Protecting your Car from Rust

Keeping your car’s body pristine and lustrous through its life not only reflects your care but is a matter of immense pride for your car. However, our cars are made of metal and one process that takes a toll on our car’s appearance is rust. While today’s cars come with many rust protection coatings on the exterior surface, some areas of the car are still prone to rusting. From the wheel wells to the undercarriage, rust is an enemy that not only damages the car’s appearance but also reduces the structural integrity of the car. This is everything you need to know about causes of rust, its types, the preventive anti-rust measures you should take, and how to remove rust if it is already on your car.

What causes rust?

Rust is a sort of skin cancer for cars, a disease that gradually erodes steel body parts of the car. Rust forms when iron-based metals come in contact with oxygen in the presence of moisture. While steel’s tensile strength and formability makes it an excellent material for manufacturing cars, it is the impurities in steel that make it prone to rust. While car manufacturers have worked on developing several measures to mitigate rust on their cars, the fact is that rust still manages to degrade the car’s surface.

Is rust-proofing necessary for a car?

There are certain things you need to consider to decide whether or not your car needs rust-proofing. The first one is, the duration you wish your car to stay usable for. If you intend to lengthen the lifespan of your car beyond the warranty period of your car, rust-proofing is something that will come in handy.

The second one is the surroundings of your car, the place you live in, the climatic conditions there. The more humid your environment is, the more prone your car will be to rust.

The third one is the age of your car. If your car is more than 10 years of age, chances are high of it not being manufactured with galvanized steel. The construction of galvanized steel delays the formation of rust, thus improving the rust protection. Older cars without galvanized steel will be more prone to developing rust.

Stages of rust

First stage- The surface rust

Rust usually starts on the bumps, dents, or scratches on the body panel as these spaces either expose the metal underneath or accumulate moisture. This is called surface rust and treatment of it at this stage prevents it from spreading further.