Rain and Your Vehicles’ New Paint-Job
One of the benefits, you might think, of living in Florida, is all of the “free car washes” provided by our fabulous rainy season. And provide, it does! Florida’s rainy season stretches from May all the way through October. We spend nearly half the year with bad hair, jumping from puddle to puddle. Sixty-one percent of Florida’s rain is dropped during those months. Great! That’s sixty-one percent more free car washes, right? Think again.
It’s necessarily a cleansing rain.
Florida’s rainy season, is in fact, the time you should be putting even more care into best-friend-on wheels. Rain can damage your car’s paint. To explain how, here’s a little science lesson on rain: Water evaporates as vapor into the air, water vapor condenses and creates clusters of water (raindrops). Those busy little raindrops collect pollutants and contaminants from the air which then creates the paint-nemesis: acid rain.
Casting its evil net.
Acid rain has already been considered a bad-guy for killing lakes and trees. Turns out it also has its sights set on your car. The newer your model is on your car the more susceptible it may be. Most late-model cars have been painted with a high-gloss technology known as a clear coat. This mirror-like finish is especially susceptible to damage from acid rain.
Rinse and repeat?
When it rains, it pours. After it rains, you need to wash your car. Yes, it seems like a shower after a bath, but science proves otherwise! Soaping up your car after it rains will help keep your paint from being destroyed over time. The best time to wash your car is immediately after it rains. In addition to that, keeping on a schedule of washing your car every two weeks, year-round, is a good habit to maintain.
And, just when the rain finally stops and feel like heading to the beach, other problems arise. The combination of sun and salt on our coasts can also destroy your car’s finish. When the sun is hot, it increases the pores in the paint, which allow greater absorption of salty moisture. Which means? More corrosion. But wait, there’s more! The salt-air can also cause corrosion to brake calipers and nuts and bolts. It’s best to have your car regularly checked by a professional for damage you may not be able to see, that may be caused by corrosion.
But what about the damage we can see? The only way to remove the etching in your paint caused by acid rain is to polish and buff it out with professional-grade buffing pads. They aren’t referred to as “professional-grade” buffing pads for nothing. This is a job best left to a professional with knowledge about your car’s particular paint. The last thing you want to do is take your already distressed paint-job and distress it further. That’s just too much distress all around.
Come to us! We don’t always remember the rules of rain and the damage that it can give your car but that’s what Tropical Collision Center is here for. For those dents and dings but also for a fresh no coat of paint – we will have your car looking like that shiny first day off the lot. Simply give us a call at (305) 908- 5548, or request an appointment with us online.