The Ultimate Guide to Car Paint Protection

What is Car Paint Protection?

It’s difficult to give a simple definition of what auto paint protection is, since it’s a broad term that encapsulates multiple forms, including different products and processes.

Anyway, it generally refers to a layer of inorganic silica that has the effect of coating your paintwork on a car’s exterior.

It retains the shine of the car manufacturer’s paint. The additional layer of coating also enhances protection against infrared/UV rays and protects the paint from oxidation and deterioration.

Why Is It Important?

It’s useful in maintaining one of the key and most noticeable aspects of the car – its outward appearance. It can be said to have two main functions – preservation and protection.

Primarily, paint protector helps you to preserve the original color, shine, and gloss of the vehicle’s exterior. It provides a limited amount of protection against damage, too.

Therefore, it’s important to note that auto car protection doesn’t make the vehicle’s paintwork damage-proof.  The combined effect is that it helps to maintain the car’s paintwork and appearance, which helps in retaining its worth.

Plus, many paint protection systems also negate the need to constantly polish your vehicle to keep it shiny and looking brand new. It saves you time and money, as maintaining the car’s sheet metal becomes an easy and irregular task.

How to Choose Best Car Paint Protection?

There’re many options when it comes to paint protection products. Therefore, you’ll need to be sure your protection solution includes durability, looks, and slickness.

With these key features in mind, let’s find out what is the best way to protect car paint.

Traditional paste wax – Paste waxes are old technology and are a hard-wax substance that has silicone and petroleum distillates to make a temporary shine.

They’re often challenging to put on as well as remove. In fact, the pressure it takes to remove the waxy residue will also wear away part of the wax protection that would ideally be left on the surface for protection.

Carnauba based wax – The real carnauba-based wax is soft, easy to use that’s usually a little pricey and known for appearance, not longevity. They’re commonly called toppers and used to top acrylic paint sealants that need a little shine. The carnauba works good on all colors but will show more on deeper or darker colors.

Don’t forget, that pure carnauba melts at about 160 to 170 degrees, so the look fades quick, and the protection doesn’t hold up on hot sunny days, particularly on dark colors, which draw the heat. So, put it on when you want to car look well but don’t expect it to last.

Cleaner wax – It’s a one-step product that features good polishing ability. It works well for those who have a surface that’s free of defects and plan to use further protection.

The cleaner wax is generally about the similar aggressiveness as a pre-wax cleaner. The issue with a cleaner wax is that due to the ingredients you can’t leave enough protection on the paint surface. So, you’ll want to follow up with more serious protection like paint sealants.

Paint sealants – Unlike conventional waxes, synthetic paint sealants can withstand temperatures over 1000°, which make them much more durable.

When opting for a synthetic paint sealant, you have to know the difference between the two main types: silica-based and polymer-based sealant. While they both provide proper protection, they’ll vary in shine and slickness.

A recent development in detailing technology has been silica-based sealants. They’re also well known as ceramic or ceramic coating, quartz, and extremely useful and long-lasting SIO2 paint sealants.

A quality synthetic polymer-based paint sealant will generally give your best protection, shine, and slickness, while the acrylic-based sealant will provide good protection but isn’t so slick and may need help from a carnauba topper for shine.

Ceramic coating – Ceramic coating makes a sacrificial layer of protection that sticks to the clear coat. It utilizes nanotechnology.

As the coating hardens, it makes a microscopic layer of tough glass. It fills all of the imperfections and leaves a flat surface area. Ceramic coating makes the surface water-repellent, and resistant to chemicals, scratches, UV, and extreme heat.

Paint protection film (PPF) – Paint protection film is a thin vinyl product that is clear and installed on the car’s surface. Most vehicle owners will use it on the hood, side-view mirrors, front bumper, side-view, and other front area components that tend to be affected by debris. Some drivers will apply PPF on the entire car.

5 Benefits of Automobile Paint Protection

Maybe you’ve never considered the many advantages of new car paint protection. Find out more about this practical addition to your vehicle care, and discover the methods, which can save you money and prolong the lifespan of your car.

1. Keeps Vehicle Appearance

Waxing gives your vehicle a beautiful luster that will last several months, so you must have your car waxed fairly regularly. Meanwhile, more permanent protection will usually provide you a lifetime of luster. Either way, these solutions help keep your vehicle looking brand new for a lot longer since it won’t chip or fade quickly.

