Countless hours wasted and your hard-earned money down the drain: that’s the inevitable result of improper custom paint care on any vehicle. Yet, there’s good news. If you know how to paint a custom paint job, you can just as easily learn how to protect custom car paint.
In this guide, we’ll highlight five of the most common mistakes that put your custom paint job in jeopardy and risk having to repaint the car. Then, we’ll discuss best practices for custom paint care to help you avoid bringing the car back into the booth. What you do with your newfound knowledge—whether you share it with your customers as part of after-paint care or add it to your list of services, for example—is up to you.
1. Using the wrong products
If you purchase car care products based on the brand, design, or product name or color, there’s a strong chance you’re not using the best product for the job. At the very least, you probably don’t have a clear understanding of what job you need a car care product to complete and what makes a particular product the best fit. Every dedicated car owner comes to that crossroads at some point, and the best take it as an opportunity to learn.
For example, you might want to save money on expensive car-washing detergents by mixing your own concoction. However, diluting dish soap or laundry detergent into a bucket of hot water does not make for a proper car washing solution.
2. Driving to or through a car wash
Convenience and custom automotive paint rarely belong in the same sentence, unless they’re in contrast to one another. After all, painting custom colors is hardly convenient—and the same goes for caring for said paint. In other words, keep your automated car wash membership for your daily driver only.
Are touchless car washes the exception? No. Unless you can control the cleanliness of the (often recycled) water these car washes use, you could be bathing your custom paint in brake dust particles and fine abrasive materials suspended in the water. The same goes for self-service car washes, as it applies to both the water and scrub brushes available for use.
3. Leaving contaminants and chips unaddressed
Not washing your car for a few days or even a week after driving it around won’t make a huge difference. However, if road contaminants like insects, tree sap, and tar sit too long on custom paint, you’re looking at more than just a quick clay bar or pass with lacquer thinner. Instead, you might need to break out the spray gun for clear coat repairs or book the booth for even more extensive repainting.
In addition, even the smallest chips can lead to rust that could spread and compromise the car’s structural integrity. It’s best to prevent chips from occurring shortly after your custom paint job has dried, but more on that in the next section. The idea is to be proactive, rather than reactive.
4. Caring for custom paint when you feel like it
Setting aside time to care for your custom paint job might not be high on your priority list, but it should be an activity you incorporate into your routine. Doing only the bare minimum puts your car’s custom paint at risk of damage from destructive road hazards.
For example, if you wax the paint sporadically, you risk leaving it unprotected from the time the wax wears off to the next application—which could be weeks or months. If you live in a harsh climate, that could leave your custom paint needlessly open to damage.
5. Protecting the paint with a car cover
Yes, putting a car cover on your custom paint job can do more damage than leaving it uncovered. While the cover may keep the sun’s harmful UV rays, insects, bird droppings, sap, and other contaminants from contacting the paint, the cover material itself can shift across the painted surface, creating microscratches in multiple spots. This type of damage can even occur with high-end covers—and, at that point, you’re entering the realm of other types of automotive paint care that last longer and actually protect the surface.
Car care best practices: How to protect custom car paint
Every automotive painter knows that freshly sprayed color needs at least a month to cure properly, if not longer. Custom paint jobs are hardly the exception. Here are additional ways to protect the custom car paint you just applied, whether it’s on your own vehicle or a customer’s car.
Buy only quality car care products
You don’t have to dive deep into the science behind common car care products to understand which ones work best to protect your custom car paint. However, you shouldn’t confuse quality with price; some of the best products to care for your custom paint cost anywhere from $15 to $30.
Here at Colors Edge, we stock and stand behind a variety of high-quality products. For example, the 3-in-1 Compound, Polish, Wax from Convergence and Pure Finish Final Step: High Gloss that we carry help achieve a show-stopping look. Other favorites include the Glamour Gloss Show Car Shine and Hybrid Polymer Sealant that lock in superior coverage for many miles to come.
Dedicate time to washing your car
If you want to protect your custom paint job, you must wash it yourself—and observe car-washing best practices throughout the entire session, including the following:
- Wash your car under a protective awning or canopy to keep direct sunlight off the paint
- Work from the top down, from spraying the car off initially to rinsing it down
- Use a separate car-washing mitt for the body and another (or other tools) for the undercarriage, wheels, and tires
- Dry the paint thoroughly before moving on to the next steps
We recommend using the Heads Up Vehicle Wash Concentrate because it’s formulated specifically to work with multiple surface types. With concentrated car cleaning products, you can easily dilute the solution to fit your car’s level of dirtiness and avoid waste.
Avoid common road hazards and bad weather
Would you go out of your way to avoid construction zones and dirt roads? Maybe not in your daily driver, but certainly behind the wheel of your custom-painted car. In fact, if you’re driving a long distance, you might even consider trailering it to your destination to protect that custom paint job.
Protecting your custom car paint requires looking at the road with different eyes. Repaving operations mean loose tar that can easily glob onto paint like asphalt leeches, and dirt roads often hide special chemicals sprayed upon the surface to keep it from creating excess dust. Although it goes without saying, the same idea applies to weather—especially precipitation.
Partner with a qualified detail shop
If spending time on your custom paint job sounds like a lot of work, your local experienced automotive detailer can help make it happen. Contact a few in your surrounding area and review their past work, pricing, and scheduling. They can easily recommend specific products, detailing packages, and even recurring appointments to keep your custom paint care on track.
Consider paint protection film or ceramic coating
Too many custom-painted cars go unprotected because their owners account only for the paint, not the after-care. Ceramic coating has become more popular recently, especially as a transparent yet durable option for protecting your custom paint that lasts anywhere from three years to a decade or more, depending on the specific product you choose to apply. Most custom paint jobs deteriorate due to clear coat failure, and this advanced coating can help protect against that.
Alternatively, paint protection film can provide a self-healing, full-panel protective solution, but costs tend to run higher. The amount of material and the difficulty of application will dictate the final pricing of this option, which can quickly surpass the $1,000 mark. Removing the film to replace it also comes with the risk of pulling paint, especially if the film has been on the car for a long time.
Protect your custom car paint straight out of the booth
Discovering how to protect custom car paint can help it last that much longer. Incorporate these custom paint care best practices into your routine, and the results—like your handiwork—will speak for themselves.
Remember, if it’s quality car care supplies you’re searching for or industry-leading automotive paint products you need, Colors Edge keeps you on the leading edge with the best of the best. Call our main line at 336-378-7872 or send us a message for more information.
