Proper way to wash Prius 5

I'm going to recommend something in the door cups. Either a paint protecting film or something else. I don't have long fingernails and I don't wear rings, and I already have clear coat scratches there in only three weeks.

I can't advise you on what's best as I'm still looking into it myself. I will say that a non-PPF bra* is a bad idea. All those do is destroy the paint under where they are supposed to be protecting. I'm going to hate the cost, but I'm considering a PPF over the front bumper, hood, door cups, and maybe the side mirrors. Then getting ceramic coating applied over the whole thing. But all that could be approaching 10% of the cost of the car. That's a tough pill to swallow, but I do plan to keep the car for 10+ years, so... <sigh>


*the black kind, made out of fabric or whatever

 

Are you thinking of the PPF that can be an add on through Toyota? The new 2022 was going to arrive with factory installed film on hood but not bumpers.

Dealer said if I want film on the 2023 they would send me to a certain place that has the equipment to apply film. I was thinking film on the door cups too but need something for the handle as well. I guess I will wait and see. If my car was still in build phase, I would ask for it but who knows.

 

Either Toyota or aftermarket for the PPF. I doubt there's anything special about the brand of PPF Toyota uses.

As for the door handle itself, that's where some form of ceramic coating should help. The good ones(that are professionally applied) are chemical resistant. That should buy your paint some time. Considering what you've said about your conditions, I might just cut the advertised protection length in half and have it reapplied more often in those areas. So if the coating says it protects for up to 4 years, I'd say 4 years for the bulk of the car, but only 2 years for the handles. Then bring it back to the installer to have just those areas touched up at the halfway point. (Also follow all the care instructions the installer gives you. Most(all?) ceramic coatings need at least some maintenance to get the maximum protection out of them.)


It seems like most of the places around here wound down for the 4th holiday, so I haven't gotten any replies to my requests for quotes. I'll have to start pressing harder next week.

 

I'm not to enamored of all the bras and films. How it rolled from the factory is best.

 

Depends on your environment and driving habits. I live in a rural enough area that dust and small rocks from nearby gravel roads are an issue. I was surprised how many chips I had on the hood of my 2010 when I was detailing it for trade. A good PPF can take the impact of some of those and save the paint. Plus you can ceramic coat over the top of some PPFs, so you can still get the self-cleaning benefits. If I was only doing city driving or no open country driving, then I'd probably just get a ceramic coat. But I'd hate to see my new hood get all chipped up.

 

My 2023 Prius came with the port option PPF on the front of the hood, the backs of side mirrors, and the wells behind the doors. I did notice that the driver's door well on my 4th generation Prius was covered with scratches, probably caused by contact with the surface of my fingernails. I assume that the PPF will protect from that, and I would think that it should make it easy to wipe off any residue transferred from the back of your fingers. I'm curious about the other damage to door handles, I only touch the back of them when opening the car; I only touch the front when giving it a quick push to close the door and a tap to lock it

If you use the key fob, you can eliminate contact for unlocking and locking the car. If you tap the unlock button twice (on the door or fob), you can cause all doors to unlock even if the default is to open only one door. The Limited has a powered hatch door that can be controlled by the key fob. eliminating any need to touch the controls.

Finally, the LE only has sensors for the key on the driver's door, while the other trim levels have it on both front doors and the hatch. Note that no trim level has it for the back doors. No Prius has ever had sensors on the back doors. However, no matter what the setting is, you can unlock all doors by either tapping a door sensor twice or double-tapping the unlock button on the fob itself.

By the way, you can get cheap covers for the fobs. You can either clean the covers or buy new ones if the old ones become too ugly.

 

Daisy's said she works with a lot of artist clay. It's likely that gets on her hands and then transferred to the door handles. And anything with silica particles in it is going to be murder on painted surfaces. It's like very slowly using sandpaper on the door handle. A good ceramic coating bonds a form of silica to the paint to protect it, so hopefully like could protect against like.

 

The edges of plastic appliqués can lift slightly, accumulate grunge, eventually corrode. I finally removed the from-the-factory appliqués on our 3rd gen (two zones on lower corner of rear doors), using heat gun and patience, followed by some car wax on the zone. Don’t regret it.

 

Oh, absolutely they don't last forever. Figure 5-10 years is what you get depending on environment, driving, and storing conditions. Once they start to lift at the edges, I'd start looking at reapplying.

Also, what you're talking about isn't exactly PPF. It's a much thicker material meant for a slightly different purpose. A PPF should be almost invisible unless it doesn't cover an entire body panel and you're less than a foot from the seam. The rear door protector panels that come on all Priuses(including the gen5) are much thicker and visible from several feet away. I'm pretty sure those are placed where they're at because those areas are the most prone to damage from road debris, which then turns to rust. (something Toyota has learned about the hard way in the North American market)

 

Yes. I am constantly washing my hands and keep them very clean as I leave the studio but there is the slightest residue probably on my tool bag handle or studio door knob etc. My clothes are clean because I’ve transitioned to hand-building but it’s inevitable unless I put gloves on before entering car.

I never use the manual black button on the door handles. Always use the smart fob (which looks fine) to unlock but my hands touch the front and back of handle when I grab to open door. Maybe I need to try a different angle. It’s mostly worn off along the edge of handle. The crazing on the back door handle must be from something else since I hardly ever use that one.

I can imagine the film would start peeling. I was thinking at the very least I could get the film on as much of the door handles as possible. Then keep replacing it. I rinse my hands off well after taking gloves off at the garden too. I’m pretty compulsive about it actually.

