How To Wash Your Coating

Washing your car after a ceramic coating will be easier than ever.

To maintain the performance of your ceramic coating, you need to maintain it properly. The good news is that maintaining a ceramic coating is extremely easy – you just need to follow a few guidelines and avoid a few pitfalls.

Here’s all the need to know details of maintaining a ceramic coating:

Regular Washing

Ceramic coatings help keep your car clean, but that doesn’t mean that you are off the hook for washing your vehicle. You should still wash your vehicle between every two and 4 weeks, depending on where you live and what conditions you are driving in. Regular washes will help to prevent contaminant build-up.

The first time you wash your vehicle after it gets coated, you will be amazed at how easy it is. The water and dirt will simply fall off the surface of your vehicle with virtually zero elbow grease required on your part. As for the washing procedure itself, here are our recommendations:

The Two Bucket Car Wash

We love this car washing method so much that we wrote an article about it. In case you haven’t read it, here’s how it’s done:

One bucket is used for warm soapy water (please use a dedicated car shampoo – leave the Dawn in the kitchen!) and the other is clean water for rinsing your wash mitt. Ideally, the freshwater bucket is equipped with a grit-guard to trap contaminants.

As soon as the bucket of freshwater gets dirty, discard the water and fill it up with clean water. To avoid dragging grit across your vehicle’s body, it is extremely important to clean your wash mitt between scrubbing sessions.

Use the Right Soap

One rule of thumb that we keep close to heart in the detailing industry is that you should always use the mildest product that will get the job done. High quality ceramic coatings perform a lot of self-cleaning on their own, so you can generally use a very mild cleaning product.

Make sure you select a mild soap that is intended for use on ceramic coatings. This will guarantee you the best results and help preserve your coating – we understand that they aren’t cheap and you’ll want to make each coating last for as long as possible. If properly maintained, high-quality coatings, like the Glossbaus coatings we use at Island Detail & Color, will last for years and years.

Avoid Automatic Washes

This might be the most important thing you read today: avoid automatic car washes at all costs. Despite their convenience, nearly all automatic car washes (even the “touchless” ones) do more harm than good, and you’re most likely better off waiting until you have time for a proper wash.

If you’re really crunched for time and that gas-station car wash is getting increasingly tempting, simply bring your vehicle to us. We can give your car the attention it needs with a Hand Wash, or you can upgrade to a Quick Clean to get the interior cleaned as well. These services cost barely more than a drive-through car wash and your vehicle will thank you for the consideration.

Island Detail Has You Covered

The folks at Island Detail have been Vancouver Island’s local detailing experts for over 20 years. We have helped thousands of people take pride in their vehicles, and are always excited to meet new people and start new projects. Get in touch with us to set up an appointment or chat with an expert.