UV rays and high temperatures from the sun can cause a lot of problems with a car's appearance. That's why it's so important to protect your car from the sun to preserve the car's finish. But it's often easier said than done.
To protect your car from the sun, you need to think about the exterior, interior, and under the hood. Here are 9 tips to keep your car protected from the sun.
Apply paint protection (wax, sealant, or ceramic coating)
Apply a trim dressing
Keep the car clean
Don't park under trees
Keep the car dry
Use interior sealants
How the sun causes damage to your car
To understand how you can really protect your car from the sun, it's important to know exactly how the sun causes damage to your vehicle. Most people tend to think only of UV rays and how they cause paint to fade, but there are several ways the sun causes problems.
It causes plastic and rubber trim to fade
It increases the risk of water spots
It causes contaminants to stick to the exterior faster
It accelerates the fading of leather, interior plastics, and fabrics
It causes paint to fade over time
Fortunately, there are many ways to prevent this type of damage. So now let's jump into the top 9 tips for protecting your car from the sun.
Apply Paint Protection
The most important thing you can do to protect your car from sun damage is to apply a layer of paint protection in the form of a wax, sealant, or ceramic coating.
There are a number of reasons why this helps:
They offer a layer of UV protection
They prevent water spots from damaging the paint in the hot sun
They help keep the car cleaner and prevent contaminants from sticking to the paint and glass.
UV Protection
Paint protection protects the vehicle's finish from UV rays that can lead to fading over time. Your car's paint consists of a clear coat, which sits on top of the base coat.
The base coat is what provides your car's color. The clear coat is designed to protect the base coat underneath from dirt, corrosion, fading, etc.
Paint protection is designed to preserve the clear coat. Over time, the clear coat wears off to a certain extent. However, the life of the clear coat can be extended by applying a protective coat.
Applying a Trim Dressing
The plastic and rubber trim on cars is often the first part of the exterior to show sun damage. They are prone to fading fairly quickly, and even cars that are only a couple of years old can show some signs of wear due to UV damage.
The best way to prevent plastic and rubber trim from fading is to apply a trim dressing. These are often in liquid or gel form and can be applied with a microfibre towel after washing and drying the car.
Plastic and trim dressings will restore the black look, keep them shiny and protect them from UV rays and fading during the summer months.
Most trim dressings will only need to be applied every few months. So a little effort can go a long way in protecting your car.
Keep the car clean
You may have heard this before, but keeping your car clean goes a long way in protecting it from the sun. But how exactly does it work? To understand this, we first need to discuss what “contaminants” on the outside of your vehicle are.
All cars are exposed to the elements to some degree, and even those stored indoors are exposed when driven. This means they get dirty quickly and need to be cleaned. Normally, the washing process easily removes dirt and dust. However, other things can stick to the exterior as well.
These are called contaminants. There are many different types of contamination, and they stick to paint quickly and strongly. They include:
Bird residue
Tree sap
Iron fallout
Tar
Dried bugs
These contaminants are a real problem because they actually stick to the paint and cannot be removed by routine washing if left on the car for too long.
When left to sit on paint and glass, they effectively stick to the surface and can cause damage, including promoting the process of rust and corrosion because they eat away at the top layer of paint.
However, if you wash your car more frequently, you can remove much of the contamination before it properly adheres to the paint.
These contaminants are a particular problem in the summer because of the hot weather. The heat actually speeds up the process by which these contaminants stick to the exterior of the vehicle.
Do not park under trees
So I know that one of the biggest pieces of advice most people give when it comes to protecting a car from the sun's UV rays is to park it in the shade. This, of course, is logical advice. The car can't be exposed to as much UV radiation if it's not in direct sunlight. However, it's not that simple.
One thing that's much worse than parking your car in the sun, is parking it under trees to try to get it into the shade. There are two big problems with this:
When either of these two contaminants come into contact with the paint, they can cause real problems and permanently damage the clear coat if left on for too long.
Plus, they're also pretty hard to remove safely. Bird poop in particular is hard to remove safely without scratching the paint because it's actually quite abrasive.
Tree sap is also a paint stain because it dries on the paint very quickly and sticks very strongly. This means you need to use a specific tree sap remover spray to get rid of it, because rubbing the paint will likely cause more harm than good by just scratching the clear coat.
So, you should always try to park your car in the shade, parking it near buildings if possible. But if the choice is between parking under trees or in direct sunlight, just park in the sun.
Keep the car dry
Another way to protect your car from the sun is to keep it dry as much as possible.
Of course, when it's sunny there won't be any rain to worry about, however, if there is still surface water on the car, when the sun comes out again, it can be a problem. Also, washing the car in direct sunlight should be avoided and the car should be kept dry as much as possible.
Well, when the car is exposed to direct sunlight, the panels will be hot, so the water evaporates much faster. This leads to water spots.
Water spots are a big problem because they not only look bad, but they also corrode your car's paint if left there.
It's not the water itself that causes the problem, but the impurities in it. These are often corrosive to some degree, and are left behind when the water evaporates to leave spots all over your car. This process is known as water spot etching.
So, to protect your car, you should avoid having water on your vehicle and keep it as dry as possible.
Use interior sealants
Often when it comes to protecting a car from the sun, most people forget about the interior. But the interior of your vehicle is also subject to the sun's harsh UV rays which can lead to fading over time.
If you want your car's interior to look new for years to come, you'll need to take steps to protect it. Fortunately, there are many products that can help with this.
You can divide the surfaces in your car's interior into the following: plastics, leather, fabric.
Each of these surfaces can be treated with a specific type of sealant designed to help protect them. They help prevent stains, keep the surface clean and new, and most importantly in this case, they prevent fading from occurring due to UV exposure.
They are all typically applied in a similar manner. First, the surfaces need to be cleaned and any residue from the cleaning products removed with a damp microfiber cloth to leave you with a bare surface.
Products are then typically applied using a spray that can be spread using a microfibre applicator pad or cloth to ensure even coverage. You can then use a dry microfibre cloth to buff away any excess once the product has been allowed to sit for the specified amount of time (usually 10-60 minutes).
In terms of leather care, you should look for leather sealants rather than conditioners to help protect from UV rays. Sealants are designed to apply a layer of protection, similar to the way a wax does on paint. Conditioners are typically used to replenish leather and help restore it and keep it supple.
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