How to maintain Ceramic or Graphene Coating

Improper washing techniques will scratch and mar the surface of your vehicle regardless of whether you have a ceramic coating. The two-bucket method still applies. Clean rags, back and forth motions, lots of lubrication, and little to no pressure will keep the finish swirl-free. Mechanical ones use hard brushes, which can scratch the paint.

The quickest way to ruin any ceramic coated vehicle is to take it to one of those drive through car washes – especially if it has brushes or those curtain-looking mop-type cleaning rags. These car washes can wreck a ceramic coating in a matter of seconds.

A regular car wash soap or shampoo is perfect. Use whatever you already have, so long as it doesn’t contain any polishing compounds, waxes, or sealants like those all-in-one products. Best to use pH-neutral shampoo.

Strong acidic and alkaline cleaners can potentially degrade your coating depending on its contents. Ceramic products contain between 15-95% SiO2 particles.

High-end ceramic coatings with 90%+ SiO2 particles are fairly resistant to acidic and alkaline cleaners. However, if you wash your vehicle regularly, you shouldn’t need to use these often, if at all.

Anytime you are washing, drying, or applying any product to a coated vehicle, it’s critical to avoid cross contamination of other cleaning supplies. As such, anytime you’re going to use a microfiber towel, wash mitt, even the buckets, make sure they are completely clean, and free of other cleaners, degreasers, or debris.

When you wash your vehicle, it’s always best to do so in low sunlight conditions. Either a cloudy day, early in the morning or close to sunset is your optimal time to wash and dry the vehicle. This is since sunlight will quickly dry soap on top of the coating, can cause water spots, and lead to streaks.

If you drive your car daily and park outside, it will get soiled eventually. Bird poop, bug splatter, and tree sap are highly acidic.

Leaving these to bake on the surface will force you to use a strong alkaline product later on and mechanical action to scrub the surface.

If you want your coating to perform well in the long run, you should clean these up as soon as you detect them. Keep a bottle of Quick Detailing Spray and several clean microfiber towels on hand to spot-clean whenever you need to.

Ceramic coatings are excellent at repelling water, causing it to bead up and sheet from the surface. However, this beading up can cause its own problems when the vehicle is left to try on its own, or even worse, in the sun via direct sunlight.

Mineral deposits will form just as easily on the surface of the ceramic coating as they do on any other surface. Its hydrophobic properties will reduce the effect, but can’t do anything for drops that remain on the surface.

Mineral deposits can be hard to remove once they harden without using abrasion. If you have to use abrasion to remove them, you will compromise the coating and might need to reapply. You definitely don’t want that, so always be sure to properly rinse and dry your vehicle.

Rain is always slightly acidic, but industrial pollution and volcanic activity can create harsh acid rain, which wreaks havoc on unprotected paint. Although it’s much more resistant, you also don’t want acids dwelling on the surface of your ceramic coating forever, so thoroughly rinse the car after acid rain, or any rain for that matter.

It helps enhance the longevity of Ceramic Coatings. Boost/restore the hydrophobic properties and shine.