Rust can really ruin your day. It not only gives your car a bad appearance, but it can also affect your vehicle’s performance and reduce its resale value. If not prevented, or caught early, rust can get out of control and cause significant damage to your car.
In this article, Arts Autobody and Paint is going to show you how rust arises, how to eliminate rust, and how to prevent rust.
How Rust Arises
Rust, which is the compound iron oxide, arises whenever steel or iron reacts with oxygen or moisture. Most vehicle paints are coated in order to prevent the natural occurrence of rust. Unfortunately, if debris or a rock cuts deep through the paint on your car, the exposed cut can end up getting infected with rust and damage your car.
How to Prevent Rust
There are some techniques that can be used to get the upper hand in your war against rust.
Since rust is created by a reaction between oxygen and iron, the easiest method for preventing rust is galvanizing the iron. The process of galvanization involves iron being coated with zinc so that oxygen will no react with iron. Fortunately, a majority of vehicle frames are galvanized. Therefore, there should not be a major concern about rust compromising the frame of your vehicle.
Another technique is to just use paint. Unfortunately, even simple dents or scratches can allow moisture in and cause your car to begin to rust. Always try using rust-protected paint to cover up any deep cuts whenever possible.
Wash your car on a regular basis. This is probably the fastest solution to prevent rust. Your car will not only look brand new and shiny, but you also will be washing any salt off that may have built up. Salt, and winter salt, in particular, can erode your paint quickly, exposing your vehicle and making it more vulnerable to rust.
Here at Arts Autobody and Paint, we will apply a fresh new coat of paint to protect your car against rust!
How to Eliminate Rust
There are a few home remedies that can be used to clean rust off.
Note that these methods may not be completely effective depending on the amount of rust that has built up, what kind of metal the rust was made from, and where the rust is located.
Lime and Salt
This is the ideal method if you have some margarita mix leftover from last weekend’s barbecue. Place some salt on the spot of rust, and then some lime juice. After the rust spot has been thoroughly soaked in salt and lime juice, let it sit for around 2 to 3 hours (perhaps make a margarita for yourself while you are waiting).
After a few hours, use a leftover lime rind (or a rough sponge) to remove the rust.
Coca-Cola
Just regular coke will work wonders on a pesky rust spot. Like a majority of cleaning solutions, Coca-Cola is fairly acidic. Coke has phosphoric acid in it, which makes it a fairly helpful solution when other types of solutions are not readily available at the moment.
The Best Method For Preventing Rust
Take your car to a body shop! One of the most trusted body shops in all of Pomona California is Arts Autobody and Paint. We will coat your car with rust-preventing paint. We can also help you with any RV, trailer, or car body repair needs that you have.