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How to maintain the look
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The Sunday Times spoke to six car workshops that specialise in car spray-painting and wrapping. Here are their top tips on getting and maintaining interesting designs:
FOR SPRAY-PAINTED VEHICLES
• Pay for a good-quality clear coat over the paint job, preferably one that has UV protection. This prevents the paint from oxidising, says Mr Chris Lim, owner of Kolorwerx Auto. This is especially important for cars that are white or red as white tends to turn yellow and red becomes dull with time.•
• Look for a shop that will paint car parts individually, says Mr Lim. Doing so takes longer and costs more, but will result in a more complete finish.
• After the car has been out in the rain, wash it with concentrated wax shampoo and dry it with a piece of microfibre cloth, says Mr Ridwan Ash-Siddiq, owner of 7 Angelz Automotive Workshop. This is to prevent acid rain from damaging the paint. To maintain the shine of the vehicle, car owners are also advised to hand-wax their cars every month.
FOR VEHICLES WITH WRAP STICKERS
• When grooming, look for a workshop that specialises in doing wrap stickers. Mr Dan Jian Koh, owner of Koh Guan Chua Workshop, says non-specialists may botch up the job, such as using the wrong coating on cars with a matte finish, making the car shiny and smooth instead.
• If a hole forms in the wrap, Mr Alec Neo, who runs Visionworkz Performance, recommends taking the car back to the shop. Patching or touching up the wrap may be possible without replacing the whole sticker, depending on the severity of the damage. It will cost less than redoing the entire wrap.