derBayerische November/December 2024 - 8

S T E P S F O R P R O P E R P A I N T P R E S E R V A T I O N
spray, polishing marks, or tree sap. The inspection process doesn't necessarily
require expertise, but does require basic automotive knowledge and a
sharp eye. If needed, hire a professional to inspect the car, before purchase.
The goal is to make sure the paint on the car being purchased provides a
good starting point, to keep it looking great.
Formulating a cosmetic maintenance plan to
preserve your BMW's paint, should be based on
the situation. Factors include: miles driven per
year, garaged or not, hand washed or automatic
wash, and wash frequency. Once these questions
are answered, it will be easier to formulate a
proper plan. A car that is driven 20,000 miles per
year will need a different plan than a car driven
5,000 miles per year. Similarly, a car that is
garaged will need less frequent washing and
waxing than a car that is not garaged. Regardless
of the situation, frequent hand washing is the
most important part of an exterior cosmetic
maintenance plan. Once a month should be the
minimum frequency. Heavily driven cars or cars
that are not garaged, can require washing once a
week. The function of washing is to remove the
contaminants that come into contact with the
paint. Most of these contaminants are acidic in
pH, and begin to break down the clear coat on
contact. Equally important, is the quality and
cleanliness of the materials used to wash.
Choose quality microfiber towels and dedicate
the towels to the paint only. Wash the towels separately after every use,
replacing with new towels as the towels become dirty or worn. The wash
chemical is less important, but choose a product that is designed for
automotive paint. I recommended water-based rinseless-wash products.
Rinseless wash products contain superior
surfactants, lubricants, and add polymer
protection to the paint with every wash.
Automatic car washes are not ideal, as they can
cause fine scratches in the paint and damage
wide wheels. Running a vehicle through an
automatic car wash is better than not washing
the car at all though. I recommend automatic car
washes be used sparingly, when a hand wash is
not possible.
Many products exist that will help to protect
a vehicle's paint. Spray waxes, paste waxes,
liquid waxes, paint sealants, and SiO2 (ceramic)
coatings all enhance and protect the paint.
The differences between these products is in the
durability and the type of gloss. This is not an
article that will go into detail about all the above
options. In general, the function of paint protection
products is to reduce surface tension,
making it more difficult for soil to bond to the
clear coat. Secondly, they provide some protection
from the damage that soil can cause to the
paint. These products also make washing more
efficient. Modern water-based synthetic spray
■ (Above and Below) A ten-year-old BMW 550 with 85k miles. Paint still looks like new because of monthly hand washing and frequent spray wax application.
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derBayerische November/December 2024

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