[Adsc0230]

Hello BHPians,

I was wondering the best possible way to wash one's car on a regular basis after PPF is applied. I have invested significantly on PPF and I am worried if I let my regular apartment car washers clean and wash, the PPF film may be affected somehow and each time I can't be monitoring too while they wash.

Is the only option to visit a professional car spa/cleaner to clean and wash the exteriors of a PPF applied car?

Any recommendations for a car spa in the Whitefield area of Bangalore especially who specialise in washing a car that has a PPF-applied?

Thanks.

[Gotham]

Originally Posted by Adsc0230

Is the only option to visit a professional car spa/cleaner to clean and wash the exteriors of a PPF applied car?

I got my car ceramic coated as PPF was out of my budget , however I was very clearly told that if I went with PPF I would let the apartment car cleaner wash it every day and PPF will remain intact. Take this with a pinch of salt but best would be to ask your detailer to be on a safer side.

[rajeshrajan]

My two cents.
I have ppf on my car and its washed once a week. I wash it mostly but sometimes my building person does it too. He is thankfully aware of the ppf. We do not use a pressure wash machine but its from a hose connected to a tap. I use a mild car shampoo with two microfibre cloths, one for shampoo and other for drying. My detailer said pls let the car wash know that it has a ppf coat and they usually know what pressure to be maintained.

[powertrain]

Originally Posted by Adsc0230

Hello BHPians,

I was wondering the best possible way to wash one's car on a regular basis after PPF is applied. I have invested significantly on PPF and I am worried if I let my regular apartment car washers clean and wash, the PPF film may be affected somehow and each time I can't be monitoring too while they wash.

Is the only option to visit a professional car spa/cleaner to clean and wash the exteriors of a PPF applied car?

Any recommendations for a car spa in the Whitefield area of Bangalore especially who specialise in washing a car that has a PPF-applied?

Thanks.

I have done PPF on my Fortuner. Since then, I wash my car once in 7-10 days.
Strictly, no washing done my the regular washing guy. I take the car to my pressure wash center who uses a foam gun & pressure was to clean the car.

Cheers
Powertrain

[rishee]

Let me put it the other way. There is no way I have the inclination or the energy to wash my car, be it weekly or monthly. Taking it out to a spa for cleaning is also out of question. The only practical option is to ask the society car wash guy to clean it. Max i can supply him with a micro-fibre cloth, request him to take a clean bucket of water and reduce the frequency to let's say every 2-3 days.
Will this work? Will the PPF stay intact?
Need to know your thoughts

[TheCamShaft]

Originally Posted by rishee

The only practical option is to ask the society car wash guy to clean it. Max i can supply him with a micro-fibre cloth, request him to take a clean bucket of water and reduce the frequency to let's say every 2-3 days.
Will this work? Will the PPF stay intact?
Need to know your thoughts

I have PPF on my car since 2017, infact did it as the very first thing after I took the car out from showroom. I use good quality 3M micro fiber cloths, one for body (red one), one for glassy areas(purple one), one for drying (yellow one) all purchased directly from 3M showroom . With the apartment cleaning guy, I used to give him these cloths , use it only for my car and have advised how to do it religiously, he will pick the clothes at time of washing and return it back with me every time , I prefer just once a week of washing. Essentially I asked for expert opinion from 3M store and stuck with their advice as is since day1 forbising these clothes , and it worked out well.

Now, it's nearly 6 years, cleaning guys changed and I have done away with this practice of handing over 3M clothes, only letting the guys know I have the PPF film, so asking to be mindful of that.

[bigbearddriver]

My opinion on this is that the daily car cleaners are not at all up to the mark to handle the vehicle of an enthusiast.

I have tried giving them my own microfiber cloth, good quality shampoo, dusters etc. But they always end up getting swirl marks on the car. Their usual way of working is having one bucket of dirty water and one dirty cloth to wash tens of cars.

This is the reason why I have fired more than 8-10 car washers in the last half decade.

What I do instead is dry-wipe the car with Jopasu car duster and it does wonders. You don't need to wash your car everyday. This will ensure that there is less accumulation of hard water and swirl marks.

You can get it foam washed from a trusted person once or twice in a fortnight.

Try doing this! This method has done wonders to my car and it has managed to retain the shine of the paint.


Here is how my car looks

[RMN]

Just ask the guy no to use pressure washers and to be careful around all the panel edges. Tip him a little for that too and that's the best you can do and should be fine.

[krishnakumar]

Short answer: Yes, the PPF will get damaged with the run in the mill apartment car washing guys.

Once you have applied PPF you don’t have to wash the car daily. The PPF has hydrophobic and dust resisting properties. All you have to do is to get a Jopasu duster and dry dust the car. If your car is a daily, this will take less than 5 minutes to get the car to a decent looking shape.

