To keep your vehicle looking its best, you should know how nature’s elements can take a toll on your car paint and what you can do to win the fight against Mother Nature.
Sun Damage
Anyone living in Sonoma County knows what sun damage can do to car paint. As a refresher, over time and with intensity, the sun’s UV rays oxidize and break down the clear coat and paint, causing it to fade and lose its luster and shine.
Rain
Rain water doesn’t save you time or money for a car wash. Rain water actually contains a lot of impurities and pollutants from the air which land on and coat your car paint.
The dried water marks left on your car paint can eat away at the car’s protective clear coat which will leave you with a dull finish.
The dirt, grime and pollutants from the rain settle onto your clear coat, break it down over time and destroy the paint underneath.
Trees
If you have to park your car under a tree, be prepared for what the berries, leaves and sap can do to your car paint.
Berries
Fallen tree berries are especially bad because most are colored, leaving noticeable staining, in addition to being highly acidic. Any kind of acidic element landing and resting on your car will eventually cause damage, especially with the hot sun beating down on top of it.
Wet Leaves
If wet leaves sit on your car for too long, they can also cause staining and watermarks.
Wet leaves may also contain tree sap which causes enough damage to dull your car paint finish.
Sap
The key to prevent damage from tree sap is to wash it off your car as soon as possible. The longer it sits, the harder it is to remove and more damage may result.
Because sap is acidic, it likes to eat away at the clear coat and car paint while causing discoloration and staining. Hot weather makes this process move along faster.
Bugs
If you’ve ever been on a road trip, odds are you’ve returned him with lots of dead bugs smashed all over your car.
Those little bug corpses secrete acidic body fluid which damage and dissolve your car clear coat and paint.
Birds
It never fails. No matter how far away you park from trees and power lines, birds and their messy droppings will find their way to your car.
While it looks terrible, it can also do serious damage to your car paint due once again to the acidic nature of the droppings.
Hardened and sun-dried bird droppings can be more difficult to remove so, as soon as you can, use mild soap and water to remove those uric acid filled droppings. If need be, follow up with gentle buffing with a special cleaner and soft cloth.
Conclusion
Keeping your car as protected as possible from nature’s elements goes a long way to prevent car paint damage.
To ward off damage, wash your car with mild soap and water as soon as nature strikes. Gently hand dry and buff with a soft cloth. Depending on how much exposure your car paint gets from outdoor elements, a hand wax every 3 months with a high quality wax provides additional protection.
If too much damage has been done, reach out to the expert paint technicians at Downtown Autobody, serving Rohnert Park and surrounding areas.