- Waxing vehicle protects from harmful contaminants
- Do not forget about maintaining your wheels and tires
- A weekly wash will keep your paint shining all winter
We all know winter can wreak havoc on our vehicles and we cannot escape it, but we can definitely fight back. There are many winter factors that work against your vehicle. Salt and rust have been among the toughest battles since what feels like the beginning of time. Salt is highly corrosive and does not work well with paint and metal. Paint on your car is an obvious one but the rims on your car absolutely take the brunt of brutal winter conditions. Mother Nature can be unforgiving but there are a number of things that can be done to battle back to ensure your car will last for winters to come.
We all love that freshly waxed look. Waxing your car in the off-season is the # 1 way to ensure your paint remains resistant to contaminants. Keeping your vehicle waxed will not only protect it from oxidation but will repel that damaging salt. It is obviously tough to wax a car in the winter, so make sure it gets done sometime in the fall. Most quality waxes will remain effective for an entire year. Waxing your car doesn’t just apply to certain body panels; wax the ENTIRE car. This includes hard-to-reach places such as the roof, side skirts, and rocker panels. Anything that has paint applied to it, wax it. You will be happy you did.
Maintaining your rims is just as important as your paint. These days there are many materials that are used to produce rims for automobiles. Luckily the same process can be used for most materials. Common materials that are on the rims’ surface include steel, chrome, aluminum, and painted surfaces. These will all react negatively with the salt and create oxidation and/or rust. Aluminum rims will corrode and the clear coat will begin to peel further exposing it to contaminants. Painted rims will oxidize and become faded. Waxing both types of rims will protect them through the winter months. To further protect rims there is a little trick to follow. Apply WD-40 to all 4 rims with a towel. DO NOT SPRAY IT. If sprayed it can go through the rim, go straight to the rotor, and negatively affect your braking system. A light coating of WD-40 will ensure an extra slick surface and keep everything looking clean.
Now that everything is waxed and ready to go, a weekly car wash is a must. Just one storm can cover your car and it is important to clean it as soon as possible. The less time the salt remains on the car, the better. If you choose to wash your car yourself it is easier to clean all the nooks and crevices. Make sure to inspect door jams and the inside of doors to make sure nothing leaked through. The areas most prone to rust are where panels meet and where metal seams exist such as the areas in the wheel wells. Once the paint cracks and exposes raw steel there is not much you can do to stop rust from spreading. It is best to wash your car when the temperatures are above freezing so that the water doesn’t freeze and create problems with any other parts of your vehicle. If you are not one to wash cars in the cold the best option is to take it to the neighborhood car wash. The car wash does a great job but doing it yourself will not only save money, but it will also allow you to access and clean those hard-to-reach areas.
