Auto Body Tacoma

These cold winter months can be rough on your body… your car’s body that is. Salt and chemicals are used on roadways as deicer in the colder climates. Chemical deicer and salt are both strong corrosives and will heavily oxidize your cars precious sheet metal. Repairing rust is a labor intensive process that involves removing all the rust and potentially replacing the sheet metal and repainting your vehicle. There are a few simple preventative measures you can take this winter that will help keep your car’s body looking it’s best.
Paint is typically the most noticeable part of any car. Regular waxing will help protect your car’s finish from oxidization and discoloration. A good coat of wax on your car before the winter storms hit will protect your car’s finish from the corrosive salt and deicer and cold temperatures.

• Wash the underside of your car often during the winter months. The previously mentioned salt and chemicals will collect under the vehicle and slowly start eating away at your car. Accumulations of dirt can also cause rust. Just take a hose and rinse off the undercarriage of your car and take extra car to rinse the dirt out from the wheel wells.
• Applying undercoating to a car that has been on the road for a year or two is pointless. Skip the undercoating unless you are buying a new car. Once sheet metal has already started to rust undercoating won’t help. In order for undercoating to be effective it needs to be applied to clean metal. There is also going to be water in places it does not belong. Once you have apply the undercoat you trap that water or rust and it will continue to corrode your car underneath the undercoating.
• Don’t drive through large puddles of standing water. This water is loaded with salt and deicer and will get thrown into all the cracks and crevices of your car. Make sure that you rinse off your car as described earlier.
• When winter ends and springtime rolls around, it’s time to treat your car to a thorough wash and good wax job again. Remember wax also prevents against sun damage. Make sure to get all of the road grime and salt off of the car before you begin waxing.

With proper care and love, your car’s body will stay in shape for years to come. A little preventative maintenance can save you a lot of money down the road.