5 essential tips for expert paintwork care
There are 5 brilliant tips that anyone and everyone can follow to take care of a car’s paintwork. Just as we take care of what’s under a vehicle’s bonnet, we have to do the same for its paintwork to keep it in the best shape possible. In this blog article, we will give our expert opinion and the exact steps to follow to maintain a car’s exterior.
Expert paintwork care tip 1: hand washing
The first, being the most obvious, is washing the paintwork. Most think that by going to a car wash they have effectively cleaned the exterior without causing any damage whatsoever. But it in fact on the contrary. The brushes and clothes pick up sand, so they essentially act as sandpaper, causing permanent damage to the paintwork. This is why we recommend hand washing.
Hot tips for hand washing the exterior:
- Use mild cleaning agents with a low pH value alongside soft, clean sponges, brushes, and cloths.
- If you use a pressure washer, maintain a distance from the car’s exterior and the pressure washer. This high pressure can cause damage to the pain. As a rule of thumb, if the water jet is painful to your hand, it will also be harmful to the car.
- Do not use the same bucket of water as you do on the tires and wheels on the paintwork, avoid cross-contamination.
Expert paintwork care tip 2: bird droppings 
Secondly, our experts recommend that you take extra care when removing bird droppings. Bird droppings can cause a sufficient amount of damage to a vehicle’s paint as they contain Uric Acid. This acid contains a pH level of 3-4.5 which is quite acidic. In addition, this acid is corrosive and can cause damage to both a vehicle’s ceramic or wax coating as well as to its paint.
Such damage caused by bird droppings is irreversible and has to be repaired professionally. Not only this but, the longer corrosive substances are allowed to work on the car paint, the greater the damage can become, this is why you have to act quickly.
Another factor that can cause damage to car paint is the sticky film from honeydew. During the spring when cars are parked on the curb, many often find honeydew that has fallen from lime trees. The film created by these trees can burn itself into the pain when left in direct sunlight, which is exactly why this also must be removed asap.
For this, we highly recommend having a microfibre cloth and waterless wash to remove these while they are wet and before they sink into the paint. https://onyxcoating.com/product/waterless-wash/
Follow this blog article to safely remove any and all bird droppings without causing scratches and permanent damage. https://onyxcoating.com/uncategorized/how-to-remove-bird-droppings-from-car-body-paintwork/
Expert paintwork care tip 3: polishing
Over time, little scratches are left behind on the paintwork, these can be easily removed via polishing. This is the key to freshening up the paintwork before adding in a layer of protection by applying wax or ceramic coating.
If you are looking to learn more about polishing, how it’s done, and what to look out for, check out this blog article https://onyxcoating.com/car-care-products/machine-polishing/
Expert paintwork care tip 4: applying a wax
Once the exterior is all cleaned, every car expert recommends adding a layer between the car’s original paintwork and the outside environment. This can be done via two products, car wax or a ceramic coating. One of the BMW paint experts stated that “The wax seals the top coat of the car paint and thus protects it against external influences,”.
Waxes provide that extra layer of protection as it seals off the paint from external conditions that can and will cause damage that might need to be professionally looked at.
As experts, we recommend that you reapply wax every 6 months, or every spring and winter. If a car is left in the garage or parked consistently out of the sun and under tough weather conditions, wax generally lasts long. As a rule of thumb, as long as the rainwater drips off the car paint normally, there is no need for a fresh layer of wax.
Expert paintwork care tip 5: applying a Ceramic Coating 
Ceramic Coatings have come a long way in the past decade and in fact, have become the number 1 product to protect an exterior and paintwork from almost every contaminant and environmental factor out there. This protects the paintwork from factors like bird droppings, and UV damage as well as establishing a layer of protection up to 1000nm against pollutants. In addition, it leaves the exterior super smooth and extremely glossy, everything any car owner is looking for upgrading a vehicle’s exterior and paintwork.
The combination of Nano-technology and the properties of Graphene in the ceramic coatings, including its flexibility, transparency, highly conductive, and impermeability make it the perfect product for protecting an exterior. It’s the product for a lifetime of protection against exterior contaminants, scratches, and more that can be applied to paint, metal and wheels.
Check out this blog article for the pros and cons of both car waxes and Ceramic Coatings https://onyxcoating.com/car-care-products/waxes-vs-ceramic-coatings-the-pros-cons-and-which-is-best-for-you/
And if you are looking for an outline of exactly what are the pros of applying a ceramic coating vs a wax check out this blog article https://onyxcoating.com/uncategorized/car-wax-sealant-ceramic-coating/
