Coating maintenance guide

Summary: An overview on how to care for coated or sealed cars, the most important step of keeping the car in great shape!

So, you got your new car coated or sealed – that’s great, but only the first step in keeping it well maintained.

A coating is not a magical force field that keeps the dirt off your car. Instead, it helps by making your car easier to clean during regular washes. 

However, your coating requires regular maintenance washes to keep the easy-to-clean functionalities, because while a coating provides great chemical resistance, some contamination such as insects, bird poop, and tree sap need to be removed ASAP, as they will damage your coating over time or sometimes very quickly.

The good news: a coating or high-quality sealant will make the washes much simpler!

It’s best practice to wash a coated car every 10-14 days, but also consider how dirty the car gets over time. A garage queen might need less attention, while a daily driver used for commuting might need more attention.

Follow our wash guide for a regular maintenance (gentle prewash (below pH12), contact wash, dry) routine. A good prewash will work even better on a coated car. 

Rinseless washes are fine on coated cars but, if you can, add a prewash as a first step. Try to avoid those containing sealants, unless they are marked as compatible by your coating’s manufacturer.

A drying aid, topper, detailer, etc. is not required. If you want to use one, make sure it’s safe for your coating. Either use a product marked as compatible by your coating’s manufacturer or use a product with a known track record on your specific coating. 

Keep in mind that they might alter the surface properties of your coating and may increase or decrease beading levels.

Waxes are generally not optimal toppers, a few specialty cases notwithstanding. 

Keep in mind that with every wash comes the chance of scratching and abrasion, which over time will degrade your coating, too. Let your car get a little bit dirty while keeping the things that can actually damage your coating in check.

Stay away from “in-between cleans”, those often come with a higher scratch risk than a normal wash which is not worth it.

DO NOT take your car to an automatic portal wash, because that will likely scratch your vehicle. Also avoid touchless portal washes, they use very harsh chemicals that will likely degrade your coating and other parts of your car, such as rubber seals. 

If you wash your car yourself, make sure that all the products used to wash it are below pH 12 in dilution as many APCs, or stronger prewashes, are not. 

If the beading isn’t as you’d expect it to be, check our guide on 3pH washes. It’s possible that your coating is clogged with minerals. It can be beneficial to do a full 3pH wash with an additional round of iron (and potentially tar) remover once a year, or perhaps even more often, if contamination levels require it.

Coatings, due to their high contact angle, are very susceptible for water spots. These can burn through the coating and into the paint. This is worsened if the coating is still in its curing process, which can be as long as a month.

If you have hard water, it is highly recommended to use a DI (de-ionized) system, and to never let the water dry on during the wash process. Have a water spot remover ready to have the eventualities covered – just make sure it doesn’t contain hydrofluoric acid!

So, in summary:

•    Wash often, do full washes.

•    Rinseless is okay, portal and touchless car washes are not.

•    Avoid cleaners that are above pH12 in dilution.

•    If needed, do 3pH washes and/or chemical decon to unclog the coating.

•    Topping the coating is a “can-do”, not a “must-do” – and does not extend the life of the coating; in fact it can even make things worse in some cases!