Whether you got into a fender bender or were the victim of a rogue shopping cart, there are many occasions when you need bumper repair to restore your vehicle’s appearance. However, once you can get back out on the road in your like-new car, it’s important to take the proper precautions to care for your vehicle and ensure it stays in its best condition. To extend the life of your paint job and keep your car’s exterior looking flawless, here are five tips for caring for your vehicle after mobile bumper repair services.

1. Keep an Eye Out for Road Debris

Although your vehicle will be dry to the touch within a day, it can take up to a week for your vehicle’s paint job to completely cure all the way through. To avoid re-damaging your car’s finish, be extra careful when driving for the first few days, and avoid driving over uneven surfaces such as potholes, gravel roads and mud.

To further reduce your risk of paint damage from road debris, be sure to keep your distance from other cars and objects on the road, and never cross lanes without making sure the area is clear of debris. It’s also important to stay vigilant while driving and keep an eye out for any objects in your lane that may have fallen off of a truck or other vehicle. Even the smallest pebbles or glass shards can cause serious damage to a fresh paint job at highway speeds.

2. Avoid Drive-Through Car Washes

Regular washes are important for maintaining your vehicle’s paint job in the long run, but it’s important to choose the right washing methods. Drive-through car washes should generally be avoided whenever possible, and they should definitely be avoided altogether for the first month after a repair.

This is because the harsh, stiff brushes used by drive-through car washes can scratch or otherwise damage your vehicle’s new finish. If you need to clean your vehicle, clean it by hand with cool water, mild soap, and a soft cloth for best results.

3. Stay Out of the Sun

When you’ve just received your vehicle back after dent repair services, it’s natural to want to show it off and watch its newly-flawless finish gleam in the sunlight. However, parking your vehicle in direct sunlight not only makes it uncomfortable to get back into, but it could actually re-damage your paint job.

Continual, direct exposure to the UV radiation emitted by sunlight can fade, crack, or peel your vehicle’s paint, requiring you to undergo costly repainting services that can be easily avoided. Whenever possible — and especially for the first few weeks after repairs — park inside a structure or in the shade to best protect your vehicle’s finish. However, try to avoid parking under trees for shade if you can (see point No. 5 for more details) and instead opt for the shade from a building whenever the option is available.

4. Wait Before Waxing

It’s a great idea to wax or polish your car regularly to maintain its luster and keep it looking its best. However, it’s important to let your vehicle’s new paint finish curing completely before your resume your waxing practices.

In general, you should wait 60 days after receiving scratch and paint repair before you can safely wax or polish your car again. You can also ask your dent repair specialist for their timeline recommendation based on your vehicle’s specific repair needs.

5. Be Mindful When Parking

Even when your vehicle isn’t moving, it can still be subject to damage. When parking your car after a mobile bumper repair, make sure that you park in areas clear of trees, poles, and other vehicles.

Trees that drop sap are one of the biggest hazards to a freshly painted car. Tree sap can easily mark fresh paint, causing you to need to come back for additional paint repair. Trees can also be a hazard because of birds and their droppings. If you park under a tree or pole frequented by birds, the bird droppings can damage and stain your paint surface. If you do experience tree sap or bird droppings on your vehicle while parked, be sure to rinse the area as quickly as possible to avoid permanent marks.

These five steps are crucial to protecting your vehicle after mobile bumper repair services, but they can also cause damage that requires it in the first place. If you’re guilty of some bad driving or parking habits and are in need of mobile dent repair, Bumper Buddies can help.

Whether you’re at work or home, our mobile bumper & dent repair technicians will travel to your location and repair your vehicle to the highest standard in just a matter of hours. We have a five-star rating that we’ve maintained for our 20 years in business and offer a three-year warranty on all of our repairs. If you’d like to receive a free quote for your dent repair today, give us a call today at 888-711-5074, text us at 949-799-1413, or contact us online.