Next to its strong durability because of the strong bond it forms with your paint, coatings have two main additional benefits: their „easy to clean effect“ and their „self cleaning effect“. Basically, both mean that yout car stays cleaner for longer and is easier to clean as dirt doesn‘t stick to it as good as it would to the paint.
Now for these two effects to work properly, your coating needs to be „clean“. If your coated car e.g. is permanently parked outside and driven without washing it from time to time, dirt and grime and (mineral) deposits clogg up the coating. Under a microscope, most coatings actually form a quite rough surface with countless „spikes“ - like a lotus flower. That‘s where its hydrophobic properties and the two above mentioned effects stem from.
If this surface structure is clogged up, then your coating doesn‘t work properly. This clogging up can either come from dirt / contaminants or from other products which you apply on top of the coating. Those products will wash away or degrade over time and will do so quicker than your coating does, but the main lesson here is that if you apply something else on top of your coating, then you loose your coating‘s properties and gain the topper‘s properties - including a time in which your topper’s hydrophobics are getting worse but as it’s still clogging up your coating the latter can’t yet „take over“ and show its own hydrophobic properties, meaning the hydrophobic properties of what’s own your paint is bad, no matter what.
That‘s why so many people recommend to use „ceramic infused“ toppers for coatings, as the characteristics of such toppers will be similar to the coating itself. However, the same holds true as stated above: if you use a topper, you just „cover“ up your coating, which is why I personally believe that the best way to take care of a coating is to just wash it properly and regularly and leave it to itself as a coating is perfectly able to work on its own and doesn‘t need „protection“.
The whole concept of „protecting“ a „protection“ really doesn‘t make that much sense if you really think about it. I mean would you hire a second security guy to just protect a security guy you hired in the first place? If yes, then isn‘t the first guy useless in what he does?
It‘s a protective product and you don‘t need to protect that. If you feel the need to do so, you chose the wrong type and kind of protection and should have gone for a stronger one from the outset.
Also, some products in fact can cause (mild to severe) issues when being topped on a coating. Stuff with silicones in it and/or stromg beading characteristics e.g. can make the waterspoting issue of coatings even worse (e.g. Sonax BSD). Some products which are aimed at applying to a wet surface don‘t have enough water on a coated car after washing it causing nasty streaks and spots as the product reacts too concentrated at certain areas (e.g. Gyeon WetCoat). Some products contain (very) strong solvents and/or ingredients that act as solvents for the coating‘s particles (e.g. Koch Chemie FSE). So topping a coating with anything without knowing what’s in it isn‘t really sensible.
Just wash it with a neutral shampoo without any additional stuff in it (wax, gloss enhancers, sealant properties) and you‘ll be fine. By using sealing shampoos or detailers you will alter the properties of the wax and will never know if it is still on your paint or if it is only the quick detailer or spray wax that you see beading and sheeting.
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Bilt-Hamber has GREAT pre-washes (Touchless and Auto-Foam) as well as their Auto-Wash for contact washes. Not sure what your using for a pH neutral soap but I thought I'd throw out a couple ideas
Originally Posted by AMarkham40
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