Nobody likes a scruffy-looking car. Keeping our car looking its best for longer means we can retain its monetary value for resale, as well as make a good impression everywhere we go. For help on how to maintain a better-looking car, we’ve prepared the following tips:
Tip 1: Invest in Ceramic Coating
One of the best things you can do to help protect your car’s looks is to find applicators for the best ceramic coating in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, or wherever you are in the country. A professionally applied ceramic coating doesn’t usually come cheap, but its effectiveness is without question.
Getting a ceramic coating involves the application of a thin polymer coating to your car’s painted surface, which provides a lasting layer of protection from all water- and chemical-based dirt and contaminants. It essentially creates a hydrophobic coating around the car that sloughs water off faster than it comes on. It makes your car easier to keep clean, and will maintain a showroom shine the whole time it’s protecting your vehicle, which can be anywhere from 2 to 5 years!
Tip 2: Invest in PPF
An alternative to ceramic coating is paint protection film, which involves the application of a transparent layer of urethane film on the car’s surface. You might think it would look gaudy, but in fact PPF is so thin and light that when you apply it to the car’s surface, you can barely see that it’s there. Urethane is what is known as a “self-healing” polymer meaning it has such elasticity that it’s able to mask scratches in such a way that it looks as though your car has healed itself.
The main advantage of PPF, then, is that it offers a physical aspect of protection rather than just water or chemicals. On the other hand, PPF won’t provide that showroom shine. What some people do is apply PPF to the front of the car where physical dangers like rock chips tend to impact, leaving the rest of the car as it is. That’s one way to save money. To gain the ultimate protective effect, some apply PPF at the front and then ceramic coating over the entire thing.
Tip 3: Regular Waxing
If both ceramic coating and paint protection film are a little out of your reach, then you could instead look to the more humble waxing option. Using things like carnauba wax or synthetic spray-on synthetic waxes are great ways to bring out the strongest colour and offer some limited protection to the car’s paint. It is certainly most cost effective to use wax, but it will cost you a lot more in time and effort.
Typical waxes will last for 1-3 months before you’ll need to reapply. Synthetic products have made application much easier with spray-on bottles that make getting an even coating a simple matter, but sometimes convenience comes at a premium with a smaller protection window.
Tip 4: Avoid Automatic Car Washes
Another critical thing to do is to avoid the automatic car wash, even touchless car washes. While these services are affordable, fast and convenient, they could be doing more damage to your car’s paint over time than you realise. From the dirty and hard bristles of the brush rollers to the harsh chemicals used in touchless washes, there’s almost nothing about an automatic car wash that’s good for your paint in the long term.
Therefore, if you want to keep your car looking its best, you should favour hand washing and detailing, even if it takes more time or costs you a little extra investing in a local detailer. After years of your car still looking new, you’ll be glad you made that decision.
Infographic Provided by Chrysler Factory Warranty