Better yet, get a 2L pressure washer can (the ones used for applying pesticide etc). Apply a thin layer of water and use a high GSM microfibre cloth to wipe off the water. No soap or anything required and you’ll see the dust come off super easy.

You can give the car for a good pressure wash once a month or depending on how dirty the car gets in the interior and underbody.

[ssjr0498]

There are a couple of things that one needs to check/keep in mind before proceeding towards washing their cars post a ppf install!

1. What kind of install has the installer done?
a. Is the ppf tucked in?
b. Is the ppf cut around the edges?

a. If it is the former, then mostly after 2 weeks of the install, washing your car with a pressure washer will have no affect on the ppf. As a best practice, if you are one of those who need your car spanking clean on a daily basis, you can hand over your daily cleaner your Jopasu or similar duster and ask him to just dust the car daily!

If the car has a lot of muck, it must be first cleaned with water (soft preferred) and a ph neutral/mild shampoo and then wiped with a clean cloth. Post that once can get back to the daily dusting routine.

Under normal circumstances, one can get their car washed by a professional or by the daily cleaning guy once in every 2-3 weeks using the pressure washer or the bucket method!

b. If it is the latter, then please refrain from using pressure washer, even after 2 weeks of install as you are susceptible to getting the edges of your ppf pealed off by the pressure of the water! Please note, that once a ppf has pealed off from the edge, it will very soon peal off completely and get damaged no matter which brand of ppf or who the installer is!

In this case, you can get the car dusted like mentioned in point "a" and thereafter continue to get it washed once in 2-3 weeks by the conventional microfiber and bucket of water way and not the pressure washer way!

Cheers,
Shrey

[kpkeerthi]

Originally Posted by Adsc0230

Hello BHPians,

Is the only option to visit a professional car spa/cleaner to clean and wash the exteriors of a PPF applied car?

Whether you have PPF or not it doesn't matter.

A safer washing method is the "two bucket method with grit guard". Even the so called "professional" car detailer/washers hardly follow this method. Using a grid guard is an absolute must if you want this to be effective. Perhaps a little too much for our weather and road conditions but this is the safest way to wash if you will.

[fiat_tarun]

With or without PPF, the regular apartment washing guy will create swirl marks. The PPF's self healing properties will handle this for some time, but I understand the self healing also has a lifetime and hence will start to show eventually.

Like others have mentioned, use a Jopasu duster for daily dusting and get the car pressure washed once a week / once in 2 weeks depending on how dirty it gets.

[SuhasSalavathsa]

I am bit confused whether we can drop the vehicle for a regular wash when in times of excesive dirt inside and outside the car. I got a 3M PPF done for my Kushaq and I was told not to pressure wash the car. I was able to manage with minimal dust by washing at home. When the dirt is too much and may need to take it for a wash I feel bit confused. When I convey the Service guy to not Pressure wash and do only Foam wash all off the service stations I visited did not accept it. They mentioned we only wash the car using pressure and we cannot do only Foam. With lot of enquires I finally went to a local service station and got the washing done. I am not sure what will be the impact on PPF but for now nothing is bad.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Adsc0230

I was wondering the best possible way to wash one's car on a regular basis after PPF is applied. .

I would say do not wash the car very frequently (certainly not daily), and certainly not by the apartment car wash guys (unless you really have a trusted and careful car wash guy there), regardless of whether you have PPF or not. Such casual and daily car washes will do more harm than good to your car's looks over longer term.

Best is to take your car to a nice car wash place when really required (like after a really long drive when the car is dirty) and wash it professionally there. Doing this only when required, maybe once in 15 days, is probably better for the car than daily washes.

And again, the same applies with PPF or without PPF.

I have invested significantly on PPF and I am worried if I let my regular apartment car washers clean and wash, the PPF film may be affected somehow and each time I can't be monitoring too while they wash

Didn't you invest in PPF so that you do not have to worry about the paint, and now you are worrying about taking care of the PPF?

I think the whole point of PPF is to be worry-free about the car exterior. That is the reason I would say one invests in PPF, and not to worry about the PPF itself. :-)

So in nutshell, do not worry about the PPF. It will be fine. Just do not overdo the car wash routine, with or without PPF.

P.S. I have a car with full PPF, and I have been washing it at various car wash places at about once in 3 weeks frequency on average, for more than last 5 years. My car's PPF is not peeling off, or I do not see any issues due to wash. Yes, the PPF is getting yellowish, duller, and looks funny now, but I do not think that is due to washing. That is the natural problem with PPF after 5-6 years. I never thought about washing methods to "protect my PFF". In fact, I washed my car even at village places because I knew the PPF would protect the paint, and I never worried about protecting the PPF itself.