
Summer is fast approaching, so you can start looking forward to blue skies, radiant weather, and outdoor picnics.
For car owners, though, this means you should start looking for ways to protect your car’s exterior. Summer, with its unique combination of sweltering heat and prolonged daylight hours, poses a severe risk to vehicles. So, in this article, we will highlight essential summer exterior detailing hacks to safeguard your car’s performance and longevity.
Exterior Auto Detailing Tips for Summer
Wash Your Car Regularly
One way to protect your car from heat damage is to wash it frequently. In summer, your vehicle will likely be exposed to more debris and pollutants because you’ll drive more often. If these pollutants sit on the car's body for too long, they can react with the sun’s UV rays, damaging the paint.
Bird droppings are the worst culprit in this situation. While they look harmless enough, they contain a mixture of feces and urine. One of the biggest elements in the latter is uric acid. Since it’s acidic, it eats away at the paint—a process that gets accelerated with high temperatures.
The longer the droppings fester, the greater the exposure to heat, causing them to adhere more tightly to the paint. Washing your car ensures that acidic pollutants like bird droppings, tree sap, and other debris don’t cause severe paint damage to your vehicle.
Apply a Coat of Wax
Washing your car regularly is an essential first step. However, it doesn’t offer adequate protection, and that’s where waxing comes in handy.
Applying wax creates a barrier that protects the clear coat of your car’s paint. This protective layer offers two core benefits. First, it protects the exterior from the sun’s UV rays, which can cause the paint to fade. Second, it mitigates the risk of corrosion, which arises from acidic pollutants like tree sap and bird droppings.
Keep in mind that car wax doesn’t last forever. Most waxing products last anywhere between 1 and 3 months. Due to this, you may have to reapply it to guarantee long-term protection. At the minimum, aim to wax your car twice a year: at the end of winter, and the start of summer. However, if you tend to leave your car parked in the sun, consider waxing it every three to four months.
Apply a Ceramic or Graphene Coating
Car wax does a fairly decent job of protecting your car from the summer heat. But if you want maximum protection, consider a ceramic or graphene coating instead.
These coatings work by bonding to the paint, creating a protective layer that is more robust and durable than wax. Whether you choose a ceramic or graphene coating, you can rest easy knowing that your car’s finish will remain protected for up to a year.
Another advantage offered by these coatings lies in their hydrophobic ability. Simply put, ceramic and graphene coatings are designed to repel water effortlessly. Thanks to this, any summer rain and contaminants easily slide off from the vehicle’s surface. So, you don’t have to worry about them adhering to the body or damaging the paintwork.
Additional Tips to Protect Car Exterior in Summer
These tips don’t necessarily affect your car’s paintwork. But, they help protect other parts of the exterior in hot weather. As such, you should prioritize them too. Let’s dig in:
Give the Tires Some TLC
Tires are one of the most overlooked components of exterior auto detailing. However, they should be properly cared for, especially in summer. The main thing you’ll want to do is to examine the tire pressure regularly to ensure it’s at the recommended level.
If you remember your high school science, you know that air expands with rising temperatures. Your car’s tires aren’t exempt from this. As it gets hotter, the air in the tires expands, leading to higher PSI levels. It’s estimated that for every 10°F increase in temperature, tire pressure increases by 1PSI.
Checking tire pressure frequently prevents the risk of overinflating tires, which can lead to blowouts, premature tire wear, and numerous other issues. Moreover, incorrect tire pressure affects the car’s fuel consumption and handling too.
Park in Shaded Areas
One of the simplest strategies to maintain your car’s shine is to park in shaded spots. Sure, finding such an ideal parking area will take you a while, especially if you live/work in crowded cities. But it pays off in the end.
You won’t have to worry about the exterior remaining exposed to the harsh UV rays for extended periods. And if you’re lucky enough to find a proper car park shade, you won’t have to worry about the highly acidic bird droppings and tree sap.
Invest in Windshield Protectors
The windshield is probably the most exposed part of your car’s exterior. Even though parking in shaded areas helps a bit, it’s not a foolproof solution. A portion of the dashboard might still remain exposed to the sun, causing it to fade prematurely.
And that’s not all. An unprotected windshield that allows sunlight to penetrate causes the interior to become equally hot and uncomfortable; from the dashboard to the seats and floor mat.
If there’s one thing that can solve this issue once and for all, it’s a tinted windshield protector. Not only does it block sunlight, but it also improves visibility and protects the windshield from potential damage.
Switch to Summer Wiper Blades
Another detailing element that requires attention in summer entails the wiper blades. Excessive heat from the sun causes the rubber material in the blades to dry out.
Once this happens, the blades will start adhering to the windshield, producing a squeaking sound whenever you use them. Such blades also don’t work effectively as they leave streaks on your windshield. To avoid this, consider replacing them with wiper blades designed for summer. These are made of lighter rubber and frameworks, enabling them to work better in hot weather.
Conclusion
Summer is one of the best seasons to be up and about. But you should take appropriate measures to prevent the car’s body paint from being damaged by the harsh UV rays. The most recommended exterior detailing tips for summer include regular washing, car waxing, and installing a graphene or ceramic coat. These steps will definitely prevent the summer heat from stealing your car’s glossy look.
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