How to Protect Your Classic Car from Salt Erosion

The winter months can be rough on vehicles due to the constant exposure to extreme cold and road salt. This is especially problematic for owners of classic cars—even if you don’t bring your classic vehicle out of the garage as often during the winter as you do in the summer, even a little bit of salt exposure could be hazardous to its beautiful finish.

With this in mind, here are some tips from a mechanic in Minneapolis, MN to help you protect your classic car (and any other cars you own) from salt erosion throughout the winter.

Keep your vehicle clean

It’s always important to wash your cars, but especially with classic cars, when you’re trying to do everything you can to preserve their paint and finish. During the winter, though, washing your vehicle becomes even more important so you can prevent rust and other damage. Try to wash your vehicle at least once a week during the winter to prevent salt from building up and eating away at your paint. Spring for the undercarriage wash—this is where most of the salt is going to be, and it could potentially eat into some important parts of your vehicle down there, so the extra money is worth it to protect your vehicle.

Keep your vehicle waxed

If you’re the owner of a classic car, you know just how important a good wax job is. A solid coat of wax on the exterior of your vehicle is one of the best ways you can protect its paint. While you drive throughout the winter, your tires and some of the tires of other vehicles will kick up snow, slush, sleet and, along with them, salt. If you have a newer wax coating, your paint job will be protected by this coating.

Of course, wax does eventually dissolve, and that’s going to happen even faster than usual in the winter months, when your car is constantly exposed to harsh conditions, so it’s important to apply wax throughout the season. Remember to wax the headlights as well, as this can help keep the wintry mix from sticking to the lights and blocking your view.

Avoid big snowbanks

Try as hard as you can to avoid driving through deeper patches of snow and slush. If you drive through these areas, your undercarriage will be exposed to more salt. If you absolutely must go through snow, make sure you get your car washed as soon as possible so you can get rid of any grime (and salt) that accumulated on the undercarriage.

Of course, the best way to protect your classic car during the winter is to avoid driving it—many people keep their classics tarped and in their garage all winter long because they don’t want to risk exposing them to the harsh winter elements. But that’s not always an option for everyone.

If you’re in need of more classic car care tips, contact Quality Coaches, Inc. to speak with a mechanic in Minneapolis, MN.

Categorised in: Mechanic

This post was written by Sharon Morgan