Aftercare
Process:
Your coating will go through 2 main curing stages. The first is the initial curing that will permit your car to be driven and even get wet. This is normally within 4-12 hours depending on weather conditions. If you have the car, this has already happened, and your car is safe to use. The second stage is the final hard cure which takes 3-5 days in which the coating will finalise its hardening. During this period, the car should not be washed as this could disturb the membrane in the coating. If possible, avoid parking under trees to avoid tree sap and bird droppings.
Understanding your ceramic coat
Your ceramic coating will without a doubt make your car much easier to maintain as we often see a 50% reduction in washing time. But ceramic coatings have 2 main elements to them and understanding this will set you up for easy long-term success.
CORE PROTECTION
At a core level our coatings will provide excellent protection to the paint underneath which is the most critical component
BONUS FEATURES
The longevity of the ‘Bonus Features’ will be determined by how often you clean the car as this is the single most important step in maintaining your coating.*
*If you neglect the washing of the car, your car will still be protected and will still look much better than a car that is not ceramic coated, but the water beading and that high end gloss may dimmer faster. But fear not, if this does happen, we can often recover this very easily due to the premium coating that’s in place.
Simple maintenance guidelines for ceramic protection
Here are the correct Foundations with specific details so you will be a pro in no time.
- Use only pH neutral Shampoo with no waxes, sealants, or polymers
- Remove all bird poo/bat poo asap. The coating will give you a line of defence allowing you to deal with it but they should be considered Acid on your car and removed as soon as possible to avoiding staining.
- Consistent Washing – Fortnightly usually yields best results
- Maintain your Yearly Service detail to keep coating in optimal shape and to maintain the official warranty – we will notify you every 12 months
So, the Nuts & Bolts
Washing the Car:
The single most important thing you can do to maintain your coating is to wash the car consistently and always in the shade, never in direct sunlight. How often you wash the car will depend on the type of exposure it’s getting to the sun. If your car is garage regularly and daily driven, fortnightly washing is recommended but at least once a month the car should get a wash. If the car lives outside, weekly washing is recommended for optimal results.
The following Shampoo products all qualify and can be easily found at your local retailer and work well:
- Fireball Superstar Car Shampoo (ask us – we stock)
- Bowden’s Auto Body Gel
- Maguires Gold
Washing Method:
A basic wash process is:
- Pressure clean the car or Snow Foam the car to remove loose dirt
- Hand wash the car with your wash mitt/foam (this will be very easy with the coating) – Clean the wheels with a designated wheel rag/cloth
- Rinse with pressure cleaner
- Dry the vehicle (very important)
Tips for Optimal Coating Performance
Can I use a Car Wash Machine
Yes, you can use a car wash machine although not recommended, but your coating will be ok if you follow the following guidelines.
- No brushes, brushless only
- Ensure they are using a pH neutral shampoo (often car washes are alkaline shampoos due to its general cleaning effectiveness).
- Ensure you don’t choose the wax or protection add-on option as it could result in a residue layer on the coating and will go dull over time and will need to be removed.
Washing Technique
There are various washing techniques like the 2-bucket wash method and even pre-wash snow foam which are all good options to employ. But the most important part of washing the car is to check your wash mitt for lodged debris after dunking it in the bucket to avoid creating swirls by rubbing unchecked dirt on your car. The coating will help in this department but it’s not an impenetrable force field.
Hard Water
Rainwater or softened water is best for washing cars but not critical with our coatings. You will deal with less water spotting and calcification with the former.
Drying the Car
Get yourself a Drying towel, preferably one with Twisted Loop Technology. A drying towel will cut your drying time down to 2-3 mins minutes as opposed to 10-20 mins with a chamois and without the wrist straining. The towels are awesome and very easy to use making drying the car a breeze.
A pro tip is to use a leaf blower to blow off the excess water quickly, its a bit satisfying with the coating then dab up remaining drops.
Waterspots
If the car gets wet and is left outside, water spotting can occur especially with QLD sun conditions. Often a good wash can clean these but sometimes they can bake in. The earlier you deal with them the better. We have a safe water spot remover available for newer water spots, very effective especially with black cars that can be more prone. For cars that live outside and don’t get washed as often as recommended water spots can bake into the coating. Fear not as your coating is still protecting your paint, you just have calcification build up on the surface due to the harsh sun. Do not use any harsh chemicals as this could damage the coating, talk to use about removing them safely and we can advise accordingly. Often these are resolved easily with a repair polish when needed.
