Salt`s corrosiveness

[JUNNIEIV]

Ok, the fools here in my city throw salt around like it`s water, and 3 days after washing my damn car of the salt on the one day it was above 33 F, we had another slight snowfall and they did it again, and my car is covered in salt -again-. I haven`t had the opportunity to wash it off yet, and it`s been about a week. How corrosive is this stuff? How soon should I be trying to wash it off?

[Nagchampa]

You should try to wash it off as soon as possible, but be sure to get it off before the temperature climbs above freezing.

[Taxlady]

Salt corrosion, like most chemical reactions, is quicker at higher temperatures. As Nagchampa said, get it off before it warms up too much.



I park in a heated garage, so I rinse off the lower part of my car every time there is gunge on it. I rinsed it twice today. Heated garages are a real promoter of corrosion. It`s not nearly as bad outside or in an unheated garage. Have you had it "rust proofed"?

[JUNNIEIV]

No... and I keep it in a garage every night :mad: argh.. I waxed it a little less than a month ago and for the first 3 weeks it was sitting clean in the garage anyways, so I was hoping the wax would provide adequate defense at least until the weekend when I can hose it / wash it. I tried simply hosing it off before and the salt didn`t come off completely (which is why I then washed it)

[Taxlady]

I rinse off the car as soon as I get home. Works much bette if it doesn`t have a chance to dry.



Where abouts do you live Mage?

[JUNNIEIV]

I live in Toledo, OH. All this week and the last, the highs were all low 20s. I left my car outside today, I don`t have time to wash it... tomorrow I get home early from med school so I can at least have a couple hours of sunlight.



In my case, I tried rinsing once and it didn`t do much.. prompting me to immediately wash the car (it was a miraculous 40 degrees) while I had the chance.

[Taxlady]

Mage, is your garage heated? I can`t say that my car looks clean after I rinse off the salt and gunge, but it is the "common wisdom" that doing so helps slow down rust. I asked the guy who did the rust treatment and he said it was a good idea. He also said that washing the car frequently helped a lot. He said not to get the undercarriage washed, since that would eventually remove the rust treatment from the undercarriage. He was recommended by the APA and did the rust treatment without drilling any holes in my car. :)

[JUNNIEIV]

No, it`s not heated... it is about 40-45 degrees though, simply because of insulation. As for rust treatment, what exactly is that? I`m not sure I want to go to that length...



Well I`m off to wash it anyhow, in 20 degree weather with a windchill bringing it down to 10 ...

[Taxlady]

How does it get above the outside temp? Is there warm air leakage from somewhere? If it stayed the same as outside, you wouldn`t have to worry too much about rust. My garage stays about 15 deg C (59 deg F), so that is not good. Okay, it is good when I wash the car ;)



The rust treatment I got was some kind of special grease that got smeared everywhere metal under the car and a different special grease squirted into all the nooks and crannies. I got the more expensive rust treatment that cost Cdn $ 175, taxes included (approx U$ 114). The standard treatemnt around here costs Cdn$ 99, but has to be done every year, mine has to be done once every three years. The $99 one also often involves drilling holes. The guy who did mine used the holes in doors, etc that were already there and a lonnnggg tube.

[JUNNIEIV]

Well, it`s attached to the house which is well heated, and with the door down and due to the insulation, a higher temperature than the outdoors is expected. It`s probably actually closer to 40-42F, but at least it`s above freezing.



Hrm... I think I`ll contemplate rust proofing before next year`s winter... weather`s been somewhat calm this week and winter`s around 1/3 over anyways...and I don`t want to think about drilling anything just yet. Thanks for the info though.

[Knight]

A week is nothing. It would be best to wash it in a couple of days off, but don`t worry about a week if the climate is chilly. Make sure to wash your car and get rid of the salt before it warms up and has a chance to melt and start eating at your paint. No worries, though if you just recently waxed your car.



Next warm day wash your car and you will be fine. Good luck







:up

[TurboCat]

Mage,



I feel your pain! I`m in Cleveland, and washed my car Wednesday night. By noon Thursday it looked like a salt lick again!!! I have a garage (in my apt complex) but its unheated so I guess that`s a good thing!



It`s been too damn cold to hand wash the car (the apt complex puts away their hose and turns off the water to the car wash faucet after Thanksgiving), and I took it to one of those brushless car washes, but I can see micro scratches and swirls all over it. It`s so damn frustrating! I am going out tomorrow to get some of the Protect-All Quick and Easy wash many members of this board use - I don`t want to take my baby to another drive thru wash! I guess to wash the undercarriage I`ll take it to one of those drive in wash it yourself places.



I guess I`m glad I put 3 coats of AIO and SG on it, plus a layer of P21S carnauba before Thanksgiving...I hope that helps it! This spring I`m definitely getting a PC to work on all the swirl marks and scratches - plus I should be in my new house by then and I can fix up my garage! :up

[Taxlady]

The guy who did my rust treatment said that wax and polymers help a lot against rust.



I just remembered something that is probably worth thinking about. He spent a lot of time squishing oil in behind my badges. I asked him about that and he said that it was one of the problem areas on cars. Salt water gets in behind the badges and rust often starts there.

[JUNNIEIV]

Actually I already washed it yesterday, and left in the garage after sheeting the water off (didn`t have any towels to actually go and dry it, and figured leaving it in the garage for 15 hours would be enough)... door opened fine, there was a little stiffness b/c some water froze apparently... then I had to go get some gas and the gas panel was frozen shut...trying futilely to open it, I accidentally made a scratch :( :mad: :( I was in a rush to get to class. Luckily it`s not really visible, and some touch up paint should be enough, but it was so dumb :(

[bulldog1881]

if you can find a certain gas station, you may be able to find that the car wash does not have any brushes at all. the machine uses high pressure spray and encircles the auto being washed and also the underneath of the car.



down here in florida, while we don`t have to worry about the cold, we do have to worry about the salt due to the ocean on one side and the gulf on the other. the station i`m refering to is chevron. most of them have done away with any type of brush and have gone to the high pressure spray.....



good luck...!:xyxthumbs