First: Are You Familiar With Ceramic Coatings? Essentially, this is a sort of vehicular coating that comes in several brands: Opti-Coat Pro, C. Quartz, and Ceramic Pro are primary options available presently; different vehicle owners have different preferences. It’s a polymer in liquid form. Polymers are “macromolecules” which are made of “repeated subunits”—read the Live Science entry for more details.
Polymers of this variety essentially “bond” to the paint put on your vehicle from the factory, further protecting the vehicle from rocks, stones, rust, salt, and sunshine—depending on how well you apply it, of course. Application effectiveness is key. In this writing, we’ll quickly go over a few things you definitely want to take into account the best vehicular application.
Preparation
First and foremost, you’ve got to clean your vehicle as deeply as possible. You want to wash it and wash it and wash it. At the following site, you can see some in-depth steps that might be worth taking for the best overall results. Now that site is selling their own ceramic coatings and brushes, etc., but they’ve got some good advice on the cleaning process.
You want to be as detailed as you possibly can. Washing the vehicle multiple times with multiple cleaning solutions is absolutely advisable. Take your time, and do this in a controlled environment where there isn’t wind rain, or other atmospheric conditions to contend with.
Application Of Ceramic Coating
Once the vehicle is properly cleaned, it’s time to apply a ceramic coating. You want to do so in a way that covers everything as much as possible—saves certain undercarriage components and the wheels, of course. Consultation is wise here, but there will be recommendations on whichever ceramic solution you decide best fits your needs.
Curing
Once you’ve got the coating properly applied, you want to let the car sit for one to two days, depending on your region and the specific coating you use. Do the job right and you’ll have clear protection from ultraviolet light, bird droppings, acid rain, and other damaging components of the environment for between three and five years.
Manufacturer recommendations may differ per vehicle pertaining to proper curing processes, but they’ll generally have much in common. You want to follow best practices here however possible. For more information on best practices pertaining to such vehicular upgrades, you’ll want to use resources from professionals as shown in CarPro’s blog post.
After Care
Once you’ve cleaned, applied, and cured your ceramic finish, the next step will be washing the vehicle twice a week, not washing it in sunlight that’s direct. Use a top-down washing approach, and incorporate a “two-bucket” cleaning methodology.
You have one bucket full of soap and water, the other is for rinsing the sponge. Also, you want to be careful you use a different cleaning option for the wheels than you do for the chassis, as the wheels pick up more nastiness than the rest of the vehicle.
You can certainly use conventional washing techniques as available at varying car washes, too; but you’re likely going to get better results if you do the job by hand in your garage or driveway—depending on how the shadows lie.
Protecting Your Vehicular Investment
A car is a big investment, even if you’re financing it. The value of vehicles drops quickly. But for two or three days’ work, and about $20 a week, you can keep your vehicle above Blue Book value. This will result in retained value, and a better payday when it comes time to sell. Also, you’ll reduce the need to get maintenance work performed on your vehicle.
Just keep in mind four tips as you apply a ceramic finish: wash the vehicle as best you can prior application, follow manufacturer guidelines in the application of the finish, cure the vehicle properly by letting it set for a day or two, and wash it properly twice a week after the fact. Do these things and you’ll retain that shiny finish for many years.