2. Minimizes the Superficial Damage on Car’s Paint

No matter how careful you’re when driving, odds are high that it’ll get scratched when you least expect it, whether it be from stones during driving, folks in car parks or just sand making tiny scratches.

A layer of paint protection enables you to minimize the impact of superficial damage on the paint. This’s even more obvious when you use a more permanent protective layer since that layer could be scratched before it goes to the paint. So, it’s easier to fix and harder to damage.

3. Sunblock for the Car

California is well known for its sunshine-filled days, which is excellent, but what damage is this causing to your vehicle’s paint? The sun makes the color fade and what was once a shiny new machine, can often look tired and worn. This’s something that car enthusiasts definitely don’t want for their vehicle.

Paint protection guards your car against the harsh sunlight and keeps the color brighter and more vibrant for longer. After all, you wouldn’t go out in the sun without sunblock, so why should your vehicle spend hours each day in the sun without any protection?

4. Reduces the Need for Polishing

You need to have a car waxed every several months or so to keep it looking awesome. Still, you have the alternative of applying a protective coat instead when you first buy the vehicle. According to the type of coating you select, you can eliminate the need to have the surface polished, making it easier to maintain.

5. Increases Car’s Worth

When you sell your vehicle, most buyers will look not only how it runs, but the first thing they notice is the exterior, and first impressions definitely count. Tiny scratches, faded paint, or any imperfection can often bring down the value of your vehicle considerably.

Anyhow, this won’t be an issue if you have some paint protection on it as most of the scratches will be on the surface, and a proper car detailing should make it looks good as new.

How to Protect Car Paint?

Vehicle owners know they can extend the lifespan of their cars by being attentive when it comes to regular maintenance. But one detail that often gets ignored is the paint. Poor paint condition of your car can have a negative effect not on its appearance and selling price.

There’re steps you can take to protect your vehicle’s paint. Below, we’ve listed a few methods that may help, but for the best results, you need to hire professional auto detailer.

Limitations of Clear-Coat Paint Finishes

Most vehicles in the last few decades are built with clear-coat paint finishes. A clear-coat paint finish is a layer of clear resin that’s used over a vehicle’s coat of base paint, and it brings the paint a deeper and more vibrant appearance.

It also provides protection from specific environmental elements, while stopping the fading and extends the life of your paint.

Still, it’s critical to remember that a clear-coat paint finish doesn’t give absolute protection. For instance, while a clear-coat paint finish can diminish sun damage, it doesn’t thoroughly protect from this threat. You’ll still need car UV protection if you want to save the look of its paint.

Also, a common misbelief is that cars with clear-coat paint finishes don’t need to be waxed. Waxing protects your vehicle’s paint, even if it has a clear-coat finish.

Regularly Wax Your Car

Regularly waxing the car can help protects its paint from damage. Wax makes a barrier between the environment and the paint. It can shield your vehicle’s paint job from the sun’s rays, and it can guard against harsh weather.

Remove Bird Droppings

Bird droppings have highly acidic substances. They can damage your vehicle’s paint, even if it has a clear-coat paint finish.

If you see bird droppings on a car’s surface, remove them instantly. These droppings are much easier to get rid of when they’re fresh.

There’re wipes on the market that are specifically designed to remove bird excrement without harming your vehicle’s paint. Another solution is to remove the droppings with a soft cloth and club soda.

Clear Tree Sap

Tree sap won’t automatically damage your car’s paint, but it eventually can bake itself in and leave unsightly stains. If you spot them, you need to get rid of it immediately.

Bear in mind that hot weather can exacerbate the damage caused by this threat. And the longer tree sap remains on your car, the harder it’ll be to remove.

Professional products that can banish tree sap are available on the market. Hot water and soap also may be utilized.

Hand Dry the Exterior

Hand dry the exterior after the wash to make sure that the chemicals present in water don’t mix with the sun’s rays to wear your vehicle paint. It’s recommended to hand dry your car when it’s exposed to rain as well.

Take a cotton rag and wipe out the exterior parts. It’s time-consuming but is worth the effort as it’ll not only give a clean appearance to your car, but it’ll also prevent the accumulation of chemicals and residues from water.