Things that will Ruin a Cars Paint
Owning a car or truck is one of the most convenient and easiest ways of getting around whether you live in the city or the country. Having a mode of travel that you can park outside your front door and that is available whenever you need it is something that many people like, which goes a long way to explaining the vast amount of vehicles which travel the highways and byways of most countries. However, as well as being a convenient way of getting from A to B, many people view their vehicle as a bit of a status symbol which displays a little of their personality. For this reason most people will work to keep their car or truck in good condition and looking as shiny and new as possible. It is not always the easiest of tasks however and there are any number of things that will ruin a cars paintwork. The following are a few of these.
Bird Droppings
Whether you live in the country or the city, birds are a fact of life and the last thing they tend to worry about is where their droppings end up. Leaving your car parked in the street or in an open car park seems to be an open invitation to birds to aim for your vehicles paintwork and it can even happen when you are on the move. Bird dropping can be acidic and can contain grit. If left to harden on the paintwork of a car it can do some damage after time. Grit in the droppings can also be abrasive if you do not take care when wiping the droppings off. Generally the longer bird droppings are left on a car to harden the more potential they have to do some damage. If your car is left parked on the street therefore it can pay to make sure it is not parked under a tree or other nice site that birds like to roost in, as this can be inviting droppings onto your car.
Tree Sap
In hotter climates people may park under a tree during the day for the shade it offers and the benefit of a cooler car to return to. However as well as the potential for bird droppings as identified above, it can also potentially cause a problem due to tree sap. If this does get on to your car and you are aware of the sap, it can pay to remove it straight away as tree sap is much easier to get off when it is still soft. If it hardens onto your paintwork then it can be much more difficult to remove and unless done with extreme care it can easily damage the paintwork and leave a mark. It is therefore something to avoid and the best option is to avoid parking directly under a tree.
Salt
In colder climates a potential danger to the paintwork and bodywork of a car comes from salt. In many places during the colder months this is used to help clear roads of snow and sleet and during the worst of the winter weather a lot of it can end up on the roads. Driving around at this time of the year is therefore guaranteed to get salt on the bodywork of your car and this can potentially start the rusting process, which in turn will damage the paintwork.
Even in hotter climates, salt can still potentially be a problem for those that live beside the ocean. The salty sea breeze that is so refreshing might feel great to you but it will be doing nothing for the bodywork and paintwork on your car. Salt moisture has the potential to damage paint and bodywork and keeping your car washed and waxed is a necessity to try and limit any damage that will occur over time.
Sun
In hot climates the effects of the sun can be damaging to the paintwork of a vehicle. It has the potential not only to fade the color of the car over time, but to damage the structure of the paint and this can roughen the surface of the car. If the damage penetrates all the way through the paintwork to the metal below, then the chances are that rusting will begin to occur and this will further damage the paintwork. Wax tends to be the natural guard against the effects of sun and keeping your vehicle well waxed can help to slow the impact of sun damage.
Scratches
Scratches to the paintwork of a car are an obvious cause of damage. These can occur as a result of accidents such as minor shunts or debris hitting your car while driving or they can be more deliberate in nature. Either way they need to be dealt with if they are not going to cause further problems. If a scratch goes through to the underlying metal then rusting can occur and this will further damage both the bodywork and paintwork of a vehicle. Repairing a scratch and filling it up as soon as possible is therefore important in the care of a car in terms of keeping the bodywork and paintwork in good condition.
Keeping the paintwork of a vehicle in good condition is an ongoing battle and there are a number of factors that can work to damage this. Some of the more common causes are identified above and these are a few of the things that can ruin a cars paintwork.
