Gtechniq makes a wheel coating called C5 Wheel Armour that not only protects wheels (and brake calipers), but also minimizes brake dust and dirt from sticking to the surface that it is applied to. A wheel coating may differ from a ceramic coating due to its ability to withstand higher temperatures—temperatures that can be seen coming from the brakes of a car. In this post, I show the preparation and application of Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour to a set of wheels, as well as how easy it is to wash later down the road.

So you’ve just ceramic coated your car or perhaps a car detailer ceramic coated your car for you. Now, you may be wanting to know how to wash and maintain it properly. Contrary to what some people may believe, ceramic coatings are not some mysterious product that needs extra special care. It simply just needs to be washed with proper wash techniques and with the right car wash products.

Ceramic coatings have become all the rage in recent years with quite a few options becoming available for the consumer market. These coatings form a very strong bond (on the nano scale) to your car’s paint leaving a layer of protection that is thicker and longer-lasting than your typical wax or paint sealant. Ceramic coatings offer protection against light scratches, corrosion, heat, chemicals, environmental effects, and industrial fallout. In addition to protection from the elements, ceramic coatings also offer superb hydrophobic properties which makes it much easier to wash your car.

Regardless of whether your car was maintained well or poorly, it is always wise to perform an iron decontamination (along with a mechanical decontamination) as preparation for a wax, sealant, or coating. The reason for this is that if you are going to apply an LSP (last step product) such as one of these mentioned, you don’t want to be sealing in any iron contaminants, which could continue eating through your paint. If you ever plan to apply a protective wax, sealant, or coating, consider doing an iron decontamination with an iron remover.

In this guide, I focus on using a plastic cleaner/polish called Meguiar’s PlastX. This product is generally used to polish plastics, but I’ve found it to be useful for mild hard water spots on glass that can’t be removed chemically. The level of abrasion with this formula is quite mild, so it has negligible effect on the clarity of the glass. You don’t even need to use a machine polisher, you can actually do all of this by hand with either a microfiber towel or a microfiber applicator pad (preferred). If you have a considerable amount of glass that needs water spot removal, then you might consider using a machine polisher, although you can still do it by hand; you just need a bit it of elbow grease.

What is the Two Bucket Method? Simply put: the two bucket wash method is way to hand wash your car that minimizes the chance of creating scratches or swirls on your car. It involves (as the name suggests) two buckets: one for washing and one for rinsing your wash mitt.

My wife and I found an awesome new Mexican food restaurant while we were out of town, and we were excited to try it out. We ordered food to-go and drove there to pick it up. Typically, we place anything that can spill, on the floor where I have all-weather rubber mats, but we had a ton of stuff on the floor that night, and we were in a rush to go as I was double-parked waiting for my wife. We placed the bag of food on my passenger seat, went home, and had an incredible dinner. Fast forward a couple days later, and I got into my car and look over only to discover one nasty looking greasy food stain on the passenger seat.

When compared to other fabric guards (such as 303 Fabric Guard, Scotchgard, etc.), this one has a higher effectiveness for repelling water and stains. After evaluating my options, I was going to apply the fabric guard on my new truck. So, I only wanted the best possible formula; out of these three choices for fabric protection, Gtechniq Smart Fabric was the clear winner although it did cost the most as well.

Removing a decal from your car may seem like an easy task, however there are some particular things that you must know to properly remove decals. The main reason for removing decals is typically due to appearance. Regardless of the reason for removing a decal, you want to be sure to properly remove the decal without damaging the car’s paint.