Caring for Your Car's New Paint
At Murphy's Auto Body, it is our goal to help restore our customers' cars to their orginal beauty following an accident, collision, or other minor damage. In addition, we also want our customers to be able to keep their cars looking new for years to come. Therefore, we have provided hte following general car care tips to help keep your car, truck, car, or SUV's original paint in the best condition.
Car Washing Tips
You should wash you car at least once a month to ensure the best paint duability and results. When a car is clean, moisture can dry quickly. However, when the cars' surface is dirty, moisture remains on the car leading to corrosion and rust. In addition, always wash your vehicle in the shade when the surface of the paint is cool to the touch. Finally, use only automotive soap, which is pH balanced specifically to protect a car's paint, when washing your car.
In addition to regular washing, it is important to occasionally pressure wash your vehicle to dislodge dirt from behind moldings, inside wheel arches, and under bumpers. This is especially recommended after the winter in order to remove salt deposits, which can speed corrosion.
In addition to regular washing, it is important to occasionally pressure wash your vehicle to dislodge dirt from behind moldings, inside wheel arches, and under bumpers. This is especially recommended after the winter in order to remove salt deposits, which can speed corrosion.
New Paint Care Tips
There are several important things that you should know about caring for new paint surfaces following any auto body repair that requires repainting. Since new paint is not initially as durable as your car's original paint, the following are some important care tips that you should follow after your vehicle has undergone auto body repairs requiring partial or complete body repainting.
- Wait 60 days for the paint to cure before waxing new paint. After the first 60 days, wax new paint every 2-6 months.
- Use high quality carnauba wax on new paint surfaces for the best protection. This wax has a natural base and rock hard finish to protect your paint.
- Avoid extreme heat or cold temperatures when your car has new paint.
-Avoid driving on gravel roads with new paint, as the paint is easier to chip in the first 60 days.
-Do not park under trees that drop sap, as this can spot a new finish.
-Be mindful to avoid bird droppings especially during the first 60 days with new paint as paint as bird droppings are highly acidic and can ruin new paint.
-Do not spill gasoline, oil, antifreeze, tranmision fluid, or windshield solvent on your car's new finsih. If you do, rinse immediately with water.
-Do not scrape ice or snow from freshly painted car services.
- Wait 60 days for the paint to cure before waxing new paint. After the first 60 days, wax new paint every 2-6 months.
- Use high quality carnauba wax on new paint surfaces for the best protection. This wax has a natural base and rock hard finish to protect your paint.
- Avoid extreme heat or cold temperatures when your car has new paint.
-Avoid driving on gravel roads with new paint, as the paint is easier to chip in the first 60 days.
-Do not park under trees that drop sap, as this can spot a new finish.
-Be mindful to avoid bird droppings especially during the first 60 days with new paint as paint as bird droppings are highly acidic and can ruin new paint.
-Do not spill gasoline, oil, antifreeze, tranmision fluid, or windshield solvent on your car's new finsih. If you do, rinse immediately with water.
-Do not scrape ice or snow from freshly painted car services.
Winter Specific Maintenance
In addition to the added danger of winter driving, the
change in weather can bring immediate damage to your cars systems. Freezing
temperatures and winter precipitation can gang up on your car if you don’t give
it a baseball bat sized maintenance session. These winter maintenance jobs will
help keep you out of trouble:
Check your Antifreeze Your antifreeze (the juice that goes in your radiator) is essential part of your car’s winter protection. Your car contains a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze. Make sure the level is full and the mixture is close to 50/50. Your local parts store has a quick and easy way to do this or Murphy’s Autobody provides this as a free service if needed.
Inspect your tires Winter is not the time to get cheap about your tires, so take the time to check the tread depth. The National Highway Transportation Safety Board says you need at least 2/23” of depth to be safe. It’s been my experience, especially in winter weather, that anything less than 4/32” (1/8”) be replaced soon. Also, be sure to check your tire pressure. Believe it or not, they lose a little pressure when it gets cold, so pump them up.
Replace your Wipers Wipers? What do your windshield wipers have to do with winter? Two things, First, anything falling from the sky is going to end up on your windshield, and unless you have a team of beavers riding on the hood of your car the task of cleaning it falls on your wipers. Second, in areas that see snowfall in the winter, you’re also driving through that soupy muck that’s left on the road. It takes wipers that are in the top shape to keep your windshield clean and safe.
Check your windshield washer fluid You’ll be using lots of washer fluid as you try to keep you windshield sparkly clean (Tip: Don’t fill your washer fluid reservoir with anything except washer fluid, because washer fluid doesn’t freeze.)
Clean your battery post Starting problems are a bummer any time of the year. Regularly treating your battery to a cleaning can keep electrical gremlins at bay.
Inspect your brakes Brakes are not a good area to cut corners. Be sure your brakes have enough meat left to get you through the season.
Check engine oil This should go without saying and should be done on a monthly basis.
Cold weather safety should be a concern for anybody. These tips will give you the upper hand when winter tries to put a chill on your winter travels. We at Murphy’s Autobody & Frame will be happy to help with any of your needs.
Check your Antifreeze Your antifreeze (the juice that goes in your radiator) is essential part of your car’s winter protection. Your car contains a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze. Make sure the level is full and the mixture is close to 50/50. Your local parts store has a quick and easy way to do this or Murphy’s Autobody provides this as a free service if needed.
Inspect your tires Winter is not the time to get cheap about your tires, so take the time to check the tread depth. The National Highway Transportation Safety Board says you need at least 2/23” of depth to be safe. It’s been my experience, especially in winter weather, that anything less than 4/32” (1/8”) be replaced soon. Also, be sure to check your tire pressure. Believe it or not, they lose a little pressure when it gets cold, so pump them up.
Replace your Wipers Wipers? What do your windshield wipers have to do with winter? Two things, First, anything falling from the sky is going to end up on your windshield, and unless you have a team of beavers riding on the hood of your car the task of cleaning it falls on your wipers. Second, in areas that see snowfall in the winter, you’re also driving through that soupy muck that’s left on the road. It takes wipers that are in the top shape to keep your windshield clean and safe.
Check your windshield washer fluid You’ll be using lots of washer fluid as you try to keep you windshield sparkly clean (Tip: Don’t fill your washer fluid reservoir with anything except washer fluid, because washer fluid doesn’t freeze.)
Clean your battery post Starting problems are a bummer any time of the year. Regularly treating your battery to a cleaning can keep electrical gremlins at bay.
Inspect your brakes Brakes are not a good area to cut corners. Be sure your brakes have enough meat left to get you through the season.
Check engine oil This should go without saying and should be done on a monthly basis.
Cold weather safety should be a concern for anybody. These tips will give you the upper hand when winter tries to put a chill on your winter travels. We at Murphy’s Autobody & Frame will be happy to help with any of your needs.