How To Wash A Ceramic Coated Vehicle

What to Avoid

For starters, let’s go over what should be avoided: Avoid automatic car washes, abrasive tools, brushes, and abrasive mitts that can harm the paint. Be mindful of the products you are using…Always use PH neutral soaps & emulsifiers for the paint or any ceramic coated surfaces as it could harm the coating. Yes, Ceramic Coatings are resistant to acids & bases (PH Scale). However, “resistance” does not mean it is “unaffected” by the chemical. The ceramic coating is certainly doing its job in protecting the paint, but extreme acids and bases can prematurely break down the ceramic coating. For more information on getting the right products, give me a call! I’ll get you set up with all the right supplies and we can go over the purpose of each product and its uses.

Where Do I Start

When maintaining any vehicle, start with the wheels & chassis components. Refrain from getting the paint wet until you are done with the wheels and ready to proceed with the paint cleanse. I recommend all-purpose cleaners for the wheels & tires (Iron removers in more heavy-duty cleaning / heavy brake dust). Make sure to use soft bristle brushes to agitate the product for best results.



Moving on to the paint…be aware of the environment you are working in. I recommend working in a cool, shaded area. Your process may vary depending on sun exposure, paint surface temp, etc. Let’s assume you are in a shaded area and the paint temperature is cool.

Before pre-rinsing, I like to start by spraying Owner’s Pride Eco Wash diluted in a pump sprayer or a foam cannon. Eco Wash is an emulsifying agent that will begin to break down the dirt resulting in a safer wash process. You can use another emulsifying soap in place of Eco Wash. Allow the product to work for a minute then proceed to thoroughly pre-rinsing the vehicle to remove as much of the grime as possible.

(If the vehicle is only lightly dusty, you can skip the emulsifier and move right to pre-rinse).

Now, to prepare for the wash process, get your two buckets (Wash & Rinse), with quality grit guards installed at the bottom. Dilute Eco wash in the wash bucket to its recommended dilution ratio.

spray on another round of eco wash for lubrication. Using high quality wash mitts soaked in Eco wash solution, move through the paint one panel at a time, continually rinsing the mitts in your rinse bucket and re-saturating them in eco wash. Work from the top of the vehicle, down to the bottom and never bring the mitt back up onto the paint after washing the lower sections where there is heavier buildup. Repeat this process until the entire vehicle is washed.

Drying The Paint

Now that the vehicle is clean, take your high quality, large drying towel with your favorite drying aid (Mine is OP Ceramic+), and lightly sprits ceramic+ on each panel. A little bit goes a long way, so don’t overdo it. This product will help speed up the drying process, will lubricate the panel to limit marring & swirling, and will spread an even layer of sealant for added protection.



From here, you can call it complete, or take the extra step to level out any light water streaking. Take a new ultra-plush towel and lightly sprits ceramic detailer onto the towel and a little sprits on the panel and work it in with very light pressure and quick arm speed. Flip the towel, one quick wipe and its completely hydrated!

The paint has now been safely cleansed utilizing techniques that will maintain the flawless finish, boost the ceramic coating protection, and forever keep that crazy gloss!

My final steps consist of final wipe on the wheels, condition trim, dress the tires, clean windows inside & out, interior vac, wipe down etc.

While this is my favorite method of safely cleaning the paint, there are other safe alternatives in case you lack the resources or the environment to utilize these methods. If you have any questions regarding the process, feel free to reach out.