Keeping Your White Paint From Turning Yellow: The Pro Secret to Bright Paint

I cannot stress this enough: do not work in direct sun. If the panels are hot to the touch, you're going to have a bad time. The chemicals will dry out, streak, and potentially stain the paint. Wait until the arvo when things cool down.

Always wash your wheels first. If you wash the body then do the wheels, you'll just splash brake dust and grime back onto your clean white paint. Give them a good scrub with a dedicated wheel brush.

Blast the car thoroughly with water. You want to get all that loose grit, red dust, and salt spray off before you even think about touching the paint with a mitt.

Spray your iron remover (like Wheely Clean) onto the dry or slightly damp paint. On a white car, this is the satisfying part. You'll see the clear liquid turn bright purple as it reacts with the metal particles. Let it dwell for 3-5 minutes, but don't let it dry!

Blast that purple stuff off. This step alone usually makes the white look 20% brighter because you're removing the 'dullness' caused by the metal contamination.

Wash the car from the top down using the two-bucket method. Dunk your mitt in the soapy water, wash a panel, then rinse the dirt off the mitt in the plain water bucket before going back for more soap.

Use a soft brush and some APC to go around the window rubbers, fuel flap, and badges. White cars look terrible when there is green algae or black gunk leaking out of the seams.

While the car is still wet and soapy, run your clay mitt over the paint. This removes the 'above-surface' bits like tree sap and tar that the chemicals missed. Your paint should feel smooth as glass afterwards. If it feels like sandpaper, keep going.

One last rinse, then dry the car immediately. Use your big microfiber towel. Don't let it air dry in the sun or you'll get water spots, which are a nightmare to get off white paint.

White cars show every bit of road tar. If you see black spots near the wheel arches, use a bit of dedicated tar remover or even a tiny bit of kerosene on a rag (old school trick, just wash it off after).

Now the paint is naked and clean, you need to seal it. Grab your sealant or wax. I reckon a synthetic sealant is better for white paint because it gives a 'crisp' shine, whereas carnauba wax can sometimes have a slight yellow tint that ruins the look.

Wipe off the sealant with a fresh, clean microfiber. Do this in sections. If you try to do the whole car at once, the sealant might bake on and be a bugger to remove.

Finish with a good glass cleaner. Nothing makes a white car look better than crystal clear windows and black tyres.