Vehicle Maintenance: How to Protect Your Car’s Paint

Outside of a few Mad Max enthusiasts and the ‘mudder’ crowd, a beat-up-looking car isn’t ideal. Unlike the appeal of lived-in clothing, cars depend on a seamless exterior for protection.

To keep your car looking, and working, its best you need to consider your approach to vehicle maintenance.

No matter the cost to reapply repair a paint job, it’s cheaper to take steps to preserve the paint, at least for the 10-15 year lifecycle.

The following elaborates on three categories of protection.

The Trick to Vehicle Maintenance

The sad truth is there’s no magic solution to keeping your vehicle running well and looking great. There are steps you can take to reduce damage and keep things in good working order. These steps take time and effort.

the best way to go about your car maintenance is to keep a consistent schedule and set aside the time to do it right.

If you do maintenance on a schedule, rather than when problems arise, you’ll be able to budget your time and cash while limiting the odds you’ll face unexpected repairs.

Coat and Recoat

Protective coats act as a shield and a net. Reflective coatings bounce out more UV light, which keeps paint from fading and taking slow damage. The coat also provides a place for noxious chemicals and pollutants to get stuck before they reach the paint layer.

It’s far easier to strip and reapply a sealant than it is to reapply paint.

That said, paint is itself protection for your car’s chassis. Protective coatings offer some protection against brute-force damage but scratches, chips, and chunks can all occur from roadside debris or contact with barriers.

In these instances, you want to hit the Internet and look for paint correction near me. Reapplying the right colors to fill in these gaps keeps your ride looking good and prevents a scratch from chipping away into something worse.

Shade and Protect

Even the best sealants and clearcoats won’t protect from all the atmospheric contaminants and light damage your car faces.

For those with the space available, keeping the vehicle in a garage or covered parking are top-tier choices. If you only use the car occasionally, a tarp or car cover works well.

When parking on a street, in a parking lot, or in a non-enclosed space, you want to seek out shade. However,  avoid trees that attract birds.

Wash and Polish

No amount of precaution and protection will avoid the accumulation of gunk on your car altogether. The point of a vehicle is to shield you from the elements, after all.

Frequently washing your car (but not too frequently), rids the vehicle of dirt before it can eat through the sealant or bond with the paint.

Washing also increases the amount of light refraction your paint job does. A shiny car exterior is a protected exterior.

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A trickle of vehicle maintenance works like any other upkeep in your life, a little a day feels refreshing and gets the job done.

For more tips and ideas about automotive needs, lifestyle, and more, check back with us.

 

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