How To Make Your Car's Exterior Color Last Longer

Jan 15, 2019

Easy tips and guide on how to make your car paint last longer!

Creating a new look for your vehicle can really make a car to flawlessly look good and new. If you want to give a new impression and feels for your car, then changing the color of your car paint can help you achieve just that. However, knowing how to properly detail a car’s exterior requires great skill and few extra cash, of course, just to have it painted again.

If you lack the skill to do the paint job on your own, then you might just bring your car to a professional detailer and spend some stash so someone will professionally do the job for you. Easy right, but the question is how long can you keep your car’s exterior detailing in perfect condition? Here are some of the tips to maintain your car’s exterior color last longer brought to you by Philcarnews.com.

1. Give your car a regular wash

It is the cheapest way to maintain your car’s exterior paint. Giving an auto a regular bath helps keep it free of debris, dirt, and coarse buildup that can collect after some time. When washed on a week by week premise, your vehicle's paint ought to remain moderately free of even the hardest to remove debris caused by your everyday driving.

washing a car

A regular car wash is the cheapest way to maintain your car’s exterior paint

If you want your auto to be hand washed, consider applying a prewash cleanser to help in loosening the dirt and debris before applying the usual carwash soap. Abstain from using the typical dish cleanser, laundry detergent, and other household cleaners when washing your auto. These substances are intended to expel oil and grease, and they can harm your vehicle's coating, as well as strip away the vehicle's protective wax covering.

2. Completely and properly dry after washing your car

To keep water spots from building up on your car's surface, it is important to dry your car immediately after washing. This helps give a vehicle a complete polish after you detail and wax the vehicle later on. Dry your car by hand first before air-drying. Begin drying your car when you are done with the wash. This shields the water from drying by air that leaves water spots.

As you dry your car after washing it, remember to park and leave your car in a cool, shaded place to keep the sun from drying the car too rapidly. Make use of a microfiber towel to absorb the water and expel any dirt and soil left on the vehicle's surface. Make an effort not to put too much friction from the towel over the vehicle, as this can trap remaining debris and dirt underneath your car’s surface and possibly scrape the paint.

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man wiping the car

Dry your car immediately after washing to keep water spots from building up on your car's surface

3. Don’t skip detailing your car

When your vehicle is dry, you can detail the vehicle's external surface using different solutions and methods. The things you use depend largely on what you are aiming to do. To keep your car paint clean, you can use different items to help you achieve just that, such as the following:

  • Compound

If you want to remove the swirl and water spots and the hard-to-remove debris from your car’s surface, you can use a compound, which is the most aggressive type of detailing product.

  • Clay Bar

If you want to smoothen the surface of your car as you clean and remove the dirt from your car’s surface, then a clay bar is your best bet. It includes a lubricant that makes the clay bar glide over your car’s surface avoiding any abrasion to its surface.

Man holding the clay bar

Clay bar smoothens the surface of your car as you clean and removes the dirt from your car’s surface

  • Glaze

If you want the same effect as a compound but with a finer texture, you may use a glaze. It also removes the swirl spots and smoothens your car’s surface at the same time.

  • Polish

If you just want to add an extra TLC besides the regular wash and wax, a polishing product can provide you a non-abrasive cleansing your of your car’s exterior. I must say that this product is best for car’s that are well and properly maintained on a regular basis.

It is essential that prior to using any detailing item and strategy, ensure you see how to use them appropriately. If not, it is smarter to pay an expert detailer to deal with your car, else you risk harming your car's exterior.

4. Seal your car’s exterior with a wax

Following your car's basic washing, hand and air-drying and exterior detailing of your car finish it with a wax. You just need to wax your vehicle every after 3 months at least and doesn't necessarily need to be done every regular wash.

When you ought to remove the previously applied wax, you can use an appropriate detailing product and method to do that. Alternatively, you can use a paint conditioner rather than a wax item to secure your car's exterior paint. When buffering the wax off your car, you must be careful as overusing of a buffer can actually lead to the removal of your car's paint. If you are a beginner, you can initially use a dual action polisher instead of a buffer.

Man waxing the car

You just need to wax your vehicle every after 3 months at least

When applying wax, it is best to use a microfiber towel or with a buffing pad from the car's buffer. Move in circular motions in waxing and buffering and repeat if needed until you're finished with the entire surface of your car. Continue with applying the wax a segment per segment, enabling the wax to set before removal. Always check the wax instructions label on how to use and how frequent the waxing should be.

4. Final Takeaway

Maintaining the exterior paintwork on your vehicle is the best way compared to other approaches to keep your vehicle looking perfectly cared of and lasting through the year. Giving your car a regular bath, following a complete drying, polishing, and then, of course, waxing makes a protective covering over your vehicle's paint to give an additional coating to its exterior. This, thusly, keeps the development of oxidation, which in the long run prompts harming rust.

Realizing when to play out each cleaning and specifying task all during the days of the year is imperative, too, as waxing time after time can make the finish of your auto to look dull because of too much wax. If rust develops or your car's paint turned up damaged, look for the assistance of an experienced auto professional to prompt you on what steps you have to take to address the circumstance.

>>> Click to get more helpful tips and advice for your car maintenance

Source: Hanna Miel Sanchez

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