“So after I scraped my car against the parking garage barrier, I took it to the auto body repair shop near Taunton,” Christina said. “I got it back. It’s looking fantastic. It’s all repaired and now looks like the factory finish. I love it. So my question is, how do I keep it looking this good for as long as possible?”
Well, our number one tip is to not scrape the car against any more parking garage barriers. Just kidding – accidents can happen to anyone at any time. But there are some steps you can take, especially for the first thirty days after your car has been repaired, to help protect the finish.
First, avoid rough gravel roads. This is Massachusetts. Some of our roads could use a little work. As your new finish is curing, do your best to avoid places where the roads are covered with loose stones, gravel, and other small debris that can bounce up and impact the finish.
Second – believe it or not – is to avoid the car wash. We know, the car looks great. It’s fun to wash a good looking car. But hold off for that first month. The brushes, soaps, rollers – pretty much every aspect of a commercial carwash – has the potential to damage the tender new finish. After those thirty days, you can wash the car when you feel like it without any worry.
Third, and this is really pretty closely related to point two – don’t wax or polish the car for thirty days. It’s more important to let the finish to dry and harden completely.
Now if there happens to be snow or ice forming on your vehicle during these first thirty days, you want to be careful when cleaning the car off. Don’t scrape anything across the finish – this includes the bottom of snow shovels! Taking the time and being patient helps protect the car’s new finish.