Keeping Your Paint Mint: The Real World Guide to Protection

Start with a thorough wash using the two-bucket method. Use a high-alkaline soap if you're stripping old wax, but a standard pH neutral one is fine if the car is relatively new.

Spray an Iron Remover over the dry-ish paint. It'll turn purple when it hits brake dust embedded in your paint. Rinse it off thoroughly. Don't do this in direct sun, or it'll bake on and be a nightmare to remove.

Use a clay bar or a clay mitt with plenty of lubricant. This pulls out the 'grit' you can feel but can't see. Your paint should feel like glass after this.

Dry the car completely. Use a blower for the crevices. A customer once brought in a car where the coating failed in streaks because water leaked out of the door handles during application. Lessons learned.

Even if the car is new, it likely has 'dealer swirls'. Give it a light polish to level the surface. This is what creates the 'depth' in the shine.

This is crucial. Wipe every panel with an IPA solution to remove polishing oils. If you skip this, your expensive coating is just sitting on oil and will wash off in a month.

Work in a garage if you can. If you're outside, you need a dead-still day with zero wind. Dust is your enemy here.

Think of the car in 50x50cm squares. Don't try to do the whole bonnet at once or the product will flash (dry) before you can level it.

If using a ceramic coating, put 5-8 drops on your applicator. For a sealant, a few pea-sized drops.

Apply in straight lines, up and down, then left to right. This ensures 100% coverage. No circular motions here; we aren't Karate Kid.

Watch the product. Ceramic coatings will start to 'bead' or look like oil on water. This usually takes 30-90 seconds depending on humidity.

Use a low-nap microfibre to gently level the product. You aren't scrubbing it off, just spreading it evenly.

Use a second, plush microfibre to buff away any remaining residue. This is the 'final polish' phase.

Use your LED torch to check for 'high spots' (dark, oily-looking patches). If you find one, wipe it again immediately. If it's dried, you might need to polish it off and start that section again.

Move to the next section, overlapping slightly with the previous one to ensure no gaps.

I always do the horizontal surfaces first. They take the most abuse from the sun and bird bombs, so I want my focus to be sharpest there.

If your coating is trim-safe (most modern ones like CarPro CQuartz are), hit the plastics too. It'll stop them turning that ugly grey colour.

Keep the car bone dry for at least 12-24 hours. No driving, no rain, no morning dew. If it gets wet now, the chemical bond is ruined.