Your vehicle itself is an expensive investment let alone the paint. Considering the fact that the condition of the paint tells a lot about the way a vehicle is maintained, it also has to bear the brunt of external factors such as humidity and UV rays, etc. This means you need to protect your vehicle’s paint at all costs, especially in the summer season. As the season can be ruthless, you need to use things like car covers and consider paint protection film installation to keep your car protected. Here are a few best practices that will help you protect your car’s paint to keep it looking new.
Wash Your Car Often
One of the most common reasons vehicles tend to lose their value after a short period is lack of washing and cleaning. Vehicles around the world are driven on different types of terrains. Plus, external factors such as heat, rain, snow, etc. tend to trap dirt and dust.
With time, the vehicle is covered with an accumulation that slowly penetrates the paint and makes it lose its quality and shine. This is why it is important to remove any layers of dirt and dust as soon as you spot them. Furthermore, bird droppings tend to contain acid as well.
You might have come across many vehicle owners hiring expert services to remove the stains. This is due to the fact that the acid can penetrate the clear-out and might become permanent. The experts have to remove a layer of paint through compounding and polishing.
If your vehicle is mostly driven on the highways, it likely experiences stone chips, rocks, etc. Such vehicles need extra maintenance, as they have to face tough conditions daily. So, even if you work a busy schedule, you should make sure to get your vehicle washed at least once a week to remove any accumulations.
Use The Right Products & Tools
Part of protecting your vehicle also includes investing in the right products & tools. While searching for the products & tools, you will come across many brands offering interesting protective features at attractive prices. Considering the overwhelming number of choices, it may be hard to pick the right option.
For this, you should first know and understand the paintwork of your vehicle. Paintwork might look the same for vehicles but deep down, the technology and quality are different. For instance, German vehicles tend to have better paint quality than the other brands. This means you will have to invest in tools that are made to work on German paints. Otherwise, the paint won’t work as well as it should and you will be simply wasting your time and money.
Speaking of the right tools, you should use specific products for the interior as well in case your car is unique. For example, if you own a luxury vehicle, you will want to have something that can thoroughly clean the leather and other luxury features without affecting the quality. However, if you have a regular sedan, you can pretty much use any seat cleaner. Moreover, to reduce the wear and tear of the interior, try installing auto window tinting Springfield.
As far painting tools go, using rotary polishers for high-end vehicles is not recommended as they can burn the paint. So, the best option is to buy a dual action polisher. By controlling the speed of the polisher, you can reduce the risk of ruining the paint quality. Once you do that, try practicing the proper technique as well.
There is no point in investing in expensive tools and products if you do not know how to use them. You can consult an expert who can help you with that or go through videos on the internet.
Cover The Vehicle
Covering the vehicle is as important as washing and cleaning it. If the vehicle has to be parked directly under the sun for hours while visiting the office, you should cover it. This is because dirt, dust, and UV rays will affect the paint’s strength and quality.
Furthermore, you should also invest in a good quality cover vehicle. Regular vehicle covers are not waterproof and will easily tear during extreme weather conditions. This is why you should invest in water-proof and weather-resistant vehicle covers that are specifically designed to handle extreme weather conditions.
Polish The Vehicle
Polishing your vehicle is the least expensive way to protect your vehicle in the summer season. But you need to be careful about what type of polish you use. Then again, not every polish is supposed to produce the result you expect. This is why you should either consult the manufacturer or an expert.
Polishing your car at least once a week keeps it protected and shining. However, you should avoid using them directly in the sun as they can leave spots, which can be hard to get rid of. If possible, use a liquid polish combined with a DA polisher to remove micro-contaminants along the way.
Apply Paint Protection Film
If nothing else, you need to go for a paint protection film, which is the ultimate form of protecting your vehicle. It is also the most expensive as it not only protects against external factors but also scratches and swirls. Modern paint protection films can self-heal using UV rays.
This means you do not have to worry about your vehicle looking old and poorly maintained. However, applying a paint protection film is also a comparatively more rigorous process. It takes place in multiple stages and involves waxing the car and also cleaning and polishing.
Then again, you would want an expert to handle the installation process as it can take up to a few days. Plus, the film needs time to cure as well. If you were to use the vehicle during the process, it would begin to peel off. However, having it done by an expert will come with a warranty.
If something happens to go wrong, you can easily get it replaced or reapplied by the expert.
Ceramic Coat The Vehicle
The next step following polishing your vehicle is ceramic coating the vehicle. It is a liquid coating made of silicone compounds specifically to protect the vehicle from external factors. As the term suggests, it forms a coat or a layer of ceramic over the vehicle’s paint to avoid direct contact.
The catch is that ceramic coating cannot be applied by everyone. You must use the right products in the right order and the right tools. Ceramic coating once applied cannot be taken off. This means that if you were to make even a minor mistake, you might end up ruining the paint job.
This is why it will be best to hire an expert for the task. Keep in mind that ceramic coating needs to be applied under controlled conditions. You cannot have dirt, dust, or other contaminants covering the vehicle. This will trap the dust and dirt particles ruining the entire job.
Conclusion
Make sure to follow the tips mentioned above and schedule expert maintenance as well. This will help protect the investment and maintain its resale value for time to come. Lastly, to make sure your car’s paint and exterior stays like new, go to a paint protection film installer Springfield for installing a high-quality PPF.
