Regular cleaning of the exterior
will ensure a rust-free car.
Do you know how to do it?
If you regularly clean the exterior of your car during winter season, you don’t have to worry about rust. It is important to use high quality shampoo and wax. By combining high-quality products with the right procedure, you can extend the life of your cars bodywork.
Rock salt: how does it affect your car?
Everyone knows why rock salt is used during the winter. What not everyone may know is, what this salt mixture is made of. The most common substance used for deicing roads and highways is Sodium Chloride (NaCl) or table salt known as rock salt when spread on the road because of its much larger granules. These salts can also contain natural minerals such as calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate or clay. The use of, for example, calcium and magnesium chloride is not uncommon either.
These substances perfectly melt ice and snow. As they say, every coin has two sides. The salt mixture helps road workers maintain the road, but at the same time it destroys the exterior of the car in such a way, that it „sticks“ on to the vehicle exterior, damages the plastics, the body and creates rust on it. Precisely for this fact, proper cleaning must be taken care of.
Car and body cleaning – can we prevent rust?
The best is to clean your car not only after winter season (because of temperatures), but also during as a form of prevention. During winter months, you have to be especially careful that the water doesn’t freeze-on after washing the car, because the door seals can also freeze, which can be then accidentally torn off when opened – that’s why the car must be wiped dry after washing.
If you do not clean your car regularly, dirt and impurities will get into small crevices and silently start the rusting process. Rust is the archenemy of all car enthusiasts and must be fought against regularly. The layer of salt can sometimes be so thick that it will definitely not disappear after only one wash.
Self service or car washes?
Both have their pluses and minuses. With a car wash it can be the price, because you literally wash your entire car for a few euros. But we wouldn’t rely on that, because the carwash bristles may wash the exterior, but at the same time they can also scratch it due to the dried up dirt on the car.
Self service is more demanding, but there is a demonstrable greater sense of satisfaction :). When washing by hand, you can be sure that everything is as clean as it should be. A proven and best home washing trick consists of the „two-bucket method“. We pour clean water into one bucket, and in the other, we pour car shampoo with a neutral pH in the right proportion. This type of shampoo is suitable because it is very gentle on glass, paint, but especially on the wax layer and does not damage it.
We use the two buckets, so that we do not mix the dirt with the pre-prepared shampoo and spread it around the car again, as we squeeze out our already dirty rag in a bucket of clean water and then we dip the clean rag in the bucket with shampoo. For cleaning your car we recommend a cleaning glove or microfiber cloth that is gentle on the surface of the car. You don’t have to worry about rust when cleaning your car like this.
Waxing is part of exterior maintenance
The layer of wax on the body acts as a protective coat that protects the paintwork and individual parts of the body from rust. When cleaning your car, always think about its additional waxing. If you don’t have high-quality wax at home, be sure to get one.
Application is very simple, but a very important part of waxing itself is surface preparation. For a perfect result, we need to sufficiently decontaminate and wash all necessary surfaces. We must not forget about regular deposits from the roads, to remove rust, to degrease the surface, to get rid of asphalt, resin, or remove dried insects. You apply the wax and its composition creates a protective layer on the paint. Impurities, salts and clay will not get into the “pores” of the paint, because they will be filled with the mentioned protective layer. At the same time, it visibly removes small and medium scratches and protects the paint without streaks for several weeks.
Advice: Waxing can prevent inconveniences with rusting and thus extend the life of the surfaces, but in the case of major mechanical damage to the body with deep scratches or paint cracking, paint correction is necessary and we recommend leaving this work to professionals.
If you want to take care of other external components while cleaning your car, we have a solution for you. Every good car enthusiast should have an exterior plastic refresher or a professional window cleaner in their garage, which are truly multifunctional.
