As an owner of a new car, you can enjoy the fruits of this beautiful machine for a much longer time if you carry out its maintenances from time to time. Maintenance not only involves washing, changing motor oil, changing faulty parts and overhauling the engine but it also includes maintaining the external as well as the internal beauty of the vehicle. There are people who take great care of their car and the looks of their car belie their age. But in case you do not care about your vehicle, the first scar on its beautiful face appears in form of rust. Not only does it make the car look ugly but it is also dangerous for the body. Let us talk a little about this dangerous thing in this article.
What is rust
Talking in actual terms rust is nothing but iron oxide. It is the result of the blending of oxygen in the air with exposed iron parts of your car in the presence of moisture. This chemical process is called corrosion.
Parts affected
The car’s frame, the wheel wells, the undercarriage, the exhaust block, the engine, the external painted parts and the car’s boot are the main targets of rust.
Every exposed part is always in danger to the attack of rust. Sometimes even painted parts get affected and corrode.
Advice
Our elders have always been telling us that prevention is better than cure. Now is the time to understand the meaning of this phrase.
Scrubbing down rust is very tough task but taking measures to prevent it is much easier. Killing the cause of the disease before it spreads is the key to keep your car beautiful for a long duration.
Steps to curb the cause
- You need to cleanse your car every two weeks.
- You can wash the undercarriage of the car to protect it from rust.
- Waxing the vehicle’s body every four months is a good idea to prevent rust formation.
- Do not leave any spills inside the car. Keep the inner surface clean and dry.
- Do not wet use interior carpet inside the car. It will be a good cause to pose threat to the vehicle.
- If you live near a salty water body, you need to take extra pains to keep your car clean because salt on the roads is the major cause of rusting.
- After cleaning do not forget to spray an anti rust lubricant. It is easily available in the market.
- Keep external metal surfaces sapped. Do not leave water on the surface even after cleaning.
- Cover your vehicle with a cover whenever not in use.
- If the lubricant you are using is flammable, make sure that the engine has died out long back when you start spraying.
What you need to look for - When you see blisters on the painted surface, look for the beginning of rust. Fix such small issues in the paint immediately
- You can always find nicks on the outer surface which appear as a result of small pebbles and chunks being thrown by the car ahead of you on the road. Use a brush to clean the mud if any.
- You can use alcoholic mineral fluids to clean up the dirt in the chips and let them dry. After it is dry, you can fill the exposed chip with paint.
- If rust has started growing under the paint then you need to remove the affected layer of the paint and get the part repainted again.
- You can use rust arrestors to check further spreading of rust.