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Summer Car Care
Protect your car from the summer sun.
Summer is a cruel time of year for an automobile. More damage is done to your automobile during these months than probably all other months combined. The unrelenting sun attacks everything from your automobile’s paint to its rubber trim and plastic parts. Nothing escapes the intense UV rays found during the blistering summer months.
In the summer the outdoors turns into one big giant oven, and whether your car costs $12,000 or $120,000 dollars makes no difference to Mother Nature. She is indiscriminate in her attack; however, there is much you can do to make it more difficult for her to erode your investment away and make it through the summer unscathed.
Yes, don’t forget your car is exactly that – an investment. In fact, for most people it’s usually the single largest investment after their homes. Protect your investment by reducing the amount of time that your car is actually exposed to the sun. If the parking lot at work offers covered parking then use it, even if you have to pay extra to do so. Covered parking is not available? Then create your own by using a car cover.
Using a car-cover is the next best thing to covered parking. When you know that you will be exposing your car to the elements for an extended time - cover your car up. Today’s car-covers no longer take several minutes to put-on. Now, car covers are designed using advanced computer drafting software, and typically can be put-on your car in less than a minute. Besides being easy to use, there are numerous other benefits of using a quality car-cover.
Probably the best benefit is that they help to protect your vehicle from the “elements.” There are some car covers that do a better job than others. Figure-out what it is that you are looking for in your car cover. Are you looking for an all-season cover? Is your vehicle exposed to snow? Do you store your car indoors, but there is still fine dust settling on your car everyday?
A vehicle stored indoors is suited for a 100% cotton car cover just to keep fine dust off of its surface. This type of cover should be restricted to indoor usage only, because exposing an all-cotton cover to wet weather will ruin it. Anything other than garage usage requires a rugged exterior car cover.
Many exterior covers are available that repel the elements well. Then there are some that do it extremely well. Some of the best ones are car care products manufactured by DuPont. Car covers that utilize DuPont’s Tyvek material are effective at stopping dirt, environmental, and weather elements while being breathable.
Covers that seal-up your car like a giant Ziploc are not a good idea, unless that is you think your car is a giant sandwich. Keeping food airtight and sealed helps preserve it. Not so with a car-cover. The most effective car-covers offer protection from the elements but are also highly breathable.
Shielding your automobile from the sun is one way to preserve it. Preventing dirt and grime from getting a grip on your vehicle is another. Keeping it off is necessary in order to prevent your automotive paint from deteriorating. Dirt that sits and lounges on your car has many chemicals properties that will etch their way into your vehicle’s surface. Eventually, your vehicle will lose its luster and shine and it will be more difficult to restore. One way of preventing this is by replenishing the nutrients that a vehicle’s paint loses during the summer.
Most modern vehicle finishes have a clear-coat over a base coat finish. The base coat is what provides a vehicle with its color. The clear-coat acts as a protective barrier protecting the base color from Ultraviolet (UV) rays and environmental conditions.
When this outer layer, the clear-coat, loses its nutrients a hazy finish and dullness is observed. There are a few ways to restore a lackluster appearance back into its full brilliance.
It is necessary to first clean your vehicle with a good quality car wash cleaner. Quality in this car wash products is gauged by the harshness of the detergent or cleaning additive. Also look for products that are ph balanced. An improper balance can essentially turn your car into a giant dust magnet.
There are plenty of products that have excellent cleaning power without being harsh on your vehicles finish or your hands. A cleaner should be easy to rinse-off and safe for your immediate surroundings. Is your run-off water draining into your grass? Are dogs or children nearby? These are considerations to think of when choosing your car cleaning product.
Cleaning is only the first step. Once your vehicle is free from topical contaminants then you can choose to either apply a polish and wax, or just wax. Polishes have an outstanding effect on dark colored vehicles. If you are an owner of a dark color vehicle, then you owe it to yourself, and your car, to try a polisher out. The results will truly amaze you.
As the name implies, a polisher actually polishes and further removes surface containments from your vehicle’s surface. A polishing agent strips most road film and environmental properties from a vehicle’s clear coat. A vehicle that is already dull and has swirl marks or haziness can be restored by using a good polish.
Never stop at the polishing stage. A polishing compound not only removes impurities from a vehicles finish, but it also removes any and all car wax previously applied to the surface. All-in-one products that combine polishes and waxes may seem appealing and easy, but try to separate these processes. The failure to reapply car wax after the polishing stage will leave your vehicles surface unprotected and completely exposed to the elements.
A good application of car wax should be applied to your car at least 3 times a year. If you have the time, remove the old wax before you apply a new coat. Applying many layers of wax often has a negative effect. Applying wax over an old coat of wax will make it difficult to bring out a shine because the new car wax has just sealed-in the impurities in the underlying coat.
Automotive waxes provide a barrier between your vehicle’s surface and the world. A word that you will hear commonly associated with waxes is Carnauba. Carnauba wax is one of nature’s hardest and most enduring by-products. There are different levels of Carnauba, but #1 is generally regarded as being the most expensive and of the highest quality.
Using a car wax that contains a high percentage of Carnauba requires a degree of maintenance. Since Carnauba is a natural product, it needs to cleaned and reapplied in a systematic approach. An alternative to natural based waxes are synthetic products.
Synthetic car waxes generally require less overall maintenance than their natural counterparts. However, make sure that you steer clear from products that have a gimmick as their selling point. For example, synthetic waxes that have Teflon added to them. There hasn’t been any objective research to validate any significant benefits of Teflon in a wax product.
Car car products to revitalize exterior trim are almost always exclusively synthetic. Many times maintaining rubberized trim is neglected by the owner. Unprotected trim will eventually turn an unsightly white and/or simply deteriorate completely. Replacing trim is an expensive prospect, and can be avoided altogether with simple maintenance.
Your tires are not trim. The properties which make-up your tires are entirely different from the rubber surrounding your doors, windows, and bumpers. Avoid using products designated for tires on trim or rubber and vice-versa. Each of these areas has products designated specifically for them.
The same can be said for not using exterior car care products on a car's interior parts. The days of using ArmorAll on your tires, the dashboard, and your vinyl seats are long gone. Each of these areas now has their own products. Most have been formulated to prevent interior fogging and glazing of your windows when they evaporate.
Dashboard products are geared towards low sheen and are slick-less. A shiny dashboard may look nice but it is highly impractical and dangerous. The dashboard can reflect onto your front window. It also can reflect light back into the driver’s eyes making for a dangerous situation.
Most interior car care products contain additives to reflect UV rays and to keep your car interior from cracking and drying-out. Automotive carpet and fabric cleaners are easily applied, and seat cleaners are available for a wide range of materials from leather to cloth.
Using a collapsible sunshade in your front window is a great way to protect your car's interior. Also consider having your vehicle’s windows tinted. Not only does window tinting reduce the interior temperature, it also serves to filter harmful UV rays. Avoid hassles and check your local laws on what degree of tinting is permissible.
There are a myriad of professional car care products available on the market today. Most of them will help you protect your car from the summer’s scathing sun. Just remember to keep your car out of the sun as much as possible. Keep your car clean and grime free. Re-nourish your clear-coat, and provide a barrier against the elements with a quality car wash and wax products, and don’t neglect your car's exterior and interior trim.
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