Ceramic coating a garaged weekend car

The protocol

1. Wash thoroughly with pH-neutral soap.
2. Chemically decontaminate (iron remover); clay only if the paint feels rough.
3. Optional: a light polish first — on a low-mile car the extra clarity is worth the hour.
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 ~12 months for this profile.

Dark paint shows wash marring first: use the two-bucket method and a clean microfiber every wash — the coating reduces marring, it does not prevent it.

Specific to this setup

This is the profile where "wax looks deeper" partisans have a point — if you enjoy waxing, a coating underneath plus wax on top costs nothing but the hour.

On a garaged car the coating mostly fights dust and the occasional drive: expect the top of every duration range, and polish for depth before coating — clarity is set at prep time.

Sources: goshineco.com