While our cars are meant to get us from point A to point B, we also want to keep our cars looking clean and new. External elements are constantly testing our cars’ appearances. External elements that can affect our car include sunlight/heat, rain, hail, tree sap and bird droppings.
Sunlight and Heat
Why is Sunlight and Heat Bad for your Car?
Sunlight can be menacing not only for your cars exterior, but also for the interior. Las Vegas is known for scorching hot summer days that often reach over 100 degrees. UV rays can be disastrous for our cars over time. When our cars are sitting in the sun for long periods of time, UV rays will start to oxidize and fade paint, leaving you with a much older looking car.
Sunlight and Heat can Damage the Interior Too
On top of the sunlight’s threat to your paint job, it can also be detrimental for your vehicle’s interior. Sunlight can creep into your car and heat things up to the point where your steering wheel, dashboard, upholstery and seats can be damaged. We’ve all seen or been in cars with leather interior that has either begun cracking or tearing. This is a result of sunlight exposure. Both heat and sunlight will dry out natural oils in leather upholstery leaving your car vulnerable to torn seats and leather.
How to Protect Your Car Body From Heat and Sunlight
Parking in the shade is one of the best ways to protect your car’s paint job and interior from heat and sunlight. Ideally parking under some kind of roof, but parking under the protection of trees can work as well, just watch out for birds and sap! Since we can’t always find shade to protect our cars, it is important to wax our cars a few times a year. This will add a protective layer between your paint and the harmful UV rays.
How to Protect Your Car Interior From Heat and Sunlight
Protecting your vehicle’s interior is equally as important. One of the best things you can do is invest in a windshield cover. They are cheap and can add years of life to your interior by both blocking sunlight and lowering the temperature in your car. Another option that is becoming more popular is window tint. Over the years, it has become much more common to see cars with different levels of window tinting. Just like a windshield cover, window tint will reflect more sunlight and keep your car a little cooler on those hot summer days. It is however, a little more pricey than a windshield cover. Don’t forget to check state law to see what level of tinting is allowed. Luckily we have gone over this for you in a previous article which you can find here.
Tree Sap and Bird Droppings
How Does Tree Sap and Bird Droppings Damage Car Paint?
As we do our best to protect our cars from the sunlight and heat, finding shade under trees can lead to other dangers to our car’s paint job. Many trees contain sap, which can fall onto our car and damage our paint. If sap is allowed to sit on a paint job it can bake into the finish and cause deterioration and discoloring. Trees also are home to birds, which can be menacing for our vehicles paint. We have all parked under a tree to escape sunlight, only to return to our cars with fresh bird droppings. Bird droppings not only look bad, but contain uric acid, a substance so corrosive, it can eat away at a wax coating as well as the paint.
How to Protect Car Paint From Tree Sap and Bird Droppings
There are a couple easy ways to ensure that your paint won’t be destroyed by bird dropping and sap. The easiest way to avoid them is to park under a roof or structure. Waxing your car a few times a year will give your paint a protective layer, making it that much more difficult for substances to damage your paint. Of course you cannot always protect your car from sap and bird droppings because you may be forced to park under a tree. In the event either of these substances end up on your car, the best thing you can do is wash your car as soon as possible. For sab and bird droppings that don’t come off from a simple wash, there are products like Goo Gone that can take them of with ease.
Are There Other External Elements That Can Damage Your Car?
Rain, snow, hail and dust storms can also do tremendous damage to our vehicles.
Rain
Rain can leave pollutants on your paint, and as it dries, the pollutants can begin to corrode your paint.
Snow
Snow can have a similar effect, especially as rock salt, which is used to keep snow from accumulating on the roads, begins to corrode your paint.
Hail
Hail can be very dangerous for your car, both leaving water spots, and in some cases, can dent your paint and smash your windows.
Dust Storms
Dust storms are not extremely dangerous for your car’s exterior, they can cause minor scratches.
How To Protect Your Car Against These Elements
Protecting your car from the different elements is pretty simple. When you are not driving, whenever possible, keep your car under roof or structure. Make sure and wax your car a few times a year as you will gain a protective layer to combat weather. One of the most effective things you can do is wash your car following any of these weather events. You can also purchase a car cover to protect your car when you aren’t driving for extra protection.
To summarize, let’s remember to wax our car a few times a year, there are plenty of online forums to explain how to properly wax your car. Whenever it is possible, park you car under the protection of a garage or under some kind of roof, it’ll be beneficial for the interior as well. Remember, if you are using a tree to block your car from the sun, don’t forget to check for sap and bird droppings. And in the event that you end up with sap or bird droppings on your car, make sure and immediately wash them off. You can thank us later! If you want to do everything possible to keep your car looking new,, invest in protection such as a car cover, window shade and window tinting.
Auto Body Shop in Las Vegas, NV
Now in the event that something does happen to your car, no problem, we’ve got you covered here at Sudden Impact Auto Body! Call us today at 702-457-3002. Whether you need window tinting, paintless dent repair, or car paint service… We’ve got you covered!
