As much as we wish you didn’t have to wash your car after getting a ceramic coating or clear bra (or both), you still have to wash your car. You cannot take it through an automatic car wash, be it ceramic coated or clear bra, without voiding any warranties from us or the manufacturers of the clear bra or ceramic coating.

Unfortunately, automatic car washes use high-pressure nozzles that come too close to the clear bra edges, they use harsh chemicals (whether it’s a touchless or brush car wash), and in the case of the brushed automatic car wash, they damage the paint and strip the coating off with their abrasive nature. We talk about this elsewhere in a few places.

There is a common misconception that ceramic coating completely repels dirt. It doesn’t. The ceramic coating will help make cleanup easier, and it will provide some protection against some other hazards as well as provide UV protection…but you will still get dirt. We have had some people comment on our YouTube videos asking why their self-installed DIY ceramic coating isn’t preventing brake dust on their wheels. Unfortunately, there is so much misinformation out there about ceramic coating and clear bra that they were led to believe that would be the case by someone or some advertisement. You will still collect brake dust, even with the best ceramic coatings. It will just be easier to clean, and potentially provide some protection from brake dust corrosion.

Clear bra is no different. Bird droppings, bug guts, hard water spots – they can all still happen on the clear bra. We install both clear bra and ceramic to make cleanup easier (ceramic coating) as well as provide rock chip, scratch, and scuff protection (clear bra). Ultimately, they still need to be cleaned up after they get dirty, or those hazards will damage the paint protection film or ceramic coating just as it would the paint. 

Our goal is to protect our paint as much as possible – going to a body shop never ends well. We still have to take care of it!