How to Avoid Rust on Your Car

Protecting your car from rust is not an easy task. It could do some serious damage and affect the look and value of your car. If you choose to try our best product Mighty Armour – Ceramic Scratch Resistant Paint Protection, as part of your car maintenance routine, you can easily avoid rust. Here are 6 complete steps and a few extra tricks for preventing rust on your vehicle. 

 Step 1: General Maintenance

1. Wash your car often, if possible at least every 14 days or even better once a week especially if the vehicle is in wet conditions and with salt on the roads during the winter periods. 
2. Wax your car once every three months, or if you prefer Mr Nano’s Mighty Armour will give the vehicle up to 2 years of protection depending on the exposure. But this product cuts out having to wax.
3. Keep the interior area clean as well. Making sure to clean up after any spills which can cause the rust to develop under interior linings. 

Step 2: Take Extra Care Around Salt

1. Salt boosts the rust and salt is rusts best friend. So be very careful to keep your car spotless if you reside near the ocean or in colder climates where the roads become icy during the winter periods. Because more than likely salt is used as ice prevention on the roads near you, so during this period weekly cleaning is a must to prevent rust setting in. 
2. Clean the underside of your car and your wheel wells when filthy or at least once a week during the winter when salt is out. 
3. If your car is seriously at risk of rust because of regular exposure to salt, etc. you can clean it and then use a variety of different rust prevention products appropriate for cars (we recommend our DIY Mighty Armour – Ceramic Scratch Resistant Paint Protection, for your painted areas) or if you would rather a professional apply it for you, then checkout our service providers at the bottom of this blog. For your undercarriage and chassis area we recommend using Wattyl: Killrust Rust-Eeter which eats and prepares the chassis or metal surface ready for the next step which is applying Wattyl: Killrust Fishoilene, this is a great sealant and prevents rust developing on the undercarriage of your vehicle. 

Step 3: Rust Repair and Prevention!

1. If you are in a very salty climate or are already fending off rust problems, you may need to have these problem areas removed before any rust prevention is applied. Because all rust prevention products prevent rust only, they do not fix rust once it has set in. So depending on how severe the existing rust issue is, it’s a matter of stripping back the paint to bare metal and either cutting this effected area out or sanding back, cleaning the area then re-spraying with paint. After repairs are completed, now it’s the perfect time to apply rust prevention. 
2. In an ideal world the idea is to keep exteriors of your vehicle dry, whether you wipe it down after use, or safeguard them with paint, clear coats, wax and or Mr Nano’s Mighty Armour. For wheel wells which are prone to rust developing, then consider wheel well guards.  
3. If you are going to use a rust prevention product which is applied by spray or with a brush. Then take extra precautions with applying anything flammable, make sure the engine is cold and give it some time for the vapours to clear up before you fire the engine up again. It is best that you avoid spraying on your exhaust or mufflers so they don’t get to smelly or have any chance of igniting when hot. 

Step 4: The Extra Steps

1. Drive further behind other vehicles to prevent possible stone chips. As stone chips expose the vehicles bare metal and or under coat which will increase the risk of rust developing in these exposed areas. 
2. Keep your vehicle under cover and away from the elements when possible. 

Step 5: Inspect Regularly!

1. Examine your car for potential rust at regular intervals. External painted parts will show rust when the paint bubbles or blisters up. On other metal parts, just look for the beginnings of discolouration and rust stains etc.
2. There are areas to watch out for on your vehicle. The trunk or boot, the engine bay area, around the doors particularly on the under side of the door frames and the pillars, also check the undercarriage and wheel wells.

Step 6: In the Worst Case Scenario: If You Do Get Rust

1. Fix these effected areas as soon as possible, the longer you leave the rust to grow the more expensive it is to fix. Use a qualified panel beater to make all repair work.
2. As mentioned in step 3 you will need to remove the rust depending on how severe the rust is? 
3. Find an immediate solution to any rust that pops up immediately as rust growth will not stop for anyone unless treated correctly.

Mr Nano proudly supplies Mighty Armour to the following service centres.

• Southern Car Care: 8 Zaknic Place, Bunbury WA, Ph 08 9791 4440
• Tint City: 3/7 Hennessy Rd, South Bunbury WA, Ph 08 9791 3824
• Superior Finish Car Detailing: Unit 7/16-30 Argyle St, Camden NSW, Ph 0424548314
• DIGCOR Bumperfix: 22/1 Barrett Drive, Alice Springs NT, Ph 0478054703
• Virgil Senense Jim’s Car Detailing: 37 Beaumont drive, Point Cook Vic Ph 0402052680