Ceramic Coated... Now What?

After investing in a Ceramic Coating with The Detailing Specialists, it's important to have good maintenance processes and understand the dos and don'ts. Below is everything you need to know!

Dos & Don'ts

✔ Hand Wash Regularly ✔ Use Ceramic Safe Products

✖ Avoid All Brushes & Automatic Car Washes ✖ Avoid Traditional Chamois For Drying

✖ Don't Let Dealers/Service Agents Wash Your Vehicle ✖ Don't Use Abrasives (No Polishing Or Sanding)

Washing Your Vehicle

Click here or scroll to the bottom of this page for complete step-by-step instructions on washing your vehicle, or see the main steps below. 1) Start by washing your wheels and dirty areas first (tyres, wheel arches). 2) Rinse your vehicle thoroughly using high pressure from a water blaster, or consider using snow foam as a pre-soak solution.

3) Hand mitt your vehicle using a ceramic-safe shampoo, a two-bucket method and a quality wash mitt - working a few panels at a time and rinsing as you work. 4) Dry thoroughly using a microfibre drying towel - ensure not to use the paint drying towel on your dirty areas or wheels. 5) It's good process to occasionally use a ceramic top-up spray to bring out a brilliant shine and add superficial protection properties.

✔ Use quality detailing products and scroll down to see a full step-by-step instruction guide ✔ Take your time and avoid sunny days to ensure the best results ✔ Remember: good maintenance will prolong the life of your coating and the appearance of your paint - ask The Detailing Specialists for help when you need it ✖ Don't use sponges, brushes or chamois on your paint ✖ Never clean just with water; always use car shampoo or quality waterless/rinseless wash ✖ Never dry wipe the paintwork with a microfibre to remove dust or bird droppings - as you will inflict scratches into the surface

Professional Maintenance Good habits at home go a long way, and a professional clean now and then does the rest. We offer two options, depending on how often you want us involved.

If you like your car looking sharp and want it seen to regularly, our Express Detail is built for that. It is a genuine light detail rather than a wash: pre-wash, hand wash, wheels, jambs, a quick wax and tyre shine, plus a vacuum and interior wipe down. Around an hour and a half to two hours, from $169. Book your next Express within six weeks of the last one, and our Care Plan takes $30 off.

If you would rather come in less often and have more done when you do, our Signature Detail is the fuller job. It starts at $159 for the exterior, or $409 with the interior done properly as well.

Fireball Ceramic Coatings should be professionally checked and maintained every 12 months to ensure the bond is topped up. Get in touch to book your ceramic-coated vehicle checkup or maintenance service.

Repairs & Insurance If your vehicle is damaged, we must reapply the ceramic coating to any panels that require repair. Whether the repair is a cut/polish or a repaint - we will need to reapply to the entire panel. If you encounter any paint damage, please get in touch with us initially for advice.

We deal with all major insurance companies when repainting or panel repairs occur. Ensure you let your insurance company and panel beater know to book us for the reapplication of the ceramic coating as part of your repair. this will come at no additional cost to you when added to your insurance repair bill.

Anything Else?

✔ Remember that a ceramic coating is an extremely effective protection layer but still needs maintenance. Following this guide will set you up for success!

✔ Need help stopping service centres and third parties from washing your vehicle? We have some 'Do Not Wash' hangers available, which you can hang from your steering wheel or mirror. Get in touch with the team to get one today.

✔ We periodically offer classes to show you how to wash and maintain your vehicle. Get in touch if you would like to go on our waitlist to attend. ✔ We won't tell you what to buy, but the Fireball range is designed to work alongside our ceramic coatings, and we stock it alongside our own products at Specialist Detailing Products. Buying through us keeps a small Canterbury business ticking over, which we do appreciate.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS 1) Start by washing your wheels and dirty areas first (tyres, wheel arches). We recommend using Fireball Wheel & Tyre for most vehicles with dirty wheels and tyres or Fireball Iron Burn on European cars or those with heavy brake dust/performance brakes. Ensure to follow the individual product instructions carefully when cleaning your wheels - as these products can be harsh if used without care. Why? By washing the dirty areas first you avoid splashback of dirt onto the rest of your vehicle - and you avoid having rinse water dry up in the sun if you were to rinse your entire car down first.

