Most folks prefer their car’s paint to be smooth, shiny and beautiful - especially auto enthusiasts. So, how does one best bring their paint to a phenomenal luster, and keep it that way? We spoke with auto paint care expert Bill Forelli of Griot’s Garage for his advice. Here is what he had to say:

First you need to get the car totally clean. Wash the car with a carwash, rather than dishwashing detergent, which is harsh on paint. While washing you want to be sure that you aren’t grinding grit, caught in the wash mitt or sponge, into the paint. A trick of professional detailers is the “two bucket technique”: One bucket is full of soap and water, and the other is filled with only water. Before dipping your wash mitt in the soap and water bucket, squeeze it out in the water only bucket. This helps remove grit from the wash mitt, and keeps it from contaminating the soap and water bucket. We also have our Ultimate Car Wash Bucket that has a lower grill that allows heavy grit to sink to the bottom where it can't contaminate your wash mitt.

The next step is to use a specifically designed clay bar system to remove contaminants embedded in the paint: Bird droppings and other environmental fallout can eat through wax and into paint and clearcoat. You can actually feel the contaminants; after washing and drying your car run your hand over the paint. That roughness you feel are the contaminants. After using the clay bar system the paint should feel much smoother.

Next comes polishing to remove defects in the paint – like light scratches and swirls. We recommend a product like our Complete Compound which adds depth and vitality to the paint and leaves a finish that is ready for wax or sealant. You can polish by hand, but it is much quicker to use a random orbital polisher. You’d be surprised at how many people are afraid of machine buffing. A random orbital is safer than a buffer, which spins in one place and can burn the paint. It doesn’t stay on the same spot, and slows down if you press down on it. Anyone can safely buff with a random orbital, and it makes paint look truly perfect. One thing you do want to be careful of is making contact with tape pinstripes, rubber surfaces, or badges. These can become marred, but all you have to do is simply cover them with masking tape for protection.

After polishing comes wax or sealant. These can be applied with the random orbital as well, but a softer pad is used than when polishing. You can apply a cleaner wax, a sealant, or both. A cleaner wax has some cleaner in it that removes smaller scratches, and makes the paint color appear deeper. However, it only lasts 3-4 months before needing to be reapplied. A sealant doesn’t have the same color enhancement properties as a cleaner wax, but lasts up to a year. You can get the best of both worlds by applying a sealant and then a cleaner wax. This provides both excellent and long lasting paint protection, and a deep lustrous shine. Remember to keep that level of luster you’ll need to reapply the cleaner wax every three months or so, however, the sealant will keep on protecting the paint for up to a year. So, no need to fret about lack of paint protection if you don’t reapply the cleaner wax after three or four months. The shine just won’t be quite as deep and lustrous though.

If you are like most people, you’ll probably have had enough of claying, polishing, and buffing, and will want to retain the results of your labor for as long as possible. Wash the car as described previously, and then dry thoroughly. For the best drying results, that won’t leave any tiny water droplets which can dull the finish, we recommend our Micro Fiber Drying Towel. These towels use a microfiber/terry cloth weave that completely absorbs water. Another trick is using our spray on wax before drying. Apply it to the car while it is wet and then dry it off with our Micro Fiber Drying Towel. This will leave behind a layer of carnuba wax that will lengthen the life of the previous wax job.

Car covers also have an effect on maintaining your finish. Traditional car covers rest on the car’s surface, which can mar the wax job and also cause fine scratch paint defects. While these defects can be buffed out, they are ruining your show quality detailing job in the interim. The CarCapsule and CarCapsule ShowCase are an excellent alternative to traditional car covers as they are “touchless”. That is, they don’t rest on the paint. As well, if it rains they will keep the car completely dry. Even “weatherproof” breathable car covers will never be able to completely block moisture for reaching the vehicle.

Enjoy your defect free paint!