You probably remember your first car. It didn’t matter what it was, what year, the make, or the model. All that mattered was that it was yours, and you were going to make it the best no matter what anyone else thought about it.

Your first car will probably always have a special place in your heart, or in the junkyard. But you’ll probably also remember all the steps you took to make that car look its best. And many car owners today are no different.

Reports have shown that in 2020 alone, American car owners spent over 80 billion dollars on car parts, accessories, and beautification products. And this pales in comparison to the money spent on the cost of car maintenance.

Today we have many methods to keep our vehicles looking their best long after we’ve driven them off the lot. Here, we’ll explore a few of those methods.

Paint Protection Film

Aside from the engine and all the moving parts that make a vehicle do what it’s designed for, the most important part of a vehicle in most owners’ minds is the paint job. Without a slick paint job, free from scratches and dents, you might as well be driving your mother’s minivan.

But even though that shiny new paint job that attracted you to the vehicle will surely fade over time, one way to keep it looking sharp is to add a paint protection film.

Paint protection film acts as a buffer of sorts, a line of defense between your car and mother nature, road debris, and the occasional bump from a car door in the parking lot. 

With paint protection film, your car’s coat of paint is better able to hold wax and to keep its shine long into the future.

Car Washing 

Believe it or not, but if you neglect washing your car, all of that dirt, tar, and debris can deteriorate your paint. And just like the human body, you can only avoid the shower for so long before it’s–very noticeable. 

You should wash your car at least once a month to keep the paint looking new. And with frequent washing, you’ll also be able to take care of minor paint chips and other blemishes before they get worse.

Even washing your car should include the use of specially formulated car soap, manufactured specifically for removing grease from the paint. Additionally, you should always wash from the top-down, taking care to scrub away all grease and tar with non-abrasive tools.

Finally, you should always dry your car after each wash. This way you won’t let hard water or soap deposits build up and ruin your shine. 

Waxing

After every few months, you should reapply a coat of wax. And while some wax formulas claim that you only need to apply one coat a year, or longer in some cases, this is probably one of the biggest false claims in the automotive world. 

Studies on car wax have shown that wax will quickly deteriorate under abrasive conditions, and even under direct sunlight exposure. 

And even though you might not be putting as much wear on your car as a Nascar driver, wax doesn’t deteriorate in a uniform fashion either. In fact, spots will begin to form as the wax erodes, leaving blurry and shiny spots all over the car.

As a best practice, always wax under shade, away from direct sunlight. And buff and polish immediately after application. If you really want to keep that shine, make sure you reapply wax after every third wash. 

On average, most car owners who drive every day wax their vehicles once a year. But if you bump this up to 3 times a year, you’ll be able to enjoy your shine much longer than average. 

Our cars immediately lose book value right after we drive them off of the lot. But the value they bring to us never diminishes as long as we take care of them. Taking the time to keep your car looking its best will be of great benefit to you, especially if you go to trade it in years down the road.