Ceramic coating a daily driver in a snow-belt state

The protocol

1. Wash thoroughly with pH-neutral soap.
2. Chemically decontaminate (iron remover); clay only if the paint feels rough.
3. Polishing is optional: it adds clarity, not protection. A clean surface is the minimum.
4. Coat: These directions are for Hydro Silk, the pad-applied wipe-on coating this protocol uses as its example — other products' tools and flash times differ, so follow your bottle. Prime the pad with two full pumps, pre-dab ~2.5 ft sections, spread thin and even, dwell 5–30 minutes, buff off. Keep dry 8 hours; no washing for 3 days.
5. Maintain: pH-neutral hand wash; no brush tunnels; a silica-safe detailer between washes.
6. Reapply: every ~5 months for this profile.

Winter road film is alkaline: avoid strong traffic-film removers (degreasers above ~pH 9 attack any siloxane coating) and rinse the lower panels often.

UV is the clock on an outdoor car: expect hydrophobics to fade at the front of the range and plan the reapply, not the funeral.

Specific to this setup

Coat in fall, on purpose: going into winter with a fresh film beats discovering in March that salt ate an old one.

Touchless washes are the winter compromise — the chemicals are harsh but survivable occasionally; brush tunnels are not. Rinse rocker panels and wheel arches whenever it is above freezing.

Sources: goshineco.com