Rust Prevention: What You Need to Know

When it comes to cars, rust is without a doubt public enemy number one. It’s like the Terminator: dangerous, determined, and pretty much unstoppable unless you have some sort of time machine. The only difference is that while Arnie is kind of attractive, rust definitely is not. It devalues your vehicle the instant it appears, which is why so many car owners are determined to get rid of it at all costs.
While it’s impossible to reverse the effects of rust once it takes hold, there are ways to prevent it and deal with it before it gets worse. Here’s what car and truck owners can do to help with rust protection and the hand car wash equipment they’ll need to get the job done properly.

How Does Rust Happen?

 If you fell asleep in science class as we did, you’ll need a quick reminder of how rust works.
Rust is what happens when water (or the moisture in air) comes in contact with a metal, usually iron, and causes a chemical reaction. The top layer of metal becomes oxidized, turns brown, and becomes extremely weak and brittle. After this happens, the water can then get into the next layer and turn that into rust, then the next layer, and so on until your car crumbles into a sad pile of powder.

Saltwater, like what you’ll find near the sea or when they salt winter roads, doesn’t cause rust but makes the whole chemical process much, much faster. In regular conditions, your car might take a long time to show rust. When salt and water hangs around on bare metal, you’ll get into deep trouble very quickly.

How to Deal with Rust

Normally the outer layer of car paint does a pretty good job of preventing contact between water and metal, but you’ll have to give it a helping hand, especially since not every surface is painted. Here’s what car owners will have to keep in mind:

• Keep the paintwork clean – As dirt builds up on paintwork, it slowly wears that protective coating down and gives rust a chance to take hold. A thorough hand wash of all paintwork is essential.
• Get under the car – The poor car is basically naked on the underside, so there’s very little rust protection from saltwater and tire spray. You’ll need to get down low and hose under the car completely to get everything off and consider a wax or oil sealant to protect it long term.
• Get into the drains and crevices – Water and salt have some pretty sneaky hiding places, including drainage vents, under the hood, around doors, and in footwells. With a high-pressure hose in hand, pay attention to every fold in the metal and make sure you dry out each area thoroughly afterward.
• Get rid of rust as soon as you see it – The only thing you can do with rust once you see it is to make sure it doesn’t spread any further. That means sanding it off and recoating with paint or cutting out the offending section of metal entirely.

Beating Rust with the Right Supplies

As a car wash owner, you can do your part to help out customers concerned about rust. Some great products to have on hand are:

• A handheld jet wand – Needs to have plenty of reach so that you can spray thoroughly under the car where the body isn’t protected by paint.
• High-quality wax polish – An essential protective coating that gives the paint layer extra defense against dirt, salt, mud, sand, and more.
• A range of microfiber towels for cars – In various sizes, so you can get into every nook and cranny.
• Touch-up paint – In a couple of common colors. If the customer’s noticed some scratched or worn paint, this will help stop the rust from getting in until they get a professional spray job.
• Floor mats – Water can even get through the carpet floor in the car, so thick protective floor mats are essential in stopping it in its tracks.
• Clean, pure water – Most regular water supplies have unwanted chemicals, like salt, that speed up rusting. Filtered water is an easy win for both attracting customers and protecting their cars.

Running a car wash isn’t just about making cars look nice. Each car is important to its owner, and part of your job is to make sure their pride and joy works for them, day after day. That means keeping the car and all of its vital organs free of rust and out of the hands of those expensive mechanics. If you can do that, they’ll love you forever.

Make sure they’ve got access to rust-busting bulk detailing supplies and tools. Stock up today in our online store or call us at (800) 554-9274 for the lowest prices on wholesale car wash supplies.