Etchings
Due to the acidic nature of bat poo and bird poo, it can still etch or stain your coating especially if left for long periods of time without being removed. In our experience our coatings have always absorbed the damage and stopped and penetration to the paint. As such these are usually easily fixed with a spot repair polish, talk to us about this simple treatment. Using a non-certified detailer will void any warranty.
Waxes and Sealants
A big No No. First of all, you simply don’t need them as the coating will protect the car and which much better gloss and shine and less effort. If you want to boost you shine or hydrophobics, use the approved quick detailers mentioned below. If you do use a wax or a sealant you will run the risk of your coating dulling due to the nature of wax as it dulls quickly as opposed to ceramic glass. If wax or sealant is applied, you will probably need to remove it mechanically via machine polishing to get the true gloss and coating performance back. Talk to us if this is an issue and we will advise.
Machine polishing by a non-certified detailer will void any warranty. Also beware of waxes, sealant and polymers being mixed in shampoos even in brands like Bowden’s Nanoliscious which has polymers that will clog up your coating over time.
Quick Detailers
Both Coating brands we use, Fireball and System X, have approved Quick detailers and Ceramic Boosters that are engineered to work with their prospective coatings. For Fireball Coatings use Pirouette and for System X use Renew. Both are available upon request.
Annual Service Detail
Once a year we will conduct a service detail to update and maintain the official warranty. We will send an automatic text notifying you when its due, to which it will be up to you to book it in once notified.
This process consists of:
- Full Wash
- Iron Decontamination
- Approved Ceramic Booster Applied to Renew Coating
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
Firstly we use a ‘Paint Thickness Gauge’ that tells us the overall thickness of your paint in microns, these professional gauges are worth hundreds or thousands of dollars and can provide valuable information to the history of the paint. We also include our years of detailing experience to investigate the paint using xenon light, to also find if the car has been resprayed or repaired, as these are also important factors.
It depends entirely on the current condition of your paint. Some minor paint corrections can take 1-2 days, while some serious corrections for badly weathered and worn paint can take 6-7 days – yes that is up to 50 hours of polishing, refinement and finishing for one car.
Time and quality equal cost, so it depends on how long a Paint Correction is going to take. Be sure to speak to us in regards to getting your car paint corrected. All the cars are different, we can’t use the exact same process on a Toyota paint for a BMW paint.
If done by a real professional like us at Ricardo’s Detail Garage, that knows about paint types, hardness, depth and uses the best car care products and modern techniques – No. The majority of imperfections are within the first 5-10 microns of paint/clear coat, a modern car should come with 150-220 microns of paint. If the correct techniques are used then the removal of paint is minimal and consistent, a lot of cars have more paint ‘hacked off and unevenly’ by some unqualified detailers and car washes that offer a cheap ‘cut and polish’
Incorrect. When car paint is polished badly using poor technique, cheap products, dirty pads or insufficient preparation then yes, holograms / buffer trails or swirl marks are left in the paint and these can be seen in the sunlight.
At Ricardo’s Detail Garage we prepare the paint surface properly, use only the best products and years of experience – we guarantee and we deliver results.
Some detailers offer stage 1, 2 or 3 details / corrections / enhancements. We do not believe in this kind of ‘detail’ – let alone for a ‘paint correction’. The reality is that the paint on your car is in varying conditions on different areas/panels. For example; the paint on your bonnet or boot is probably in worse condition due to harsher circumstances than the paint on your doors, perhaps. Therefore it will take more time, more ‘stages’ with the polisher and a range of polishes and pads – so while 1 stage might give good results for some areas, it will not for all. We analysis and treat every area of your car with focused techniques to deliver real results and bring all panels up to the same standard, some panels need 1 or 2 stages while others may need 4 or 5 to achieve the same finish. We only use Stage 1/2/3/4 details on our portfolio as a reference of how bad the paintwork is and how much is being corrected.
Many companies, small businesses and individuals will say that they can polish a car. But sadly, the results are often very poor – paint levels can be left dangerously low, there may be visible marks left from the buffing itself, the original marks may still be present but just temporarily filled, etc. When it comes to paint correction/polishing, you really need a specialist.
Click here or fill out the enquiry form on this page to organise a free paint assessment and discuss upon your next paint correction!
What Our Clients Say
Cannot recommend enough! The professionalism and passion Dan brings is incredible!
After using Ricardo's Detail Garage for cars undergoing insurance repairs at work, there was no question who I would call when it came to needing someone to do my personal car.
Car covered in primer overspray from another shop and Dan made quick work of getting it back to looking better than before. Seriously wouldn't get anyone else to touch my car. Thanks again for the fantastic job!!!
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