6 Tips to Protect Your Car Body From Chips and Scratches

Even if you are a very careful driver, the chances of finding a scratch on your car or getting a chip on the track are still high. Alas, it is unrealistic to completely protect the paintwork of the body from damage and fading. If you are not going to transfer your car to salvage yards in San Diego or another American city, then in this article you can learn how to reduce the possible damage.

Useful tips to protect your car body from scratches

If you’re looking to keep your car looking good, follow these simple and useful tips. They will certainly help extend the life of your vehicle. 

• Avoid parking in the hot sun.

As you can see, the first tip is not related to chips or scratches. However, direct exposure to ultraviolet radiation and temperature changes can affect the car no less severely than dirt and gravel flying from under the wheels.

From long parking in the open sun, especially in the hot season, the paint on the car body is aging, the shade loses its juiciness, and the varnish loses its shine. Therefore, in the summer, if possible, look for shady places or use the services of covered parking lots.

• Wash the body, but carefully.

Road mud, which inevitably covers the car body, contains many aggressive components, especially in winter, when, in addition to precipitation, various chemical products for vehicle traffic safety can be found on the roads. Salt, reagents, and wear products of tires and brake pads, if they are not washed off in time, attack the paintwork and get to the bare metal through microcracks in the paint, provoking corrosion.

The best way to save a car from a slow death is a car wash. However, you should not use cleaning products too often and diligently. Care should be taken when using low-quality foam at cheap car washes: the composition of such a slurry is unknown to anyone, and one can only guess about the activity of the components. Therefore, the advice is banal: use high-quality cleaning products.

• Don’t overuse polishing.

Additional protection in the form of a polish is a good solution that should not be abused. Regular polishing has one drawback: the procedure erases a layer of protective varnish and paint over and over again. This applies not only to radical abrasive polishing, which smooths out micro-scratches on the body but also to the quite ordinary application of a wax composition using cotton napkins or a sanding nozzle. 

There is only one conclusion: if possible, increase the interval between visits to polishing studios and detailing centers, or choose the most gentle body protection products.

• Use a paint protection film.

One of the most effective ways to protect the car is a film – vinyl or based on polyurethane. Each option has its pros and cons, but in any case, such a “second skin” can effectively repel the attack of stones and dirt from under the wheels.

Vinyl is harder in composition and takes the form of body panels worse, and over time it can burst and peel off. Polyurethane is thicker, and more ductile, but more expensive. But it can self-heal. It is enough for the body to warm up in the sun so that small abrasions on the film disappear.

• Consider applying “ceramic” or “liquid glass”.

An alternative to expensive film is liquid compositions based on silicon, titanium, and aluminum oxides in combination with special polymers. When dried, they harden and form a thin, durable “shell” on the body. Cars with “ceramics” shine better than new ones, but in addition to a spectacular appearance, they also provide additional protection against dirt, road abrasive, and small pebbles.

“Liquid glass” is applied to the body in almost the same way. This is a cheaper plastic coating that also hardens when it dries. However, its protective properties are weaker and the layer thickness is less. “Liquid glass” will protect the body from dirt and dust, and will also effectively reflect ultraviolet rays, however, a thin coating loses in protection against mechanical damage. Both coatings require regular updating.

• Explore the range of auto chemicals.

The “if you want it done right, do it yourself” rule applies to car body protection as well. And most importantly, modern non-professional products from the auto chemical goods store allow you to save money and not go to specialized centers.

What is important to know when choosing the most suitable car cosmetics? Firstly, really high-quality products exist and are available to the average motorist. Secondly, in addition to the shine, they can be used to achieve a good hydrophobic effect and protect the car from road dirt. There is only one disadvantage: the service life of such compounds is a couple of months and there is no need to hope for protection from stones and sand.

What kind of protection to choose

Despite the wide range of means and methods, a universal solution for body protection has not yet been invented. If you want maximum protection against scratches, chips, and parking spots, and additional improvement in the appearance of the car is not a priority, then film is your choice. If, of course, the budget allows. If you want to get the look “like from the cover”, avoid fading and forget about polishing the body for a long time – take a closer look at ceramics. 

Strains and streaks after rain, dust on a washed car, traces of reagents, and a dull shine of the body spoil your mood? Liquid glass can be a solution to this problem. Although in the long run, it will not give big savings in comparison with ceramics.

Final thoughts

There are four most popular body protection methods: film, ceramics, “liquid glass” and non-professional means for self-use. You can choose the option that best suits your needs and budget. If it’s too late to think about the quality of the paintwork, we recommend that you sell your old car. JunkCarsUs will help you quickly sell a car in any city in the USA. The experience of the company will allow it to adequately evaluate the car and provide the best service for transporting the vehicle.