Car paint is to cars what skin is to us. You can't just focus on applying sunscreen to yourself! In the days of wind and sun, cars also need our careful care. So how should we maintain the car paint? The editor is here to answer your question today.
How many layers of car paint are there?
Many people think that car paint is just a simple layer of paint sprayed on the surface of the car body, but in fact, car paint is not a simple layer.
Vehicles will have at least two layers of coatings, namely primer and topcoat, with a more common three coat system consisting of primer, intermediate coat, and topcoat. Nowadays, vehicles often use a four coating system, which means adding a layer of gloss varnish or other coating on top of the original three coatings to make the vehicle look more shiny, thus making the exterior of the vehicle look more exquisite.
Painting also includes processes such as 3C2B and 4C3B.
·C stands for Coat, which means coating, so 4C means four coatings
·B stands for Bake, which means baking. It is the drying process after each spray painting, which can ensure the quality of each layer of paint and quickly dry it to enter the next step, improving the efficiency of the entire painting process.
Tips for maintaining car paint
1】 Try to park the car indoors as much as possible
Try to park your car indoors and avoid direct sunlight while parking to reduce exposure to rain.
2】 Do not wash the car immediately when it is hot
After being exposed to the scorching sun or just after the engine stops running, cleaning with cold water will cause rapid cooling, which is not conducive to surface paint, and the engine should not be directly rinsed.
3】 Do not use a dry towel to wipe the dust
Do not wipe the car dry, as the small gravel on it may wear down the paint surface, so be sure to rinse it with water.
4】 Clean up special corrosive substances immediately
If leaves, resin, bird droppings and other dirt fall off the car body, they must be cleaned in a timely manner to avoid corroding the paint surface.
5】 Wash the car promptly after rain
Nowadays, urban air pollution is very serious, and frequent acid rain has a significant corrosive effect on car bodies. Therefore, don't think that you can slack off and not wash your car on rainy days. In fact, on the contrary, it is necessary to wash your car in a timely manner after rain.
6】 Regularly wash the car
Regularly wash the vehicle based on its actual usage and dirt condition.
7】 Choose a reputable car wash
If there is a large amount of mud and sand on the paint surface, using a high-pressure water gun or sponge to wipe it directly may damage the paint surface. Therefore, it is necessary to rinse with water or a low-pressure water gun first. The washing procedures and products used by some unregulated car wash shops may damage the car paint!
8】 Waxing, glazing, coating, crystal plating, and applying Paint Protection Film
There are many car paint maintenance products on the market, just like our skincare products. The actual effect varies greatly, and if you choose the wrong one, it may cause damage to the paint surface. Be careful when choosing and using them.
Usually, in order to protect the car paint surface, in addition to maintaining the car in daily life, we also choose to use methods such as waxing, glazing, coating, crystal plating, and applying Paint Protection Film to extend the life of the car paint.
1. Waxing
Waxing is the lowest cost method among them. Its principle is to fill the scratches and pits with tiny car wax components to restore the smoothness of the surface. At the same time, a thin wax film is formed on the paint surface to prevent direct contact with air, thereby slowing down the oxidation rate of the paint surface and reducing the damage of larger particles in the air and ultraviolet rays in sunlight to the paint surface.
Waxing can indeed make car paint shiny in the short term, but due to the soft nature of car wax itself, its durability is very limited. Generally, after washing the car two to three times, the wax layer will be completely removed.
2. Glazing
A more durable and hassle free way than waxing is by sealing and coating. These two can actually be considered the same thing, both involve spraying an "invisible protective layer" on the paint surface, but the materials used are slightly different, and the cost of the sealing glaze material is lower.
Although the durability is significantly better than waxing, the sealing glaze and coating will gradually peel off over time, depending on the usage environment, and can generally only last for 3-6 months.
3. Crystal plating
Speaking of crystal plating, it is essentially different from waxing, glazing, and coating. It can be considered a technique that approaches the properties of varnish itself, which is to evenly apply a layer of chemical on the surface of the car paint to form a hard protective shell. So, both in terms of effectiveness and durability, crystal plating has good performance.
However, not everyone can afford the price of crystal plating. If you choose high-end products from big brand stores, the price is probably several thousand yuan. At the same time, due to the harmful effects of crystal plating materials on ubiquitous plastic parts on the vehicle body, technicians need to have advanced techniques and provide comprehensive protection for the vehicle before construction can proceed. The construction process is complex and time-consuming.
4. Apply Paint Protection Film
Applying a Paint Protection Film is the most durable way to protect car paint, which is to apply a high gloss colorless protective film on the surface of the paint instead of covering it with a layer of chemical agents, thus avoiding damage to the paint surface itself.
Due to the high hardness and toughness of the protective film material itself, it can achieve a more perfect protective effect than crystal plating in daily use, avoiding scratches on car paint from sand, gravel or sharp objects, or corrosion from acid rain or bird droppings. At the same time, it also has UV resistance and antioxidant capacity.
If the protective film shows obvious scratches, discoloration, or even damage in a scratch accident after long-term use, then as long as the protective film is peeled off, the car will be brand new again.
Motec Paint Protection Film is made of aliphatic TPU material, which has excellent elasticity, weather resistance, wear resistance, chemical corrosion resistance, and yellowing resistance, effectively protecting the car paint from external damage.
