If you own a vehicle, you’ll want to prevent car rust. While you may keep your car clean and well maintained, your car could still be susceptible to rust. One of the reasons that rust is so dangerous is because it usually is hidden till it’s too late and the damage is done. If your car has rust, it can make your vehicle look old, unattractive and rusty. The rust can also cause structural damage to your car and make it difficult for you to get vehicle insurance for your car unless you’ve fixed the rust spots.
In this article, we’ll be reviewing some of the ways that you can protect your car and prevent car rust. While there are many ways to prevent rust, these are some of the most common ways to prevent rust from destroying your car.
How to Protect your Car from Rust
When it comes to rust, you’ll want to use preventive measures to protect your car. Unfortunately, once the rust has started to eat away at your car, there’s little that you can do to stop the rust without a major repair bill. By using preventive measures, you’ll stop the rust before it begins and keep your car looking clean and shiny.
Here are some steps to protect your car by preventing rust from starting.
1. Carefully Choose a Parking Spot
Your parking spot is often the culprit for rust. For example, if you’re always parking your car in mud, wet gravel, grass or dirt, then your car will be prone to rust. This is because the ground always holds more moisture, and when the moisture evaporates, the undercarriage of your car will come in contact with the moisture, which can increase the chances of rust.
When you’re parking your car, you’ll always want to park on dry surfaces. Some of the ideal surfaces for parking your car drive include pavement, asphalt, crushed rock and cement. By choosing a dry surface to park, you’ll protect your car from rust that would develop on the undercarriage of your car if you had parked on a wet surface.
2. Keep the Undercarriage Clean
You can also prevent rust by cleaning the undercarriage of your car. If you drive on gravel, dirt roads or highways with salted roads, then you’ll want to periodically clean the underbelly of your car to prevent rust from forming. We recommend doing this once per month so that the rust never has a chance to form on your car.
It’s pretty simple to clean the gravel, dirt and salt from the undercarriage of your car. First, you need to grab a pressure washer and blast away the clumps of gravel and dirt that are clinging to the underside of your car. This process will also wash away any salt that may be in contact with the metal on your car. If you don’t have a pressure washer, then you can go to a local car wash or use a garden hose and a scrub brush to remove the grime from underneath your car.
If your car is low profile, you may want to put your car on jacks so that you can easily access the undercarriage of your car. However, always be careful while using car jacks to ensure that the car is safe and secure before going cleaning under your car.
3. Use a Ceramic Coating to Prevent Car Rust
One of the ways that you can protect your car from rust is by using car wax. The car wax is designed to protect the exterior of your car from the elements and reduce the chances that your car will form rust. However, many auto shops will recommend using a ceramic coating because it’s more effective and affordable.
According to the experts at Gateway Autobody, you’ll want to use ceramic coating instead of waxing your car.
“When you use car wax, you’ll need to wax your car every couple of months. If you use a ceramic coating, you won’t need to apply another ceramic coating for up to 3 years. In mild climates, the ceramic coating will last even longer.”
~ Gateway Autobody
The ceramic coating is designed to bond with the car’s paint and won’t break down, even in severe weather conditions. If you live in a harsh climate, you’ll want to consider using a ceramic coating to protect your car from rust.
4. Use an Anti-Rust Spray
You can protect the undercarriage of your car from developing rust by using an anti-rust spray. While many companies won’t guarantee that their anti-rust spray works from the undercarriage of your car, it can go a long way to prevent rust from forming.
If you’re using an anti-rust spray, you’ll need to elevate your vehicle on car jacks so that you can access the undercarriage of your car. When you’re using an anti-rust spray, you’ll want to avoid spraying your brake rotors, drums, callipers or linings. You’ll also want to avoid spraying any areas that can heat up, such as catalytic converters or your exhaust.
Always remember that it’s better to use less anti-rust spray than to overdo it. If you’re unsure about how to coat the undercarriage of your car with anti-rust spray, you may want to visit a local auto body shop and ask for advice.
5. Prevent Car Rust by Washing Your Car
Another way you can protect your car from rust is by regularly washing the exterior of your car. If you drive on roads with salt, you’ll find that the salt will coat the underside of your vehicle and slowly deteriorate the metal, resulting in rust.
If you live in harsh climates, close to the ocean, or an area with long winters, then you’ll want to take your car to the car wash regularly. Always remember to wash the entire underside of your car so that you remove all the salt.
It would help if you also gave your car a chance to dry before you begin driving again so that metal isn’t wet. After washing your car, we recommend parking your car at home for several hours so that your car has a chance to dry before you begin driving. If you live in a cold climate, you’ll want to park your car indoors so that the water will dry instead of freezing on the undercarriage of your vehicle.
6. Avoid Salted Roads
While it may be difficult to avoid roads that have been salted, especially in the winter, you’ll find that salt is a culprit when it comes to rust. If you live in colder climates, they’ll use salt to remove the ice from the roads. However, this salt will coat the underside of your vehicle and cause rust to form.
When you’re living in a cold climate, you’ll need to be aware that the roads have been salted and work to remove the salt from your car. We recommend taking your vehicle to a car wash once per week and wash off the salt. The hot water from the car wash will also remove any snow and ice that have built up in your brakes, making it safer for you to drive on those snowy roads.
Always remember to give your car a chance to dry before you begin driving in the cold weather so that the water dries instead of forming into ice.
7. Avoid Sitting Water
When you’re parking your car, you’ll want to avoid sitting water. The water can dampen the metal on the undercarriage of your car, making it easier for rust to form. If possible, you’ll want to avoid parking your vehicle on wet surfaces.
You’ll also want to avoid driving your vehicle through wet mud, small bodies of water or damp gravel. These wet substances can come in contact with the metal of your vehicle and are a recipe for rust. Instead, we recommend parking your vehicle on dry surfaces such as crushed rock, cement or asphalt and driving your vehicle on dry roads to protect your vehicle from rust.
Summary
We hope this article has helped you learn how to protect your car from rust. As with most problems, prevention is the key to stopping rust from developing. If you create a consistent car maintenance routine that focuses on preventing rust, you’ll never have to worry about rust destroying your car or having a costly car bill to remove car rust.
