Red Jaguar E-Type

Want a Longer Lasting Car Wash?

Enjoying a beautiful weekend? How many times have you thought that, gotten your car washed, and then smacked your forehead when the inevitable Spring rain ensued? My guess is quite a few. Well there’s one way to handle it – scorn the car wash over their obnoxious rain guarantee. And then there’s another – wax your car and buy a microfiber towel. How does wax and a towel help the situation, you ask?

To further explain, you must make the decision to wax before the actual rain occurs (Hey! This ties back into being proactive rather than reactive!). What I mean is, wax your car regularly – that’s the first step. If you’ve recently waxed your car and the rain starts pouring just after your Saturday morning car wash, you won’t have to beat yourself up. All sealants (waxes, polymers, etc.) are designed to do one thing – protect the finish from the environment (UV rays, acid rain, dust, etc.); by doing so they keep your car clean. Now in the event of rain, what you’re really battling against is time… and here’s where the microfiber towel comes in.

Next, glancing out the window at your once glistening car, you should be saying “so what if it’s raining!” Let the water pummel the surface, for you’ve recently waxed your car, right? Well you should have, and if you didn’t… get on that. Nevertheless, the rain is slowing down and it might actually stop in time for you to take a spin before sundown. Perfect. Now is the perfect time to ready yourself with your microfiber towel – preferably a waffle weave microfiber. All you’ve got to do is dry the car before the water evaporates and creates waterspots. What? Yea, just dry it. If it’s still raining and you forgot to pull the car in the garage, go ahead and pull it in and grab that towel. Once again, as long as you have waxed recently, you should be fine.

… and if you use a paint sealant, even better.

You see, paint protection products are basically a shield for your paint. Wax (referring to a carnauba) is much more “degradable” than a Sealant (referring to a polymer). The more rain and moisture (or simply extreme conditions), the more the carnauba will soften and become less durable. Paint sealants, on the other hand, will give you the same effect with just a little less shine and stay protecting significantly longer than its elder, carnauba wax. It’s simple science – one is natural, one is synthetic. There’s a reason we don’t use corn oil to lubricate our engines. If you want my opinion, the best way to make your car washes last longer is to seal your car once every 6 months, and wax it every 3 or 4. By doing so you’ll have a constant layer of protection on your car that you can keep clean longer.

Finally, and this is more of a quick tip, keep a detail spray in your car. What costs less than a movie ticket now-a-days will help you keep dust spots, water spots, fingerprints and more off of your paint with just a few sprays. What’s not to love?

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