The first week
Your car does not leave the shop until the coating is safe to expose to water, so rain on the drive home, or any day that week, is fine.
What the coating needs for the first 7 days is to be left alone. Do not wash the car, and do not put soap, cleaning sprays, or any other chemical on it. The rule is the same whether you chose Silver, Gold, or Platinum.
If a bird dropping lands on it that week, lift it off gently with a damp microfiber cloth and plain water instead of letting it sit or scrubbing at it.
Can you take a ceramic coated car through a car wash?
Hand washing is preferred. It is the gentlest way to clean the car and the one that lets you see what is on the paint.
A touchless automatic wash, where nothing but water and soap touches the car, is fine. Some touchless washes use strong detergents to make up for the lack of contact, so rinse the car well afterward.
We do not recommend automatic washes that use brushes or cloth. They drag grit from every car before yours across the paint and can leave scratches and swirl marks, coated or not.
The ceramic option on a car wash menu is a spray, not a coating. It adds some beading for a while, and it is not what we applied at the shop.
The two-bucket wash, step by step
Two buckets keep the grit you take off the car from going back onto it. One holds soapy water, the other holds clean rinse water, and the mitt goes into the rinse bucket every time before it goes back into the soap.
- Step 1Pre-rinse
Rinse the whole car from the top down to lift loose dirt and grit before anything touches the paint. In winter, spend extra time on the lower panels and wheel wells, where mag chloride builds up.
- Step 2Foam or pre-wash
Cover the car in a foam or pre-wash solution, let it sit for a few minutes without drying, then rinse. It loosens road film so the mitt has less to drag across the paint.
- Step 3Two buckets with grit guards
Fill one bucket with water and pH-neutral car shampoo and the other with clean water, with a grit guard in the bottom of each. The guard holds the dirt below where the mitt goes.
- Step 4Top down with the mitt
Wash one panel at a time from the roof down, in straight lines, with a microfiber wash mitt. Rinse and wring the mitt in the clean bucket before every dip into the soap, and leave the lower panels and bumpers for last.
- Step 5Rinse
Rinse the car from the top down before the soap dries on it. On a coated car the water sheets off and takes most of the rinse with it.
- Step 6Dry
Dry with a clean, soft drying towel or a blower. Lay the towel on the panel and draw it across lightly instead of rubbing, and keep a separate towel for the wheels.
Dish soap and household cleaners are out. They are made to strip grease, and on a coated car they wear at the coating.
The products we use
These are the products we use on coated cars at the shop. You do not have to use the same ones, but anything you pick should do the same job.
- Owner’s Pride Ultra Wash for the wash itself. It is a pH-neutral car shampoo without wax.
- Owner’s Pride Decon X every few months, to lift the iron particles from brake dust and rail dust that a normal wash leaves bonded to the surface.
- Owner’s Pride Ceramic Detailer, sprayed on and wiped off after a wash, to keep the water beading strong between washes.
Between washes in a Colorado winter
When a storm has left mag chloride on the car and a full wash is not possible, rinse it anyway. A coated car sheds the residue more easily than bare paint, so a thorough rinse at a self-serve bay takes off most of it. Our winter car washing guide covers how often to wash between storms and how to do it below freezing.
| When | What | Why | Who does it |
|---|---|---|---|
| First 7 days | No washing and no soaps or chemicals. Rain is fine | The coating is still curing | You |
| Every wash | Two-bucket hand wash or a touchless wash, then dry with a clean towel | Removes grime before it bonds to the surface | You |
| Monthly | Look the paint over for spots, sap, and bird droppings, and clean the wheels and glass properly | Catches anything that would etch if left | You |
| Every few months | Iron decontamination, then a ceramic detail spray | Clears bonded contaminants that mute the coating | You, or the shop |
| Whenever you like | Ceramic maintenance detail at the shop, $129 | Optional. Not required by the warranty | The shop |
| When it stops beading | Decontamination first, then a maintenance detail or a recoat | Road film can hide a coating that is still working | The shop |
Six things that shorten a coating’s life
Brush and cloth car washes
Every pass drags grit across the paint, and a coated car picks up swirls from it the same way an uncoated one does. Hand wash, or use a touchless wash.
Dish soap and household cleaners
They are degreasers. On a coated car they wear at the coating faster than a pH-neutral car shampoo does.
Waxing over the coating
Wax sits on top of the coating and swaps its water behavior for the wax’s, which fades within weeks. A coating does not need it.
Leaving bird droppings or sap for days
Both can etch a surface when they sit, even a coated one. Lift them off with a damp microfiber cloth as soon as you see them.
Washing in direct sun
Soap and water dry on a hot panel before you can rinse them, and the spots they leave bond to the surface. Wash in the shade, or early or late in the day.
Drying with a dirty towel
A towel that has been on the ground, or on the wheels, carries grit that scratches whatever it touches. Use clean microfiber towels and wash them on their own, without fabric softener.
The warranty asks for prompt damage reports, not paid maintenance
Our ceramic coating page lists what the warranty covers and how a claim works.
The ceramic maintenance detail
Our ceramic maintenance detail is $129. It is optional, and the warranty does not require it. It is a good fit when you would rather the shop handle the cleaning, or when the water has stopped beading the way it used to. We will tell you what the coating needs, and whether it needs anything at all.
Questions coated owners ask
When can I wash my car after ceramic coating?
Can I drive in the rain after ceramic coating?
Can I use Dawn on a ceramic coated car?
Can I just rinse it off?
Do I need a special soap?
Can I pressure wash a ceramic coated car?
Do I need a maintenance service to keep the warranty?
Does a ceramic coating need to be reapplied or topped up?
How do you remove a ceramic coating?
Where these numbers come from
Sources
Checked 26 September 2026.
- Ride N’ Shine, shop aftercare guidance: the first-week rule, the car wash policy, the products we use, and the maintenance detail price
- Owner’s Pride, warranty documents: the causes the warranty covers and how a claim works
- Owner’s Pride product descriptions for Ultra Wash, Decon X and Ceramic Detailer: what each product is for
- Ride N’ Shine, washing your car in a Colorado winter
Ceramic coating in Arvada, Colorado
Ride N’ Shine Automotive installs Owner’s Pride ceramic coating and walks every customer through this page at pick-up, for owners in Arvada, Golden, and Westminster, and for Denver drivers who make the trip.