FAQ & Aftercare
For Ceramic COating & PPF
How often do i need to wash my car after coating?
Typically 2-3 weeks is recommended but is very subjective on factors like indoor/outdoor parking and on the weather. If there has been very little rain, you can go up to a month without washing a ceramic coated car.
Waterspotting - removal and prevention
Water spotting occurs due to heavy minerals in certain water sources drying and then etching onto the surface of your coating. This could be from your home water supply, industrial complexes or from contaminated rain.
While your ceramic coating is definitely hydrophobic, unfortunately one of the down sides is the round droplets of water need to be removed (wiped or blown with air) in order to prevent the minerals from staining the surface.
Once water spotting has occurred, immediate use of a water spot remover is necessary in order to remove the minerals. If this step is not completed, the only way to remove the water spots will require abrasive polishing to remove which may compromise your coating.
The coating no longer beads?
This may occur due to variety of reasons, ranging from the most severe which is failure of the ceramic coating, to improper care such as continuously using chemicals which are too strong for the coating or simply being dirt and contamination present on the coating which requires proper removal.
If this occurs, we recommend contacting us or your detailer for a more detailed assessment.
What products should i use to maintain?
Here are some products that we recommend every car owner who has a ceramic coating on their vehicle should own and use.
pH neutral snow foams and shampoos
Grit Guards and Multiple Buckets for safer washing
Microfibre Towels and Washing Mitts
Quick Detailer or Spray Wax
I’ve just picked up my car, there are still bubbles?
Because PPF is a wet installed product (just like window tint) often there may be bubbles throughout the installation process. These will mostly be gone by the time the customer picks up their vehicle, however, depending on factors like temperature and when the panel was installed may lead to some bubbles and other blemishes being present on the film.
It is advised to give the moisture bubbles at least 3-4 days of good weather in order for the moisture to evaporate. Once the moisture has evaporated and not been disturbed, it will leave an invisible finish.
Because many owners are concerned about the nature of these bubbles, we recommend searching on Google “Bubbles on PPF disappear” which will give many articles and links to other PPF businesses explaining the same scenario.
how to wash my ppf?
Washing PPF is easy, because of it’s protective capabilities, scratching and damaging the PPF does not occur so easily when compared to paint or coatings. However, it is very important to be mindful of the edges of certain panel especially when pressure washing.
Pressure washing too closely to edges can results in post-installation bubbles as well as lifting. If you see bubbles and water under the film well after picking up your vehicle from us, most likely this has occurred. Be sure to contact us immediately.
Also important is the use of relatively pH neutral chemicals. This ensures less chance of staining in case the chemicals dry on the car and wont cause premature fading.
There is some lifting on the edges of the ppf
Because of the way we install PPF at The Lab, we will often try to get the PPF as close to the edge as possible. As a rule of thumb, the film must finish on a flat surface. This means that sometimes if the film is slightly over onto the radius of a panel (the rounded edge) it can over time lift. This is not common, but if it does happen the fix is a very quick and safe trim which is usually performed during our check up services.
Depending of the nature of the lifting, we may either perform a quick trim or in some instances look at replacement options with you.