Summertime is here. Time for flip flops, shorts, sunglasses, lawn chairs, cold drinks and fading, peeling and chipping paint on your car. That’s right. As much as we love basking in the summer sun, your car’s paint hates it. Combining the sun with other elements of summer is damaging to your car’s paint but a few simple tips will help your car win the battle against the sun and keep it looking great all summer long.

Limit Sun Exposure
While today’s automotive paints are far superior to the paints of 20 years ago, the sun’s UV rays can still fade a car’s paint over time. Leaving your car in the sun for a day or two here and there probably won’t cause any noticeable or lasting damages but the trick is to limit your car’s exposure to direct sunlight as much as possible. Park in a garage or covered area if available or use a car cover.

Tree Sap
Parking under a tree helps keep your car cooler on a hot day, but avoid parking under trees that produce sap. Instead, park under sapless trees or use a sunshade. Summer heat melts tree sap inside trees. As it oozes out onto your car, the sun bakes it on making it all but impossible to get off. If you are unfortunate enough to have tree sap deposited on your car, there are a few things you can do to remove it.

• Fresh sap is fairly easy to remove with rubbing alcohol and a little hand buffing.

• Baked on sap is much more difficult. Use rubbing alcohol to soften the sap as much as possible   then use a bug and tar remover that you can get from your local auto parts store.

Bird Droppings
The combination of bird droppings on your car and the sun is as bad as or worse than tree sap. Aside from the diseases and bacteria they contain, bird droppings are acidic and they can fade and eat away at the paint on your car. Remove bird droppings as soon as possible. Thoroughly soak the area with water to soften the droppings and gently wipe away with a soft cloth or chamois.  Bird droppings contain grit so do not rub or you will scratch the paint.

Sprinklers
There’s nothing like the sound of water droplets raining down on your car as you drive through a sprinkler that someone has carelessly left pointed at the road. But the city water coming out of those sprinklers contains impurities that can leave behind sun spots on your car when the water dries. Try to avoid driving or parking near sprinklers. If you must experience the thrill, wash your car immediately before the water dries. If the sun spots show up, a little polishing can usually take care of it.

Washing
It is important to keep your car clean of dirt and other debris it accumulates from dusty summer roads. Avoid automatic car washes with brushes. The brushes often contain pebbles and dirt particles that scratch your paint. Polishing can eliminate extremely light scratches, but an auto body shop repair is the only way to eliminate the deeper scratches.

Wash your car by hand; use soft cotton towels and wash in the shade with clean water and car wash soap. Thoroughly soak your car with water to rinse away any loose dirt then gently rub with soap. Rinse the soap off before it starts to dry; it is best to do one section of the car at a time. Try to dry your car with a chamois before the sun dries it. Make sure the cloths you use are clean and free of dirt. The dirt will scratch the paint.

Waxing
Once your car is completely clean and dry, it is time for wax. Waxing at the beginning of the summer will provide sufficient protection against the sun, depending on how often you wash your car. It is best to wax every painted surface of your car, but pay special attention to the hood, roof and trunk lid, which are in direct sunlight.

Proactive approaches to the summer heat like waxing, limiting sun exposure and removing sap, bird droppings and sun spots will save you a lot of time and money down the road. It takes time and effort to keep your car’s paint in pristine condition, but a little TLC will help your car’s paint triumph over the sun so you can get back to lounging in your lawn chair sipping a cold drink.

By Phil Oyer

Phil Oyer started Aurora Collision Center, Inc. 12 years ago in Aurora, Colorado and is AskPatty.com Certified Female Friendly® . They are an independent body shop and work on all makes and models of cars. They started out with only two employees, and over the years have grown to five employees. The shop’s focus is on customers and producing quality repairs. They negotiate with the insurance companies on behalf of customers to make sure all the damage to a vehicle gets repaired properly. A recent switch to a higher quality water-borne paint, which is better for the environment and employees, produces a better color match for customers’ cars.

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