Clear coat paints that protect your car’s colored paint job require different cleaning products than a varnish or all-in-one paint. To avoid damaging the important top clear coat, be sure to understand which kinds of cleaning compounds you should use to care for your car.
What to Avoid
Never use abrasive or corrosive cleaning compounds on a car’s clear coat. These kinds of cleansers can gradually strip away the clear top coat, leaving the colored coats beneath exposed. Also, avoid cleaning a hot car. Heat can cause a reaction between the clear coat and the cleansers being used so always spray or rinse the entire car with cold water and park in a shady spot.
Paste Rubbing Compounds
To remove minor rusting, small scratches or bits of residue from a clear coat use a paste rubbing compound. Other rubbing compounds, not meant for use on a clear coat, can leave deep scratches in the top coat’s surface. With a clean, dry, and soft cloth rag, gently rub the paste compound onto the car’s cool and rinsed surface using an even circular movement. Remove the excess compound, along with any removed debris, with a second clean cloth.
Liquid Cleansers
The best way to ensure the liquid cleanser you are thinking of using for your car’s clear coat won’t damage the finish is to check the label information. Due to the need for smaller abrasive compounds in clear coat appropriate liquid cleansers, most products appropriate for that kind of finish will boast the fact on the label. Never use a liquid cleaning compound on your clear coat if you are unsure it is safe to use.
Wax
While most professional automotive painters claim a clear coat hardly, if ever, needs to be waxed, you may feel the need to wax your car’s clear coat over time as the gloss fades. A cleansing liquid wax product should be used on a clear top coat. Apply the wax with a fresh micro-fiber rag, using the same tight circular movements used to apply paste rubbing compounds. A second, clean, micro-fiber cloth should be used to work in any excess wax left of the surface.
Your car’s clear top coat requires special cleaning compounds. Be sure to use the appropriate compounds and cleaning techniques to avoid damaging the protective and glossy clear coat.
*Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
