Does Snow Affect Car Paint?
2 Answers
Snow does affect car paint. After snowfall, the most vulnerable part of a vehicle is the paint. Snowwater contains high levels of salt and various alkaline components. If snow splashes onto the car body or chassis and is not cleaned promptly, it can cause severe corrosion to the paint, chassis, and tires. After snowfall, it's advisable to take your car to a professional automatic car wash. These facilities use large amounts of flowing clean water with neutral cleaning agents to gently rinse the car body, and specialized wheel brushes clean the sludge from the gaps in the wheel hubs. Automatic car washes are equipped with chassis cleaning devices that use powerful upward water jets to thoroughly remove any mud or water attached to the chassis surface. When washing your car, try to use lukewarm water, as water that is too cold or too hot in cold weather can damage the paint. After washing, make sure to dry the windows, otherwise, water left in the door gaps can freeze.
I remember last year after a heavy snowfall, I noticed tiny corrosion spots along the edges of my car doors while cleaning it. The mechanic later explained that snow, seemingly harmless, actually hides hidden dangers. Snow itself is slightly acidic, and when combined with pollutants from vehicle exhaust and salt from de-icing agents in urban snow accumulation, prolonged contact can corrode the clear coat of the car's paint. Especially when snow melts and refreezes into ice, the expansion in volume can widen small cracks in the paint. Once, my neighbor used warm water to clear snow from the windshield, and the drastic temperature difference caused fine cracks in the paint. It's recommended to use a soft snow brush to remove snow as soon as possible after it stops snowing, avoiding metal tools that could scratch the paint. My current habit is to apply a ceramic coating before winter, making it harder for snow to penetrate the paint pores even if it sticks.