Preserving Your Freshly Painted Investment?

So you have a car with a new finish or you just spent thousands getting it that way.  How do you maintain or preserve that investment?  There are as many ways to maintain your cars finish as there are cars on the road.

As a body shop, we specialize in creating the new finish.  Paint maintenance rarely becomes an issue for us as our finishes last the life of the car.  But there are some tips and how to's that will help you maintain your cars finish and keeping it looking new.

In this section of our Blog we will be providing tips and information for maintaining your paint through properly washing, waxing and provide tips on drying to avoid scratches.  We can also show you how to dry a car with water.  Yes you read correctly, you can actually dry a car with water.  We will discuss those topics and more.

Washing your paint -  One of the most popular rumors about washing your new paint is "you have to wait 30 days".  That was true back when all we had to work with was Lacquers and Acrylic Enamels.  Those products took that long to cure, some straight/synthetic Enamels take 6 months to cure (its why low priced productions shops can paint your car for $200 and give you a 6 month guarantee) and at the end of 6 months it finally dry.  

Now a days with the technologies of clear coat and the activators used to give it an epoxy like cure, you can wash the car immediately after it has reached tape free status (we will explain this later).  So why do body shops tell customers to wait (us included)?  For the simple fact that not all customers will wash correctly.  True the washing will not damage a freshly painted surface but, if you let the soap dry it will stain.  So to be safe, we just tell customers to wait 30 days.

Now the proper way to wash is by using a concentrate.  Car wash concentrate is sold just about every where and will help keep dirt particle away from your surface while you wash, its mild enough that it will not stain and it will preserve polishes or waxes that were applied.  NEVER USE DISH SOAP!.  Dish soap will strip waxes/polishes and if you let it dry by accident it will stain a fresh paint.  In fact, dish soap is so good at stripping wax, we use it to prep a car before painting, to make sure the surface is free from wax.

Washing a car from the top down is a rumor that has been spread for years.  Actually washing from the bottom up is better and I will explain why.  Dirt cannot stain a wet surface, if you wash from the top down you are running dirt over the dry portion of the car, namely the lower portion.  Granted it is a detail but, it can save you time later.  The important thing to remember is rinse the car thoroughly before you even start the soap process, it's important to remove heavy dirt that can scratch the surface when trapped in the applicator you are using.

Always use a deep sponge or mitt, never use a rag, even a very thick soft rage.  The nap on a rag or towel is not deep enough to hold dirt particles away from the surface while you rub.  Using a deep spoung or mitt has a think enough nap to hold these particle away and keep from stratching.  Remeber to use losts of water and always keep the surface wet.  Rinse each section before moving on to the next.  As a rule, letting soap dry on your surface is never good.

In our next installment of "Preserving your Freshly Painted Investment" we will talk about drying do's and dont's.  How you dry your car is actually more important then how you wash.  We will also tell you how you can dry your car with water...