Maintaining the paint of a car helps present an attractive appearance for the car, improves the self esteem of the owner and can potentially save some essential components of the car.
It can also help you save money from premature or frequent repainting of the car.
And generally this helps maintain and even can boost the value of the car in question.
This maintenance practice can appear like a daunting task that will cost an arm and a leg extra.
Truly it can be expensive depending on the level you want to adopt but there are also cheaper routes to achieving this.
Your car’s paint is not just about the aesthetics, it is a crucial layer of protection against the elements, preventing discoloration, peeling, rust, corrosion and breakup of vital components of a car.
Hence proper maintenance is crucial for long lasting use and possible appreciation of the value of the car.
As the world has different climates and levels of development, so do we have different means of maintaining the paint of cars in the different areas due to the difference in the types of road grimes and debris.
What applies in one part of America will not apply in another part. What generally applies in America will not apply in Nigeria. And in Nigeria, what applies in Benin City, Edo State, will not apply in Lagos. For instance, Benin City generally has bright red coarse sand with stones whereas Lagos generally has finer whitish sandy soil.
The impacts on the cars used in these cities differ.
For instance, it is more difficult washing road grime off cars used in areas with red sand than from cars used in areas with white sand.
But one factor is common in Nigeria, our roads are dirtier than you can generally get in many Western countries, though the degree of the dirt depends on the state in Nigeria.
So in Western countries, many cars don’t have to be washed daily and they will still appear nice.
But in this clime, this will largely not work well. So wash your car as often as needed but there is no need to over wash it.
Then it gets worse during the rainy season here, where some people are forced to wash their cars more than once a day.
The most basic approach to maintaining the paint of a car is to wash the car but this has some other factors to consider and abide by for a great result.
In washing a car, it is advised that you water down the car first with either a pressure washer or just with a container for splashing water. But for both, though more for non pressure washer style, as you generously pour the water, gently use your hand or a soft cotton cloth to wash off solid, large particles especially mud that are stuck on the paint. If you used a cloth, ensure you properly wash off the debris before using it again to do the actual washing. Or wash off periodically as you do the pre-wash rinsing
These debris and or mud etc are the easiest to scratch your paint in micro, fine lines or swirls if this is not done.
Ensure you use liquid soap that is not harsh for the actual washing. Most detergents are harsh on the paint of cars so within a short period, there will be dullness in the gloss of the paint, and from this many bad things can start happening.
Remember to use a soft cotton material, in many cases, your discarded 100% or near 100% cotton singlet will serve very well.
Avoid using sharp, coarse materials gotten from clothes, sacks etc like many carwash outfits do in Nigeria. And whatever you use should not have iron or metal or any other materials on it like zippers, ornaments etc.
If possible, remove any sharp metalic object from your fingers and hands while washing.
Avoid washing the car under direct heavy sunlight otherwise the lather from the soap used will easily dry off and make you need more water to rinse off. And the longer it stays on your car under direct sunlight the easier for chemical reactions to be initiated.
Always wash from the top down to the bottom.
The tires and rims should be the last thing to be washed.
There are also some very high pressure washers, if improperly used they will damage and scrape the paint on your car.
Try to rinse off immediately you wash but if not possible and you are washing under a nice weather or temperature especially if in a covered space, you might be able to wash the entire car before rinsing off without damages to the paint.
Always ensure that carwash centers also follow these guidelines. Otherwise, they will easily mess up your prized car.
Remember that the first step in maintaining the paint of your car is by being a trained, licensed, careful and good driver that properly uses his mirrors and trafficators well and drive well.
This is essential because scratches, dents, bashes gotten from road Usage are the instant and fastest means of damaging the paint of cars and also negatively affects the value of the car.
Remember to avoid salty or corrosive materials be coming in contact with the paint of your car.
When you buy fuel and it splashes on your paint, rinse the affected area immediately with copious amounts of water.
Avoid parking your car in places where it will easily be poured corrosive materials or be scratched accidentally or deliberately.
Avoid parking where poops from birds can be dropping on your car. Bird poop can have acidic materials that can be injurious to the paint of cars.
As often as possible, you can apply car wax on the paint to improve its gloss and repair some damaged portions of the paint.
But whereby money is not a problem then you can adopt the many other ways of car paint maintenance and visit premium carwash centers where it should be safely assumed that they had gotten trained on these things and invest and adopt many other things too like paint protection film etc (PPF).