Service your car before winter

Moisture combined with low air temperatures and chemicals on the streets in winter can cause corrosion. Therefore, the vehicle must be properly secured in advance.

You should start by washing the car and carefully inspecting its appearance.

Damage assessment

You should look for paint defects, scratches and rust spots. Particular attention should be paid to sensitive areas such as the wheel arches, tailgate and hood, as well as protruding parts of the body. If shallow and minor scratches are found, polishing is sufficient. In case of deeper damage - when the varnish is torn off and the sheet metal is visible - it is better to contact a specialist from the body and paint shop. It may turn out that you have to entrust the car to specialists.

Wax - protective layer

Once any damage to the paint has been repaired, car body protection can be taken care of. The easiest way to do this is to wash your car with a waxed shampoo. Such preparations cover the car with a thin protective layer that protects the paint from external factors (salt, dirt, etc.). As a result, the dirt is easier to wash off, as it does not stick to the paint as much. Unfortunately, polymeric waxes from shampoos protect the car for about a week.

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Another solution is to use hard wax after washing. It is applied as a thick paste or cream, allowed to dry, and then polished by hand or with mechanical polishing machines. Such drugs stay on the car body much longer - from one to even three months. The protective layer is thicker, so it protects the paint more effectively. And although the cost of hard wax alone is about PLN 30-100, unfortunately, in order to obtain an optimal effect, it is necessary to have devices with adjustable, variable torque for polishing. It is unlikely that anyone has them in the garage, so you need to use the services of a car wash. Prices range from PLN 50 (manual epilation) to PLN 100 (mechanical epilation).

Seal lubrication

Experts remind to refrain from washing the car if the air temperature is below minus 10 degrees Celsius. – In this case, there is a risk of numerous damage to the door seals and micro-damage to the paintwork. During washing, water can penetrate paint chips and microcracks, and cause even more damage when frozen. Hard wax should be applied to the car body if the weather forecast indicates the arrival of severe frosts. Then the seals should also be lubricated. Moisture from melting snow or rain often accumulates on door seals or the tailgate, which freezes in freezing temperatures, says Wojciech Józefowicz, owner of the Carwash car wash in Białystok. Paweł Kukielka, head of the Rycar Bosch service in Białystok, adds that this, of course, makes them difficult to open. Therefore, it is good to protect these pads with technical petroleum jelly before the winter period.

Bottom protection

You can also consider corrosion protection of the chassis. However, here you have to rely on professionals. – First remove the old layer of bituminous coating, as well as rust and dirt such as sand, chemicals, etc., explains Pawel Kukelka. – This is very important because the effectiveness of the new protection depends on the thorough and effective removal of all residues and dirt.

The expert adds that the most common cause of subsequent coating defects is shortcomings in the preparation process. After this step, you should protect the parts of the body that may be unnecessarily painted when applying a protective coating. A bituminous protective agent is applied to the chassis prepared in this way using a pneumatic gun. The car is then allowed to dry and the protectors are removed from the body.

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Pure connections

In winter, it is especially important that the battery terminals are in good condition. This is due to the fact that it is subjected to more intensive exploitation than in other seasons of the year. The connection between the clamp and the battery must be clean and preferably sealed with special chemicals. Because, like any electrical connection, it requires good conductivity. Clamps can be cleaned with a regular brush, the so-called. a cable or a special one from an automotive store. After cleaning, apply ceramic coating spray.

prices:

– a liter bottle of car wax shampoo – about PLN 20,

– hard wax – PLN 30-100,

– chassis washing at a car wash – about PLN 50,

– battery clip care spray (with ceramic coating) – about PLN 20,

– technical vaseline – about PLN 15,

– anti-corrosion protection of the chassis during operation (depending on the size and type and whether it is necessary to protect the chassis itself or closed profiles) – PLN 300-600.