Vehicles serve different purposes to everyone. For some, its merely a transportation tool, for others it can be their whole identity. It stands to reason that the former may not care about their car's paint, and the later may go over the top to preserve their car's finish.
While we would never recommend foregoing paint protection on any vehicle, it is true that the range of products available to shield your paint from the elements can be overwhelming at times. Carnuba pastes, sprays, "ceramic infused", graphene additives - it can all be a bit much.
Fortunately, the team at Aesthetic Detail Studio has taken the time to test these products and weed out the gimmicks and low-quality offering. When you come to us, no matter what paint protection service you choose, you can rest easy knowing that it performed with a high quality product. However, that still leaves quite a few excellent paint protection variants to choose from. To help make this easily digestible, we've broken paint protection down into a few categories...
- Spray Wax
- Spray Sealant
- Liquid Wax
- Paste Wax
- Machine Sealant
- Ceramic Spray Sealant
- Ceramic Spray Wax
- Ceramic Coating
For those on a budget, flipping a car, or just not interested in long-term protection, Spray Wax or Spray Sealant can offer some light to moderate protection with light appearance improvements to gloss and depth. Spray wax and sealant users can expect to have to have these reapplied every 2 - 4 weeks for consistent paint protection.
For the workhorse, commuter car, or for those who don't mind reapplying more often, Liquid or Paste Wax can be a great option. Offering a high level of protection and a high gloss, this type of paint protection has been around for ages - we're willing to bet you saw your dad using it when you were a tot. Expect about 1 - 6 months of protection with Liquid or Paste Wax, depending on the environment your vehicle is regularly exposed to.
For the car enthusiast, show car driver, and all those passionate about their vehicle, Machine Sealant, Ceramic Spray Sealant, and Ceramic Spray Wax are all great paint protection options. While they vary in price and visual enhancements, all three offer VERY high protection against the elements. Expect to reapply these every 9 to 12 months for uninterrupted protection.
For the car owner who settles for nothing but the best, ceramic coatings are the only way to go. Offering up to 10 years of extreme paint protection and unbelievably high gloss and depth enhancement, ceramic coatings often require an expert paint correction service before application. This is common practice for new ceramic coating applications, as the coating will enhance the surface which it is applied to - meaning if your paint is in rough shape, swirled, or has excess factory orange peel, the ceramic coating will enhance those defects.
While many can see this as an added cost, it is important to remember that ceramic protection can last nearly a decade with proper maintenance and also makes regular cleaning extremely easy - the super slick surface causes dirt and debris to roll right off the car with little effort.
No matter how you choose to protect your vehicle's paint, one thing is certain - using protection properly can save you a lot of hassle down the road. Properly cared for and protected paint can help to slow vehicle depreciation, prevent exposed metal due to flaking paint (which prevents rust), and make even the most boring cars just a little more exciting looking.
Applying these products properly ensures that they protect your paint as intended, so make sure you choose a trusted auto detail shop (like Aesthetic Detail Studio) to help you choose a paint protection product and have it applied it correctly.
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