Three Ways To Protect Your Vehicle's Paint During The Winter

Winter weather represents a unique challenge to regular vehicle maintenance when compared to the warmer summer season. Salt, moisture, and cold weather can all take a massive toll on your vehicle, promoting rust and corrosion that can severely adversely affect your vehicle's paint and underbody. Fortunately, there are a couple of relatively straightforward things that you can do to protect your vehicle from rust development and other related damages that are common during the winter months.

Regular Washing

The best way to prevent your vehicle from becoming damaged by rust and corrosion during the winter months is to make sure that you regularly clean it. Regular handwashing with microfiber rags and soft sponges can remove dirt, grime, and mud which can hold moisture against the surface of your paint, where it can then cause rust to develop and cause structural damage to your vehicle. Furthermore, you should take care to wash the underbody of your vehicle as well—it is the section of your car that is most likely to be exposed to road salt, which is highly corrosive, but does not have a paint job to protect it from the development of rust that the rest of your car's body enjoys.

Waxing

In addition to regularly washing your vehicle, you should always make sure that you take the time to polish a coat of wax over top of the paint job. Besides giving your vehicle a nice sheen, wax will also stay on your vehicle for an extended period of time and effectively act as a clear coat sealant against moisture and the elements. You'll want to apply your first coat of wax before the first heavy snowfall of the winter, and depending on the severity of the weather that your vehicle is exposed to, may want to apply other coats throughout the season.

Parking

Finally, another thing that you can do to minimize the amount of winter weather exposure that your vehicle experiences is making the effort to store your vehicle indoors. Garage space and indoor parking will be your best bet, but if you don't have space in your garage, you may want to consider purchasing a car cover instead. These padded and insulated coverings will keep snow, salt, and other debris off of your vehicle, and are lightweight enough to not be too much of a hassle to put on and remove every day when your vehicle is parked in your driveway.

To learn more, talk to auto body repair centers such as High Point Body & Paint.