While the proximity to the beautiful beaches near Carlsbad is a major benefit to living here, there’s also a big issue with it.
It wrecks cars. If you’re not protecting it properly, your car’s paint job can quickly get messed up, and once that happens, the metal beneath the surface is the salt’s next target. With enough time and exposure, salt will turn your car into a corroded junker long before you’d expect.
A popular way to stop that is by having a ceramic coating applied. But while a ceramic coating is a great way to protect your car, it doesn’t do all the work for you.
Here are five expert-backed tips for preventing salt corrosion in Carlsbad.
1. Keep Your Car Clean
One thing people often overlook after getting a ceramic coating in Carlsbad is the importance of properly cleaning their vehicle. Many car owners mistakenly think that with a ceramic coating, all maintenance is handled. Well, that’s simply not the case.
While the coating provides a protective shield, it won’t take care of everything on its own. For instance, salt won’t magically disappear just because of the coating. If left on for too long, it can start to corrode the coating – and once that happens, the car is at risk.
In Carlsbad, where coastal winds bring in salt air, this is especially important. Even if you’re not driving on salt-treated roads, the salt in the air can accumulate on your vehicle.
Fortunately, there’s a simple solution to prevent salt corrosion – regular washing! For Carlsbad drivers with ceramic coatings, the coating helps keep salt on the surface, but it’s still crucial to wash your car regularly.
By doing so, you’ll remove harmful substances before they cause any damage. Regular washes every few weeks and after exposure to corrosive elements will be key to maintaining your coating and protecting your car in the long run.
2. Use the Right Washing Method
Not only should you wash your car regularly, but you should also put extra effort into making sure it’s washed properly.
Whenever you start committing to a regular washing routine, you’ll feel tempted to take the easy way out. Typically, this means going to one of those automated tunnel washers. Well, that can cause a lot of problems.
Those automatic washers are extremely rough on your car. Not only can they knock off mirrors, antennas, and other parts of your car because of how rough they are, but they can also damage your ceramic coating.
If the ceramic coating is compromised, salt corrosion can start to affect areas where the coating isn’t able to protect your car the way it should.
Not only that, but you have no idea what chemicals are being used by the owners of that automatic car wash. We’ll talk more about this soon, but the chemicals used in your ceramic coating are important.
Instead of going to an automated car wash, use the two-bucket method at home, or consider hiring a mobile auto detailing service to handle your car’s cleaning needs every once in a while. It takes things well beyond what you’re capable of on your own and ensures the best clean possible.
3. Never Use Harsh Chemicals on Your Ceramic Coating
Like we mentioned earlier, the chemicals you use on your car matter. Your ceramic coating is tough, but harsh chemicals can corrode it. This causes two major problems.
First, once the coating is compromised, your car is exposed to salt corrosion. So, all that protection you were enjoying is nullified.
Then, there’s the need to repair the coating that you have to consider. Ceramic coatings are meant to last practically indefinitely. Especially in comparison to how long most people own a single car. However, harsh chemicals can force you to get it extensively repaired in a relatively short period.
Any time you wash your car by hand, make sure you use a gentle soap that won’t damage the coating. If you hire a service, make sure you know they’re using gentle chemicals that are safe for your coating, and always make sure to inform the service that you have a coating in the first place.
4. Have Your Coating Professionally Inspected Regularly
The ceramic coating is going to do a great job of blocking out salt and preventing salt corrosion, but over time, some fine particles become dug into the coating. These are contaminants that slowly break the coating down and also ruin its visual luster.
Luckily, it’s not a serious issue.
Every few years, you need to have your coating professionally inspected. A pro team can spot those fine contaminants even when you think the coating is in great condition, and it can remove those contaminants by essentially removing such a thin layer of the coating that it’s still in great shape, but all the surface-level contaminants are removed.
This greatly extends the life of your coating, but it also ensures that it’s protecting against salt corrosion to its fullest capability.
5. Start with a High-Quality Coating in the First Place
For the last tip, you have to make the right choice from the start.
All ceramic coatings follow the same core principles and are meant to do the same things. However, they’re not all made the same, and they’re certainly not applied the same way.
We’ll cover this in two parts.
First, if you want your ceramic coating to be worth the investment, the product used needs to be of high quality. Just like anything else, if you choose something that is cheap and poorly made, your results are going to be lackluster at best, and they can be flat-out ineffective at worst.
However, it’s not enough to use a good product. Just like any other complex process, the best product isn’t worth much in the wrong hands. The experience level and quality of the team you hire matters, too. They have to be able to properly apply that high-quality product for you to get the most out of it.
Protect Your Car from Salt Corrosion in Carlsbad with Finetactic Detailing
Carlsbad’s coastal beauty can be a double-edged sword for car owners. While the views are stunning, the salt air and sea breeze can cause serious damage to your car’s paint and ceramic coating.
If you’re serious about preventing salt corrosion on cars in Carlsbad, a high-quality ceramic coating is pretty much mandatory!
But protecting your car requires more than just applying a coating yourself. When it comes to salt corrosion prevention and ensuring your ceramic coating lasts, you need the expertise of professionals.
The team at Finetactic Detailing specializes in providing low-maintenance, high-quality ceramic coatings, mobile detailing, and paint correction services tailored to the unique challenges of Carlsbad’s climate.
Don’t leave your car’s protection to chance! Call us today to safeguard your vehicle against salt corrosion and keep it looking pristine for years to come!