Now that Spring has finally gotten a foothold on our Vermont weather, it is time to wash the salt off our cars. Salt is much more corrosive when the temperature is above freezing. The salty, sandy mixture of road treatment debris, combined with the protective layer of mud from mud season is a perfect recipe for corrosion.
It is really important to thoroughly wash the mud, sand and salt off before it can do any more damage. Washing out the wheel wells, rocker panels, door bottoms, joints where panels meet, floor pans and any other place where debris can collect is a tedious job, but one that will avoid costly rust damage.
Keep an eye out for cars similar to the car you drive. Look for rusty areas. These are the areas of your car that you need to pay particular attention to. Make sure drain holes in quarter panels, rocker panels, hoods and doors are open and able to drain correctly.
My Subaru is a 2002 with 205,000 miles on it. It has never had any body work done to it. This spring, a patch of rust appeared where the rear quarter panel and the bumper meet. There is a pin hole now, and the corrosion has taken off over the last few weeks. I plan on sand blasting the area, welding new metal in any holes, and epoxy priming the bare metal before painting. Epoxy primer does a excellent job of both adhering to the metal, and preventing further rust.
Rust prevention and repair are both time consuming and expensive, but with the cost of new cars today, it is money well spent.
Please email all inquiries to: Dave
or snail mail
32 Turkey Hill Road
Richmond VT 05477
