How To Wash Your Car After Ceramic Coating Application

Although cleaning your vehicle might seem like a simple task, there are certain nuances you should hold into account when it comes to knowing how to wash your car after applying ceramic coating. That’s why, before you invest your money into buying a professional ceramic coating spray, you need to get the facts straight and know that all detailing products need some maintenance help so that they can hold their protective properties for a longer time.

If you are new to the world of car paint protection and you just had your car detailed, you may be flooded with questions like “How do I care for my car after ceramic coating?” and “When can I wash my car after ceramic coating?”. So if you landed on this page looking for help, we’ll offer you all the answers you need regarding car detailing maintenance.

Can You Wash A Car With Ceramic Coating?

Not only washing a car with ceramic coating is possible, but it’s extremely important if you want to maintain the ceramic coating on your vehicle. When washing a car that has a ceramic coating applied, there are some additional steps that you should do in order to make the ceramic coating last longer on your car and also to increase the vehicle’s shine.

The good thing is that washing a car with ceramic coating protection is much easier than washing some non-protected vehicles.

What Is Ceramic Coating

Before looking at how to wash your car after having ceramic coating applied, let’s first see what this type of detailing product actually is. 

A high-quality ceramic coating such as Nexgen Ceramic Spray or Torque Detail is a liquid polymer that bonds with your car’s paint, creating a layer of paint protection film. By creating this chemically resistant surface, ceramic coating sprays offer protection from UV damage, swirl marks, chips, stains or rust.

Most car owners I know love to keep their cars clean and shining like the first day they got it. If you choose to always use a ceramic coating, you will not only get to enjoy the beautifully fresh, glossy, shiny paintwork for longer, but you are also safeguarding your vehicle’s coat from scratches, contaminants, and weather elements. 

When properly applied by respecting the curing process, due to its hydrophobic properties, a ceramic coat will repel water, and as a result, mud and grime will have a more difficult time bonding to your vehicle’s paint. Another bonus is that contaminants can be removed with less effort, while washing and rinsing your car is usually enough to restore its glossiness, without the need of any extra polishing and waxing.

How To Wash Your Car The First Time After Applying Ceramic Coating 

Although ceramic coatings can keep your car cleaner for longer by repelling dirt and water, this doesn’t mean that you will not need to wash your vehicle regularly in order to maintain its looks.

Knowing how to wash your car after it has been treated with a ceramic coating can have a direct effect on how the coating will perform in the long term and how well it will maintain both its looks and protective properties.

First and foremost, one of the most important things you need to know about ceramic protection is that it’s not recommended to wash your car for up to 7 days after applying the coating. This allows the coating to fully cure on your vehicle’s surface. Once the 7 days have passed, we recommend that you clean your car at least twice a month to prevent contaminant build-up. 

Wondering how to wash your car after ceramic coating and what wash method to use to avoid scratches?

Here’s our quick step-by-step guide on washing ceramic coated vehicles:

• Step 1: Make sure to wash the car out of direct sunlight and that the paint is cool to the touch.
• Step 2: Wash the wheels by using a wheel cleaner and wheel brushes. Rinse with a pressure washer.
• Step 3: Spray the car with pre-wash snow foam and let it dwell for a few minutes. This will allow the foam to break down all the dirt, dust, mud, and bugs from the paint.
• Step 4: Rinse the snow foam away with clean water. Ideally, you should use a pressure washer, but using a standard garden hose is also okay.
• Step 5: Hand-wash your vehicle with some high-quality ceramic soap and a microfiber wash mitt. Make sure to use the 2-bucket method to avoid scratching the paint.
• Step 6: Rinse the car with clean water.
• Step 7: Dry the vehicle by using some of our recommended drying towels.

And that’s it, those are the only 7 steps you need in order to wash a car after ceramic coating application.

We would also like to share some additional ceramic coating maintenance tips and recommendations, so feel free to check them out as well:

• Avoid washing your car at an automatic car wash. It will just mar your car’s finish and cause micro scratches to form. This is because automatic car washes use highly abrasive bristles that can retain scratch-prone contaminants from previous washes. 
• Clean your vehicle regularly. Although ceramic coating will prevent your car from getting dirty fast, you will still need to clean it to prevent contaminant build-up.
• Make sure you remove contaminants like bird droppings, tree sap, or bug splasher immediately from the car paint.
• Use professional car wash products, and make sure that you choose a delicate car wash soap that is ph neutral. As your coating is already doing half the cleaning, you don’t need a heavy car shampoo on top of that. Aggressive chemicals will just damage both the ceramic coating and the car’s paint.
• If you are looking for how to wash the car after applying ceramic coating, we recommend that you do it by using two buckets. The two bucket method basically recommends that you use one bucket for the shampoo wash solution, and another one filled with plain water for rinsing your wash mitt.
• Dry the vehicle well using a microfiber towel. These types of towels pick up microscopic materials, bacteria, and germs, while also providing great drying capabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts On Ceramic Coated Car Maintenance

If you are passionate about car care, the key to retaining the look of your vehicle is to carry out regular maintenance. We hope our post on how to wash your car after ceramic coating application managed to clear whatever confusion you might have had about this subject, and convinced you that a good quality ceramic coating is worth investing in. 

If you are looking for some more in depth information about the different detailing products available, and you need help deciding which one to choose, check out how we compare products. Also keep following our blog for more guides, how-tos, and latest industry news in the world of car detailing.