The First Days: Quick Rules

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Ceramic Coating

Your coating adds gloss, UV protection, and water-beading that makes cleaning easier. It needs time to fully cure, and it lasts longest with gentle washing.

Curing period

• First 24 hours: keep the car dry. Avoid rain, sprinklers, and washes. If it gets wet, gently blot with a clean microfiber towel. Don’t wipe.
• First 7 days: no soap washes, waxes, sealants, or spray products. The coating keeps hardening during this time.
• Remove bird droppings, bug splatter, and tree sap right away with plain water and a soft microfiber towel.
• Park in a garage or shade when you can.

Do

• Hand wash with the two-bucket method and a pH-neutral car shampoo with no wax (see Washing).
• Dry with a plush microfiber drying towel or a car dryer or blower.
• Use a coating-safe ceramic booster or topper every few months to keep the beading strong. Ask us what to use.

Avoid

• Automatic car washes with brushes or cloth strips. They cause swirls and scratches.
• Dish soap, degreasers, and harsh or high-pH cleaners. They wear the coating down faster.
• Waxes, polishes, compounds, and clay bars, unless we recommend them.
• Washing in direct sun or on hot panels.

Paint Protection Film (PPF)

Your ceramic-infused film protects against rock chips, scratches, and stains. Light scratches self-heal with heat.

Curing period

• Don’t wash the car for 7 days. This lets the adhesive bond and the edges set.
• Don’t touch, pick at, or lift the edges, especially in the first week.
• Small bubbles, haze, or moisture pockets are normal at first and usually go away within a few days to a couple of weeks as the film dries out. Warm sun helps. If you still see them after 2 weeks, contact us.

Do

• Hand wash with a pH-neutral shampoo and soft microfiber, same as the paint.
• Remove bugs, bird droppings, tar, and fuel drips quickly.
• Let heat work on light scratches. A sunny Arizona day or warm water often makes them disappear.

Pressure washer rules

• Keep the nozzle at least 24 inches from the film.
• Use a wide fan tip (25° or 40°). Never use a pencil or turbo tip.
• Never spray straight at film edges or seams. Spray across them at an angle.

Avoid

• Automatic brush washes.
• Abrasive polishes, compounds, rubbing compounds, and magic erasers.
• Solvents and harsh chemicals (lacquer thinner, acetone, strong degreasers) on the film.
• Waxes that contain dyes or petroleum distillates. They can stain or yellow the film.
• Ice scrapers, razor blades, or stiff brushes.

Window Tint

Your tint blocks UV and heat and protects your interior. The film needs a few days to dry and bond to the glass.

Curing period

• Keep the windows rolled up for 3 to 5 days. Rolling them down too soon can peel the film at the top edge. In cooler months, give it a little longer.
• Don’t clean the inside of the windows for 7 days.
• A slightly hazy or streaky look and small water pockets are normal during curing. They fade as the film dries, which can take from a few days to a few weeks depending on the film and the weather.
• Leave the rear defroster alone for the first few days.

Cleaning

• Use an ammonia-free glass cleaner (ammonia can break down tint) or mild soapy water.
• Wipe with a soft, clean microfiber towel. Spray the towel, not the glass, so nothing drips into door seals or electronics.

Avoid

• Ammonia-based cleaners (many household glass cleaners contain ammonia).
• Razor blades, scrapers, paper towels, or abrasive pads on tinted glass.
• Suction cups, stickers, or tape on the tint.
• Scratching the film with seatbelt buckles, rings, keys, or cargo when loading.

Washing Your Coated or PPF Car

Use this method on ceramic-coated paint and paint protection film, once the first-week cure period is over.

The two-bucket method

• Work in the shade on cool panels, early morning or evening.
• Rinse first to knock off loose dust and grit.
• Fill Bucket 1 with pH-neutral car shampoo and water. Fill Bucket 2 with plain rinse water. Grit guards in both are best.
• Wash top to bottom, one panel at a time, with a clean microfiber wash mitt. Use straight lines, not circles.
• Rinse the mitt in Bucket 2 before every dip in Bucket 1. That keeps dirt off your paint.
• Do wheels and tires last, with a separate mitt, brush, and bucket.
• Rinse well and dry right away with a plush microfiber towel or a blower. Don’t let water air-dry.

Never

• Automatic car washes with brushes or cloth strips.
• Dish soap, household cleaners, or old bath towels and t-shirts.
• Wiping dust or dirt off a dry car, even with a “clean” towel.

Maintenance Schedule