In Toronto, the dreaded winter season can be especially brutal on your car in many ways, even its paint job. Our guide will explain how winter can damage your vehicle’s paint and offer helpful tips to protect your car better.
Cold Weather
You know how your skin can feel dry and almost like it’s cracking in cold weather? Your vehicle’s paint is not so different.
Cracking in cold weather is most common for newly applied paint on a car after a fresh paint job or an accident, but it can also happen to any vehicle exposed to freezing temperatures for too long. A professional paint job shouldn’t wither and crack in the cold, but it’s not uncommon. The best way to avoid potential damage is to keep your car in a heated garage or other climate-controlled environments.
Road Salt
The dreaded road salt is the ultimate enemy of vehicle paint and is one of the most common types of car paint damage. It may help make our roads safer to drive on, but it can be devastating to a vehicle’s exterior shine and luster if left untreated.
As most of us know, salt and metal don’t mix well, and road salt can bring corrosion and rust to the vehicle—along with a fading of the exterior paint. There’s not much you can do to avoid road salt, and the best practice for treating it is to wash the exterior as often as possible and be aware of when the roads are freshly salted after a snow or ice storm.
Pro Tip: When visiting an automatic car wash to remove salt from the exterior, opt for the “brushless” or touch-free” wash, as brushes and foam strips can spread road grime and salt rather than remove it.
Ice & Snow
The notorious ice and snow of winter in Toronto can also damage your vehicle’s paint, although it’s usually indirect. Snow and ice on the exterior of a vehicle typically aren’t harmful if cleared away promptly—but the moisture from melted snow and ice can infiltrate crevices and parts of your vehicle to cause rust.
How you remove snow and ice from your vehicle is also important. Too often, car owners get too rough and forceful with their snow and ice removal. They accidentally scratch or scrape their vehicle’s exterior and paint.
