The rainy season is here andmost of us are probably gritting our teeth, imagining the havoc it would wreckon our cars. Well, since we can’t pray the rain away (not that we want to)there are certain measures we can take to make sure, when it’s harvest time,our cars are in tiptop condition for the celebration.
Wash often
It's quite basic, this applies to EVERYTHING that gets dirty, doesn't it? Sowhy don’t people treat their expensive cars the same way.
The justification of "bah, it'll get dirty again" is rather silly andshort-sighted.
Cleaning the car often prevents contaminants, dirt, and residues frompermeating the paint causing damage that requires drastic restoration.
Also, if you clean the car, always use a good car shampoo. Washing the carwithout any form of lubricating surfactant will just scratch your paint sincethere's no buffer between the dirt you are scrubbing and the soft paint.
The justification of "bah, it'll get dirty again" is rather silly andshort-sighted.
Cleaning the car often prevents contaminants, dirt, and residues frompermeating the paint causing damage that requires drastic restoration.
Also, if you clean the car, always use a good car shampoo. Washing the carwithout any form of lubricating surfactant will just scratch your paint sincethere's no buffer between the dirt you are scrubbing and the soft paint.
Get your car protected by a wax or sealant.
It really doesn't matter whether you use the most expensive stuff oroff-the-shelf cheapo stuff, as long as you have a protective, sacrificial layeron top of the paint.
Better brands and products will protect better and last longer while cheapstuff won't. But at the end of the day, even the worse of waxes can last atleast 2-5 days of torture.
In general, polymers and acrylics are much less affected by heat and moisture.
Better brands and products will protect better and last longer while cheapstuff won't. But at the end of the day, even the worse of waxes can last atleast 2-5 days of torture.
In general, polymers and acrylics are much less affected by heat and moisture.
Protect Flat Surfaces More
Water pools on flat surfaces more than vertical surfaces, nothing new here. Thehood, roof, trunk (if available) will pool water blobs more than the doors,fenders and quarterpanels.
These flat surfaces also will absorb more direct heat when the sun is outtherefore contributing to rapid water evaporation, causing water to spot andacid etches to form.
So as much as you can, wax the flat panels more often than the vertical if allyou're after is surface protection.
The hood receives double heat source (engine and sun) so expect wax to wear offsooner on this surface.
These flat surfaces also will absorb more direct heat when the sun is outtherefore contributing to rapid water evaporation, causing water to spot andacid etches to form.
So as much as you can, wax the flat panels more often than the vertical if allyou're after is surface protection.
The hood receives double heat source (engine and sun) so expect wax to wear offsooner on this surface.
Neutralize acidity immediately
If you have just arrived home and it just rained, you'd need to neutralize theacidity of rain water as soon as possible by hosing down the car if you don'tplan to wash the car.
NOTE: If you live in a place where water is especially hard and leaves a lotof residue, this is counter-productive, wash the car with shampoo and dry it.
NOTE: If you live in a place where water is especially hard and leaves a lotof residue, this is counter-productive, wash the car with shampoo and dry it.
Displace Moisture
As mentioned above, flat surfaces has the tendency to pool liquids and slowevaporation allows the acids and contaminants to slowly damage the paint.
Large water droplets also act as a magnifying glass when the sun hits itcausing the paint to burn quicker on that spot (hence the etch).
Reduce this phenomenon by simply leaving the hood and trunk open for severalminutes (assuming you have a somewhat covered parking or if it has stoppedraining) to allow water to drip off and the heat from the engine bay to escape.This also prevents sunlight from hitting the panels directly)
If you have a smooth paint, utilize the hose-drying technique, you'll end upwith less than a cup of water or so to dry off from the body panels.
Large water droplets also act as a magnifying glass when the sun hits itcausing the paint to burn quicker on that spot (hence the etch).
Reduce this phenomenon by simply leaving the hood and trunk open for severalminutes (assuming you have a somewhat covered parking or if it has stoppedraining) to allow water to drip off and the heat from the engine bay to escape.This also prevents sunlight from hitting the panels directly)
If you have a smooth paint, utilize the hose-drying technique, you'll end upwith less than a cup of water or so to dry off from the body panels.
Clean the wheels often
Brake dust + water + days of non-cleaning = corrosion of wheels.
Now that you know what to do, you can sayto the rain “BRING IT ON” but if you don’t want to be that challenging, you canjoin the Famous Majek Fashek in singing “Papa Papa Papa Yo Send Down the Rain”
Now that you know what to do, you can sayto the rain “BRING IT ON” but if you don’t want to be that challenging, you canjoin the Famous Majek Fashek in singing “Papa Papa Papa Yo Send Down the Rain”
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