 

I'd just suggest cleaning the door handle frequently with a car-safe spray cleaner and a freshly laundered towel. I suspect you're transferring just a tiny bit of silica onto the handle each time you're at your studio. Then whenever you use the handle after that(even when you're nowhere near the studio), your hand is working the silica into the paint; cutting it up on a microscopic level. After years of this, the weather breaks down the bonds holding the paint to the plastic, and it flakes away. Regularly wiping any silica residue away should slow the process.

Theoretically, a PPF on the handle should work because the silica particles would get embedded into the softer material, rather than scrape around, but I don't know if a PPF can take constantly being handled. That would be a question for a professional.

 

This makes sense. Thanks. I saw another studio member put a clay covered bat on the trunk of her new car. I cringed and informed her. The other issue is the acid in some clays. I use a banding wheel and the enameled coating is coming off. Manufacturer said it’s actually the acid from a particular clay used in our studio that causes this. It’s not a clay that I use but I’m sure there’s a little of it everywhere.

Stop by dealership tonight and saw a red Corolla Cross sitting there. Not the hybrid but it’s a cute, simple little SUV except for the 30mpg. The tracker says the silver hybrid Cross could arrive as early as Weds. Have to get a look at it before owner drives off in it. I’m not crazy about silver SUVs for some reason but it’s the color for my circumstances. It’s a back up plan. Darn I wish Toyota had tried to match the Kia Niro mpg.

 

Yep, that would do it. In that case, I'd make sure whatever cleaner you use is alkaline(basic). That way it would neutralize the acid while it's cleaning. Some car cleaners are acidic, and that's the last thing you would want. The good car cleaners will say somewhere on the label if they're acidic or alkaline/basic or they'll give their pH range(<7 for acid, >7 for basic).

 

Thanks!

 

In the automotive world, people will use clay, if necessary, to help prep the paint before applying some sort of paint protection. Clay has a marring quality that removes stubborn contamination that wouldn't come off otherwise. The proper thing to do after using a clay bar on a car is to polish it, because now it has fine scratches that should be removed.

I asked my dealer to not touch the exterior of the car when I took delivery because if they wash it, they will 100% scratch it. When I got my car home, I pre-washed the vehicle, washed, applied iron decontamination, and inspected the paint afterwards. The paint was already smooth to the touch, this told me I did not need to clay bar the paint, and with no scratches visible when viewed with my special detailers light(that can simulate any light source you would encounter, as some scratches are more easily viewed in certain light spectrums), I moved on to ceramic coating my car.

My point is, clay is fine sandpaper to be used as a last resort on automotive paint.

 

Thank you! I visited dealership yesterday. They recommend a ceramic coating by Simonize and apply it before delivery. Quoted $800 which includes an exterior and interior treatment. Has anyone heard of this? Their warranty is supposedly good.

Apparently the interior treatment is a leather protector used on the Softex to warranty damage from stains etc. but I’ll probably have to skip this due to chemical sensitivities. Has an almond fragrance. The cloth and carpet protector is supposedly fragrance free. No discount for just getting exterior done.

I have enough “new car” off gassing to deal with. Will need to air our car for months.

 

There's nothing a dealership sells beyond a car at MSRP(or less) or parts that is any kind of good value.

The real honest truth is if you will not properly wash the car, a paint coating of any kind, be it ceramic or graphene, will be destroyed. That goes for putting your car through automatic car washes, drying your cars with old bath towels, not washing with at least a two bucket method or the Garry Dean method with proper car shampoo or rinseless wash dilutions, etc.

If you go to a legitimate shop that does automotive detailing they will tell you that most of the cost involved in ceramic coatings is in the paint preparation which means paint decontamination, clay bar, and finally polishing before they actually put on the ceramic coating.

Just use off the shelf waxes on a regular basis if you will not put in the effort to safely wash your car paint because that is better than nothing. But don't go paying hundreds or upwards of $1,000 for ceramic coatings only for it to get beat up every time you wash and negate all the work that was put in before the ceramic coating was applied.

Also the fabric spray that they'll use for your cloth surfaces in your car is a $8 can of Scotchgard at Walmart
Scotchgard Fabric Water Shield Water Repellent Spray, One 10 oz Can - Walmart.com

 

So much $'s... I (one bucket) wash the car when it needs it, was waxing twice yearly. Now with our low usage (3000~ km yearly) I've resolved to make it a once a year thing. Products I've been using:



Recent pic:

 

Regular washing is key, as is regular waxing. That should be enough to prevent clear coat failure. If one had a Honda, you'd have to be more vigilant.

After that, it becomes a matter of if you care about scratches or swirl marks in your paint. Silver/White will hide these imperfections well. If the same wash process was done on a black/dark car, you would notice your paint will be covered in swirl marks. One either cares or doesn't care about that, there's no right or wrong.

All cars need basic care to keep the paint in good order.

Since my car never gets filthy, my basic washes are nearly touch less: pre-wash foam bath, rinse off with a 2gpm/1000psi pressure washer, blower air dry, fine mist of rinse less wash solution on the entire car as a towel lubricant, followed up by a high quality microfiber drying towel. This takes me less than 10 minutes and the only time I touch the paint is when the paint is already clean, semi-dry and lubricated for the drying towel phase. Once every 2-3 months, after the car is clean and still wet, I will apply a wet-application ceramic spray on the car that takes me about 5 minutes. I spray it on the paint and immediately rinse off and that provides 3 months of protection. Overkill in my case because the car is garaged.

Detailing is a passion of mine if that wasn't already obvious.

 

To be fair: our ‘10 is garage stored. Very low use too, the last few years.