Keeping Your Car Looking Good For Longer

Getting that perfect detail is what keeps us doing what we do it keeps the drive of producing new products going, as well as the continued ongoing development of our current range. But what are the outright essentials to keeping your car looking good for longer Check out just a few of our hints, tips and tricks below for just that:

Wash Stage

It's all in the wash. We can't stress enough how important the wash stage is. Inevitably, the contact wash stage is where you're more likely to cause swirl marks in the paint's surface. This is something you really want to avoid, unless you want to be machine polishing it every couple of months! Of course, you need to wash thoroughly, but that doesn't mean elbow grease. It means using a good base of products. Regularity of said wash stage is also important

We've all been guilty of skipping a week when the weather has been off, or we simply can't be bothered, and the odd week is fine but bear in mind that the longer you leave the dirt on the car you'll end up with areas of the car that go beyond being a little bit grubby, which then require more intensive products to sort it out. Products such as a good polish will cut in to remove any ground-in staining or soot to the rear.

Drying Stage

Detailing sprays are great for keeping that hard-earned finish going. At the drying stage, for example, use a quick detailer to dry the car off. It might seem counter-productive to dry the car with a wet solution, but it'll really help to get the best finish.

Wax Stage

Make sure you keep wax layers or any protection layers, such as sealants topped up. Auto Finesse top dog James says he likes to wax his car every two months. I don't want the protection to totally wear off before I reapply, because then I'd have to go back to basics and start the whole process of the detail again, including decontamination stage, he says. Auto Finesse waxes are protection against elements, so you're undoing all of your own hard work if you allow the wax to go beyond its advised durability time before reapplying. Two layers every two months, should do it, and also make further washes and details easier than if you left it and let the contaminants get through the protection you've applied. You only really need one layer of wax or sealant in terms of protection, but applying two means you can rest assured you have an even coat throughout the whole vehicle. Remember, when applying a wax, be sure to wait three hours between each layer so the first layer has enough time to cure. This would be slightly less in warmer temperatures, but it?s safest to wait the full time. Do not wax any vehicle if the temperature is below 6-degrees Celsius, or above 35-degrees Celsius.

Our last tip is apply two layers of tyre dressing. The first will act as a protective barrier, while the top coat will be more like a dressing.

Also important to note; if you've bought a new car, don't think that it's perfect. You can't go months on end without washing it and thinking it'll still look good because it's new. New cars don't come perfect and require work upfront to get the best base for protection. This would normally involve a machine polish. It might sound extreme to machine polish a new car, but they're often sat in big car parks at the factory or kept in storage before you pick it up. With a lot of cars being moved by train, especially in Europe, rail dust contamination is also a regular occurrence.

So that's our few top tips for keeping your vehicle looking good for longer. If you have any suggestions or questions regarding any part of a detail, or you have a particular detailing problem, let us know at info@autofinesse.co.uk