Y’all, in short, today’s modern paint is extremely delicate and needs a soft handle wash in order to maintain its factory-floor looks.

Here at the Dealership Autoplex Collision Center, we have a lot of vehicles rolling into the shop needing auto body and paint services as well as exterior restorations to factory specifications. And it’s generally for these reasons, too.

So, the team have got a step-by-step together to help you avoid chipped paint and a scratched vehicle when you wash your car.

1. Use A Touchless Wash to Start Touchless wash machines have no way of causing chipped paint or leaving you with a scratched vehicle as there’s nothing directly contacting your car’s paint. That said, they don’t leave you with the cleanest of cars, either.

However, it’s worth us noting they’re great for in-between washes and even as a prewash! They can help reduce the cleaning time before getting your hands in the bucket of soap and detailing your car later in the day or week.

2. Rinse Away Surface Debris Using either a garden hose or a loaned pressure washer, you need to be able to remove the surface debris on the car. This is a crucial first step, especially if you didn’t opt for the touchless wash at first.

If there is dust, sand, grit or anything else on your car, they can act like sandpaper against your paint!

The idea is that, even with high-pressure water, it still won’t have the ability to cause chipped paint on your car or leave you with a scratched vehicle. This is because (just like with the touchless wash), the water isn’t directly contacting your car’s paint, so it has no way of causing chips, scratches, swirls or marring.

3. Filter the Water You Use This step is more dependent on the area of Texas you’re washing your car in. In some areas, the natural water is considered hard water meaning it has high concentrations of minerals and can leave water spots and limescale when left to dry.

So, it’s important to either filter your water before you use it (if you’re going for the bucket method) or apply a filter system to your garden hose or pressure washer. Avoid Chipped Paint When You Wash Your Car Like This

4. Use a Bug Remover Spray

When we’re flying down the highway at Texan speeds, we catch a few bugs on our hood and front end. Which is no surprise. But the more you rub the car, the more likely it’ll see chipped paint on your hood panel.

Unfortunately, bugs don’t always come off as easily as other debris with the rise stage, so it sometimes takes extra elbow grease. You can find a bug remover spray at your local auto parts store which will help dissolve the remnants on your car. Follow the instructions but the basics will be to spray, leave and rinse.

5. Hand Wash Panel by Panel

Whether you use G-Wash, Mr. Pink, Aesno or another car soap of your choice, it’s time your car saw some sudsy action.

You can either have one bucket filled with soapy water and around 10 mitts for the job or you can have one mitt and two buckets to remove dirt between panels. Either way, you’ll want to wipe down the panels instead of rubbing and follow these other tips for a smooth hand wash:

• Always wash the top of the vehicle first

• Always wash the bottom of the vehicle last

• Use a clean mitt for every panel of the car

• Be as delicate as possible and don’t scrub

• Let the soap do the work

• Use chemical removers for grease, tar or sap

• Always have a second bucket of water

• Work in the shade to avoid drying

• Opt for microfiber or chenille material

• Use both sides of the mitt

• Rinse the soap off with a light pressure hose

6. Dry Your Car with Detailing Lubrication

Once you’ve rinsed the car after its sudsy wash, you’re onto the drying stage. However, it isn’t as simple as grabbing your nearest towel and removing water droplets still sitting.

General towels can be quite rough, so find a plush or microfiber towel that has no chance of causing chipped paint or leaving you rolling out of the drive with a scratched vehicle filled with panel marring or swirls. Then, grab a detailing spray to spray on the towel; it’ll act as a lubricant and layer of protection between your cloth and your car as you wipe. Avoid Chipped Paint When You Wash Your Car Like This

As well as this, if you’re out in the sun, we suggest rinsing and drying panel by panel to reduce the chance of those water spots we mentioned earlier.

7. Find a Quality Detailer

Of course, we understand you may not have the time, the resources or the space to complete an at-home hand-wash on your vehicle. In this case, we suggest heading out and finding your local quality detailing experts.

Or, if you have the time, look out for a self-service car wash bay. That said, we suggest taking your buckets and car sponges with you to avoid needing to use the hard-bristled brushes often supplied in the self-cleaning bays. As these can also leave you driving out with a scratched vehicle (even if it is clean!).

And there’s the step-by-step for ensuring your car and its paint job remains as pristine as it did the day it rolled out the factory. But if your vehicle already has chipped paint or even some scratches, swirls and marring, then you know who to call.

Here at the Dealership Autoplex Collision Center, our ASE certified technicians are ready to bring the shine back with restoration paint work after a bad wash day. So, call us on (972) 242-0092 or browse the website to find out more about our services and operating hours. Alternatively, drive directly into the shop here in Carrollton, TX.