Car Body Care

How old, do you think, is this vehicle in the upper picture? looks nice, isn't it?
This Mercedes-Benz is 15 years old with almost 300,000 km (186,000 miles) behind! And more than that, it has never been repainted - this is its original painting. And there is no even a tiny spot of corrosion! Now look at the lower image, this three years old car is already corroded through. Big difference, eh? So, how to keep your car shiny and protect it from corrosion? Read below

Wash your car often (at least once a month). When it's clean, all the moisture dries up quickly, but when it's dirty, the moisture accumulates in dirty areas causing corrosion. Make sure to wash off all the places where the dirt and salt may be accumulated; for example inside wheel arches, under the bumpers etc. Don't forget to wash the area under the battery, it's always rusty. At least once in a few months use pressure wash - it removes the dirt from difficult to reach areas.

I'd recommend to wax your car once in a three - four months (the often, the better). Wax protects your car's coating from sun and chemicals, so the painting won't fade plus the car looks shiny. It takes 30 minutes to polish a whole car and high quality wax polish stays on the car for three - four months (don't believe if someone will suggest you a polish that provides life - time protection - nothing lasts forever).

Rustproofing will be helpful for many reasons: it protects a car body from the rust, it protects electrical connectors from the moisture, it protects the brake lines from corrosion (which is very important for safety reasons). Look at the picture - this is located underneath part of the brake system, it's completely rusty as you can see. This is only five years old vehicle. One day such a rusty brake line will burst and the car will have no brakes.

Look at this image. These scratches were made after the car hit the pool in the underground parking. It looks terrible. It's difficult to remove them completely, but at least we may try to make it better.

I take the fine sand paper (1500 - 2000 grit) and damping with water, slightly sand the scratches. I only need to remove white deposits but not the painting itself, so I do this very carefully.

Now it looks much better, isn't it? If you want to try to remove these deep scratches completely, look for further advice.

Deep scratches like on this image, may be repainted.
How to do it?
First, I buy the same color spray paint. Before I start, I've washed the area thoroughly and let it dry completely.

I shake the spray very well (at least 2-3 minutes). Then, I spray a little amount into the cap like on the image, (don't spray directly to the scratch - will look ugly).

Now, I'm applying it carefully to the scratch using sharpened match, but it needs to be done very carefully, I try to apply as thin as the scratch is. If the painting pours down, I wipe it off immediately with the clean tissue. Now it's much better and if I want make it even better I do as described below;

Look at the image, these scratches on the trunk were made by tree branches when I was backing up.
It's not a big problem, but...

To remove this type of scratches I've bought fine abrasive polish paste (the one, they use to buff the scratches in the bodyshop) and liquid wax. It's not necessary to use the same type, I've just bought whatever I found in the nearest auto accessories shop.

I put a little amount of abrasive paste onto a damp sponge. I buff the scratched place in a circular motion for a couple of minutes. I check often to see if I not sand all the painting. Then I clean the area completely.

Now it's time to use a liquid wax. I squeeze a little amount of wax onto a sponge and spread evenly on the scratched area. I wait a little allowing product to slightly haze, then using a soft towel, I buff the polish for a shine.

Now you see the result.