There are two words make every car owner cringe: ROAD SALT!

Voxel Detailing, the leading detailing shop in Elkridge, Maryland broke down how you can prepare your car’s exterior paint from the harsh chemicals that our road department lays down. Due to the constant changes chemical make-ups used during the winter, we detailers need to use the latest products to keep your paint protected. Typically, it’s a sodium-chloride (salt) and sand. The salt is known as rock salt as it’s more course than your standard table salt. With environmental concerns in Maryland, the state is always trying new tactics to reduce the environmental harm, but trust me, they aren’t concerned about your car’s exterior.

Prepare Your Car’s Exterior Paint With 5 Easy Steps:

Step 1 On How To Prepare Your Car’s Exterior Paint:

Wash Your Car: Wash your tires & wheels first with a wheel & tire cleaner. There are hundreds of products out there. If you are a car enthusiast and want to use the professional line, I recommend on using this wheel cleaner by Meguiars or Sonax. If the professional line is too much money, then I can recommend Eagle One or Mothers. Next, you can wash your car using the Two Bucket Method. This method will help prevent you from creating more scratches on the paint, while still removing all the surface dirt. As a professional detailer local to Maryland, I know our water is soft. So I wouldn’t use what they sell at the automotive parts store. It needs to be PH Balanced so the soap doesn’t dry on the paint leaving water marks. Here are two soaps I use at my detail shop in Elkridge, MD; Chemical Guys have some of the best exteriors soap and CarPro is a solid product. Learn more about the exact process of the two bucket method by visiting my other blog.

Step 2 On How To Prepare Your Car’s Exterior Paint:

Clay Bar Your Paint (Optional): Claying your paint is a common process among detailers, but it’s not always necessary to do. Clay barring is the process of taking an automotive clay bar such as Griots Clay Bar and moving it across your paint. What does the clay bar actually do you ask? Well, as time goes on, you will remove contaminants left in your clear coat. How do you know if you have contaminants on your paint? Well, that’s easy… just rub your hand over some of the panels on your car and if it feels smooth, you don’t have to clay; however, it feels rough, then you will have to clay.

Step 3 On How To Prepare Your Car’s Exterior Paint:

Polish Your Paint: Do you ever look at your car and see a bunch or swirl marks or “spider web” marks? These are the fine scratches in your clear coat. Applying a light polish using a random orbiter will help remove these fine scratches, allowing your paint to look brand new. Polishes vary based on how deep the scratches are, but the Meguiars 205 is a good overall polish. Now, what orbiter should you get? You can spend hours surfing the detail forums, but there are mainly 3 popular brands. Rupes Bigfoot MarkII 15mm (Professional grade); Chemical Guys TORQ 10FX (car ethusiest grade) and Griot’s Garage (entry level).