Driving a car year round in Colorado presents a very unique set of challenges in terms of detailing and paint protection. We see a very intense and clearly defined four seasons that each deliver a specific environment in which to contend with in terms of the damage that environment is inflicting on your paint and other surfaces of the car. The three biggest factors in paint protection in Colorado are rock chips, UV exposure, and the Winter driving weather.
ROCK CHIPS
Rock chips are a year round factor. You can’t drive to the gas station in Colorado without getting a rock chip. Our roads are some of the most beautiful in the country, but they are heavily contaminated. We have cars traveling in and out of the mountains bringing road debris with them. We have salt and rocks laid on the road during the winter months, sometimes even when it doesn’t snow. We have construction and quarry trucks driving across the highways frequently. All of the above deposit road debris that when kicked up from the car in front of you will impact the paint on your car at a high enough velocity that it will chip.
To combat this, we apply Paint Protection Film (Clear Bra) on the vulnerable areas of your car. The coverage needed will be different for each car based on the day to day use of the vehicle as well as the “aggressiveness” of the design. The Clear Bra will absorb the impact of the road debris, disperse the force of the impact within the film layer, and keep it from chipping your paint. Clear Bra is an absolutely must have in Colorado. It will preserve the value of your automotive investment while making it more fun to drive, knowing the finish is well protected.
UV EXPOSURE
We are of course the Mile High City. Aside from a cool name it also means we are a mile closer to the sun than those at sea level. Not only that, but with roughly 300 days of sunshine a year we are constantly exposed to a high level and intensity of UV rays. This UV exposure is a major factor in the deterioration of your paints finish. Paint is a set of chemicals mixed together and sprayed to achieve the colors we desire. These chemicals react with the exposure to the UV rays of the sun, and your clear coat will slowly begin to oxidize and the pigments in your paint slowly begin to fade.
To prevent this we apply Ceramic Coatings to the paint and the other vulnerable surfaces of the car. Ceramic Coatings vastly outperform a traditional wax or sealant on every level. We see years of durability out of a Ceramic Coating. We get intense gloss and water beading out of the coatings. And the layer of material that is the Ceramic Coating is much more capable in terms of UV and chemical protection than a wax or sealant. The Ceramic Coating will prevent the clear coat from oxidizing and fading and it will prevent contaminant from bonding in the pores of the paint to keep the finish looking healthy long term.
WINTER WEATHER
The Colorado Winter, while usually tame, presents a real challenge in keeping the car you care about looking its best. During the winter the roads are covered in rocks and salt and drenched in mag chloride. The same rocks designed to help us gain traction on the snowy roads will riddle your car with rock chips as they are thrown in to the air from the car ahead of you. The mag chloride mixes in with the snow pack and is a very intense chemical that we do not want interacting with our paint and other fragile finishes of the car. The temperature itself also plays a major role. We are certainly cleaning the cars less during the cold winter. This allows contaminant to sit for long periods of time on the paint. The contaminant settles in to the pores of the paint and begins to bond. Once bonded, the environmental contaminant begins to decompose and break down causing a chemical reaction that fades and stains the finish of the car.
To prevent this type of damage, we apply Clear Bra and Ceramic Coatings as a system. The Clear Bra will absorb the impact from the road debris and keep it from damaging your paint in the form of rock chips. The Ceramic Coatings will seal off the paint system and prevent the contaminant from bonding and staining the finish. The Ceramic Coatings will also help reject the dirt and contaminant and slow its accumulation on the paints finish, so when you do get a chance to ash the car in winter it is efficient and fast.
