Best Paint Color for Maintaining

[ZapCarM3]

I'm getting MSM which is very close to the Graphite Luster Metallic of my current car. It does a good job of hiding most day to day road grime and bugs. I thought it might be harder to keep clean looking when I got it but have been very pleasantly surprised. And since it almost never rains here I don't have to worry about it looking bad after a rain. White would be my second choice but during the warmer months the front ends up looking like a bug graveyard.

White for maintenance me - much easier to keep clean. I put PPF on the front and rockers, ceramic all over and then yes, I take it through an automated wash regularly with an unlimited pass (*Gasp*!!!) - swirls aren't really noticeable to me on white, so I just keep it clean all the time and don't fret over it. Maintenance is super easy and I'm not it my driveway pampering it with a diaper for hours and hours every week. Have another car for that.

What's the upkeep on the ceramic coating like for you?

I'm considering a fun stealth wrap. But also considering not haha.

 

[Uncle Paul]

I find that silver/grey cars are the easiest to keep clean. Ended up ordering white as the $$$$ savings will pay for a lifetime of car washes.

 

[imschur]

What's the upkeep on the ceramic coating like for you?

I'm considering a fun stealth wrap. But also considering not haha.

Upkeep - My ceramic is not the full professional install (permanent), I use OptiCoat, so I tend to re-do it every 2 or 3 years (wash with CarPro Reset, Iron-x decontamination, speed clay, then apply OptiCoat). Clean surface is the key and I'm not doing full paint correction on this metallic white as I don't see the micro swirls or care to deal with it. I'm going for ease of maintenance and being able to do lots of washes. This worked well on the white Lexus IS 350 I cam out of so I'm doing the same on this car.

 

[ZapCarM3]

I find that silver/grey cars are the easiest to keep clean. Ended up ordering white as the $$$$ savings will pay for a lifetime of car washes.

Where or how do you get the car washed and figure it pays for that? My local automatic ones the aren't bad for the car are about $30 a month so that's like 3yrs. But washing the car like that is arguably bad for the paint. Detailing professionally or by yourself is very time consuming.

I think I'll get a color I like and stealth wrap or get white and vinyl wrap. Still not sure.

 

[ZapCarM3]

Upkeep - My ceramic is not the full professional install (permanent), I use OptiCoat, so I tend to re-do it every 2 or 3 years (wash with CarPro Reset, Iron-x decontamination, speed clay, then apply OptiCoat). Clean surface is the key and I'm not doing full paint correction on this metallic white as I don't see the micro swirls or care to deal with it. I'm going for ease of maintenance and being able to do lots of washes. This worked well on the white Lexus IS 350 I cam out of so I'm doing the same on this car.

Is the effect long lasting? Like, much easier to clean routinely? Namely bugs and such on the front end, etc?

I've only bought the cheaper ceramic coatings since I never expected any kind of coating like that to last very long in a meaningful way.

 

[Transformer]

..., then buy some rinseless wash and waterless wash products along with some high quality microfiber towels. I can get around my entire P3D in 15 minutes.

What's your technique for doing it so quickly?

It took me 2 hours today, including glass & vac. Admittedly it's been a couple months, but kept in the garage.

 

[joebruin77]

What's your technique for doing it so quickly?

It took me 2 hours today, including glass & vac. Admittedly it's been a couple months, but kept in the garage.

This 15-min wash routine is a basic maintenance wash to clean just the exterior glass and paint. It does not include any interior cleaning, vacuuming, or dressing the tires.

Because this routine involves letting the ONR solution dwell on the paint, I do it very early in the morning in the shade, so that the ONR does not dry on the paint.

This is my quick wash routine:

1) I prepare a spray bottle filled with ONR solution, a bucket with a grit guard and 2 ounces of ONR to 2.5 or 3 gallons of water, a large microfiber wash mitt, a damp clean microfiber towel for drying, and a bottle of Ammo NYC Hydrate.

2) Using a spray bottle filled with ONR rinseless wash solution, I spray and pretreat the lowest and dirtiest sections of the car.

3) Starting at the top of the car, I wash the top half of the car. I wash one section at a time. After each section, I dunk the mitt in the ONR bucket. I keep doing this until all the glass, the hood, the trunk, and the upper parts of the doors are washed. Then I grab the damp microfiber towel and the Ammo NYC Hydrate and I dry the just-washed sections.

4) Then I wash the lower half of the car using the same procedure.

Every couple weeks, I do a more thorough wash that includes vacuuming, wiping down the interior, cleaning the inside glass, and dressing the tires. This of course takes a lot longer. But if your goal is to keep your paint clean, you can definitely do a rinseless wash or waterless wash quickly and easily between "major" washes.