2) On a shady day (never wash in the direct sun), rinse your vehicle thoroughly using high-pressure from a water blaster or consider using snow foam or bug cleaner as a pre-soak solution. We recommend Fireball Snow Foam for ceramic-coated vehicles and also Fireball Bug Cleaner for those open-road drivers. It's important to rinse extremely well and remove as much heavy grit as possible. If using the Snow Foam, apply the product dry first and rinse thoroughly after a few minutes. If using the Bug Cleaner, spray it onto the front end and rinse off after a few minutes. Why? By rinsing off grit before you begin - you have less chance of inflicting swirls and scratches when you touch the paint. It also makes your job easier as less scrubbing means an easier clean. Keep in mind - every time you rub your paintwork with dirt on the surface; you can cause damage, so aim to remove as much grit as possible.

3) After a thorough rinse, it's time for the hand wash. Start with a two-bucket method - one bucket filled with shampoo and water (the wash bucket), and a second bucket with just water (the rinse bucket). Dunk your wash mitt into the soapy bucket first and clean one or two sections/panels at a time - working top-down and regularly rinsing your wash mitt in your second (rinse) bucket before placing it back into the soapy (wash) bucket and continuing on. Ensure you keep rinsing the surface to keep it cool and wet, and rinse the soap regularly to not it dry up. We recommend Fireball Showcar Shampoo or Fireball Hydro Shampoo for washing your coated vehicle, paired with The Smooth Glider Wash Mitt. A pair of decent buckets with grit guards in the bottom is worth having too, and any good quality set will do the job. Why? Using a two-bucket method and quality grit guards in your bucket helps to stop you re-introducing dirty water back onto your paint. A quality wash mitt or wash pad will work to softly remove the grit/dirt from your vehicle instead of rubbing it against the surface - all in all, cleaning the surface thoroughly while stopping from inflicting nasty swirls and scratches.

4) After you have washed and rinsed the entire vehicle, it's time to dry it off. The best method is to use a microfibre drying towel or an air dryer. We recommend The Biggest Sucker Drying Towel, which is a 1200GSM twisted weave and holds a huge amount of water. With drying towels, it's best to work top-down and watch for any areas you might have missed. Don't use your paint-drying towel on your wheels or you could cross-contaminate it. Want to make it easier? Use a low-pressure hose to 'sheet' the water first and remove the bulk of the water before you use the drying towel - you can see a video on how to 'sheet' water by clicking here. The drying process can inflict swirls and scratches if you rub dirt into your paint; so make sure that you have thoroughly cleaned the car first and always use a clean drying towel.

You're all clean and dry! See a few additional steps below.

5) If you want to leave the tyres looking black and new; we recommend using a high quality tyre dressing after washing. First wait for your tyres and wheels to dry completely and then apply the tyre dressing. For a natural black look rather than a wet, glossy one, go for a tyre coating rather than a spray-on shine. Top tip: After application of a tyre shine, wait for around 10 minutes and give the tyres a very gentle wipe with a microfibre towel to remove excess product and avoid 'slinging' when you drive away.

6) Finish off the door jambs by drying the wash water off and wiping away the dirt. Clean door jambs keep your entry into the car fresh and detailed. We highly recommend using the ceramic-coating safe Fireball Pirouette matched with The Softest Cloud Microfibre to wipe away the dirt and water. You can use the same product and towel combination to wipe away drips from your wheels or engine bay too!

7) A Fireball Ceramic Coating should get a top-up ceramic spray periodically to aid the shine and general repelling of dirt and water. We recommend doing this every 6 months or bringing the vehicle to us for maintenance to have it done. If you're a DIY sort; we recommend getting Fireball Pirouette to top-up the ceramic coating and using this after a full wash process with a soft microfibre towel. Fireball Pirouette can be a bit streaky so always use the product sparingly and never apply it on warm days or in direct sun. You only need one or two sprays per panel; less is more!

There are many other steps you can take even further to detail your vehicle and keep your ceramic coating maintained; so feel free to get in touch with our team if you would like to. learn more.