating

For anyone who loves their vehicle, ceramic coatings are the perfect way to protect your vehicle from Arizona’s harsh UV rays and to keep your ride looking its best! Ceramic coatings provide fantastic hydrophobicity to your vehicle, meaning the surface becomes extremely “slick” so it is difficult for water and dust to stick to the vehicle, therefore making the vehicle much easier to clean and keep clean.

However, by washing your vehicle improperly or over washing the vehicle you can shorten the lifespan of your ceramic coating significantly. To prevent this, here are some pro detailer tips on how to properly wash your car and how to extend the life of your ceramic coating from our team of Certified Ceramic Coating Installers at Arizona Ceramic Coating in Mesa.

Avoid Drive Thru Car Washes at all Costs

Whether your vehicle has a ceramic coating or not, our professional auto detail team NEVER recommends using drive thru car washes with spinning/moving brushes. Although these may seem convenient in a time crunch, just one pass through a drive thru car wash can cause degradation to your clear coat, swirl marks, and irreversible scratching/damage to your paint.

Rocks, dust, sand, and debris from other vehicles stick to the spinning brushes, then as you enter the wash with your vehicle, those same brushes spin at a high rate of speed and whip the leftover debris across your clear coat and paint causing significant damage. Not to mention these drive thru car washes typically use cheap soaps and waxes that contain harsh chemicals which degrade your clear coat/ceramic coating over time.

If your vehicle does have a ceramic coating installed, these drive thru car washes are guaranteed to shorten the lifespan of your coating. When ceramic coatings are properly installed by professional detailers, the ceramic coating creates a strong chemical adhesion to the vehicles factory clear coat, however, no vehicle can survive the abuse of drive thru car washes without sustaining damage and the same goes for ceramic coatings. So with that, do yourself a favor, and avoid the use of drive thru car washes.

How To Properly Wash Your Vehicle With a Ceramic Coating

At Arizona Ceramic Coatings our professional auto detailers always recommend a thorough hand wash with the proper products to all vehicle owners. Our experienced detailers have tested many lines of products, and the unanimous consensus is Griot’s Garage’s wide selection of premium wash and detail products are by far the best quality, and affordable. Griot’s Garage products when used properly and the directions are followed will not harm your ceramic coating. Handwashing with the proper products and techniques provides the safest way to keep your ride clean and your ceramic free of damage.

For those not wanting to put in elbow grease to hand wash their vehicle with a ceramic coating, the next best thing is to find the nearest car wash facility that offers a true hand wash. Do your research and make sure that your vehicle will not be run through any type of rotary brush and always check the reviews online.

For those that find paying for a proper hand wash to be on the costly side, the next best option is to find your nearest TOUCHLESS car wash. Many of these washes are self service with a pressure washer and offer different soap/wax selections. Although the soaps provided are cheap and not ideal for ceramic coatings, generally they are safe if not over used.

If you do use a touchless wash make sure you do not use anything with “wax” or “sealant” as this can cause streaking on top of your ceramic coating and more importantly make sure you do NOT use the foaming brush that touches your vehicle, this can cause damage to your ceramic coating and your vehicle.

Some touchless car washes do have a drive thru option, but again, make sure there is no contact with your vehicle besides the high pressure water, soap, and drying air and do not select the wash option with wax or sealant included.

Which Car Wash Products Should I Use On My Ceramic Coating?

The professional auto detailers at Bentley Ceramic Coatings recommend investing into a wash/detail kit from Griots Garage. These products are tried and true, made right here in the US, and are safe to use on your ceramic coating.

By investing in a kit, you can guarantee that you have the right detail spray, ceramic booster, and correct applicators like a wash mitt, wheel brush, microfiber window towels, and drying towels all specifically designed for each step in the washing process.

By using the wrong towels or products on your vehicle’s ceramic coating, this can cause degradation and other unwanted effects like leaving water spots and streaking.

At Arizona Ceramic Coatings, when our certified ceramic coating installers have completed your service, they will walk you through aftercare recommendations, products, and answer any questions you may have.

Avoid using aggressive car shampoo or clay bars to clean the surface of your vehicle. Always use a pH-neutral car shampoo with no wax added to maintain the ceramic coating as long as possible.

The wax can leave a residue on your coated car, reducing the hydrophobic properties of the ceramic coating, and therefore, leading to more contaminants sticking to the wax.

You can also use a maintenance spray. This product is also called Boost Spray and SiO2 ceramic spray. However, be aware of the ingredients. Some sprays are formulated with wax sprays and silicon dioxide, while others are genuine ceramic coating sprays.

If you use maintenance spray, remember to apply it to your car directly after washing it, and never use it in direct sunlight.

Signs Of a Worn Out Ceramic Coating & How To Fix It

The biggest sign of a worn-out ceramic coating is water behavior. If you see a noticeable change from when it was first applied to how it works now, then maybe it’s time to reconsider your maintenance options.

If the coating starts to look dull and opaque, it may be time to re-apply your ceramic coating. You can always stop by >Arizona Ceramic Coatings and one of our pro auto detailers will inspect your ceramic coating free of charge and offer their experienced recommendations.

Contact Us To Upgrade The Look & Protection Of Your Car’s Paint!

If you want to enhance every inch of your car, feel free to contact Arizona Ceramic Coatings. We have an expert car detailing team, plus industry-certified installers, so we can ensure the best auto detailing services for your car.

We are one of the few Tier 1 certified Feynlab installers in the U.S, and we offer single-layer ceramic coatings with 5 years of warranty. Your car is in good hands with our team! Schedule an appointment with us now.