How to Protect Your Car's Paintwork for Spring
Winter strips your car's paint protection. This guide covers the full process — decontaminating the paintwork, addressing swirl marks, applying ceramic protection, treating the glass, and restoring interior trim — using the Stoner Car Care range.
If you haven't given your car proper paint protection yet this year, now is still a great time to do it. Temperatures are up, conditions are dry, and you have the whole summer ahead for any protective coating to bond and perform. Here's how to do it properly.
Why Now Is the Right Time
Paint protection products work best when applied to a clean, dry, warm surface in temperatures above roughly 10°C — conditions that are now reliably here through spring and into summer. Your car's paintwork is also still at its most vulnerable after winter — whatever protection it had has been depleted by road salt, de-icing chemicals, and repeated washing. The sooner you restore it, the less damage accumulates over the months ahead.
Step 1: Decontaminate Before You Protect
Applying protection over contaminated paint is a waste of time — it won't bond properly and won't last. This step is non-negotiable.
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Wash first. This dual-action ceramic shampoo cleans thoroughly and lays down a base ceramic layer. Rinse and dry fully. View product → |
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Stoner Tarminator Tar & Sap Remover Remove tar spots. Spray on, dwell 30–60 seconds, wipe away. Work panel by panel on the lower body. View product → |
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Remove iron fallout. Turns orange on contact with contamination. Spray across the whole car, leave to dwell, rinse off. View product → |
| After decontamination, run a clean hand across the paintwork. It should feel smooth and slightly squeaky. If it still feels rough, repeat the iron removal step. |
Step 2: Address Light Swirl Marks
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Stoner Speed Bead Quick Detailer Fills light swirl marks with carnauba wax and leaves a layer of gloss and short-term protection. Spray onto the paintwork and wipe with a clean microfibre cloth — no buffing required. View product → |
Step 3: Apply Ceramic Protection
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Stoner Hybrid Ceramic Detailer Up to six months of SiO2 ceramic protection from a single application. Bonds to the clearcoat, repels water, resists road film and bird droppings, and reduces how often the car needs washing. Apply panel by panel — the whole car takes around 20 minutes. View product → |
Step 4: Protect the Glass
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Invisible Glass Clean & Repel — Spray Cleans and coats exterior glass in a single step. Work around all windows and the windscreen. View product → |
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Invisible Glass Rain Repellent For a more durable result — a dedicated hydrophobic coating that bonds to the windscreen and lasts for months. View product → |
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Invisible Glass Auto Glass Cleaner — Aerosol Clean the glass first before applying any treatment. Residue-free formula that evaporates completely. View product → |
Step 5: Restore Interior Trim and Leather
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Stoner Trim Shine Interior & Exterior Protectant Restores colour and brilliance to faded plastic, vinyl, and rubber on dashboard panels, door trims, and exterior mouldings. Protects against UV fading for weeks. View product → |
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Cleans, conditions, and protects leather seating in a single step — reversing the drying effect that cold temperatures have on leather over winter. View product → |
How Long Does It Last?
With the Hybrid Ceramic Detailer providing up to six months of protection, a full session now should see you through to autumn without needing to repeat the process. Top up the glass treatment every two to three months and give the car a maintenance wash with Hybrid Ceramic Shampoo every few weeks to keep everything performing.
All products in this article are available through JRP Distribution — the authorised UK trade distributor for Stoner Car Care and Invisible Glass.
Tel: 01903 750355 • sales@jrpdistribution.co.uk • jrpdistribution.co.uk