Washing your car at least once a week or fortnightly can prevent and remove contaminant build-up on the surface of your vehicle. This prolongs the life of the ceramic coating.
- Avoid washing your vehicle in direct sunlight
Exposing your vehicle to direct sunlight generates heat and this can be detrimental to car coatings. Thus, it is important to wash the car in a shaded area such as a sheltered carpark or in the evening or night, when there is less sunlight.
- Use a dedicated car wash product
Soaps and shampoos that are not formulated for cars may contain harsh chemical agents, contaminants, or abrasives that will damage your vehicle. As such, car owners are recommended to stick to a high-quality automotive-specific soap or shampoo.
- Use the two-bucket approach to washing
The two-buckets method involves using two buckets — one filled with soap for washing the car and the other filled with water for washing the dirty cleaning cloth. This method helps to greatly reduce the chance of reintroducing debris that has been previously removed.
- Avoid going to an automatic car wash
Automatic washes use brushes with highly abrasive bristles that can damage the exterior of your car. They also tend to retain debris and contaminants from previous washes that can cause deep micro-scratches to the coating of your vehicle. Therefore, you should avoid having your car washed at an automatic car wash.