Cars get rusty over time. A brown stain on the fender, stains on the bottom of the car doors, and pits in the exterior of your car are all signs of car body rust. Letting your car rust is a big no, in no time, a small rusty spot can ruin the entire vehicle’s body. Let us explain what car body rust is, its types and how to prevent your car from it.
How is Car Body Rust Formed
When the car floor hits a puddle or when a car is near the sea or doesn’t get enough oxidants – it rusts. To put it simply, when there is an electrochemical breakdown in the iron-based metal body of your car rust is formed.
What causes a metal breakdown is oxidation. The process where the iron surface molecules merge with oxygen in the atmosphere to create a new molecule, Fe2O3, better known as iron oxide, is the reason for metal breakdown. This means, iron oxide basically makes your car rust.
The exposed steel parts of your car rust at different levels depending on thickness, alloy components, climate and the kind of heat treatment it receives. Additionally, there is the salt effect.
When electrolytes such as road salts and other pollutants dissolve in water and are added to a chemical reaction, it accelerates the interchange of molecular components.
Despite advanced coatings and alloys developed by chemists (such as nickel and chromium), the uneven chemical makeup of iron means it will always surrender to rust in a natural environment. Case in point: steel and iron actually reduce completely to iron oxide and other constituent elements over a long duration of time.
Types of Car Body Rust
To fix rust on your car, it is necessary to first determine the different types of rust that can affect your vehicle.
Surface Rust
When the paint on your car’s body breaks down because of mechanical or UV damage, surface rust makes its place. That is why surface rust can also happen in hot and dry conditions.
Scale Rust
If you don’t take care of the surface rust you will notice bubbles forming on your car’s paint, this is scale rust that further decomposes and progresses deeper into the surface of your car’s metal. This happens because iron oxide molecules are physically bigger or larger than iron or steel molecules. The rust issue self-propagates and flakes off the outer layer of paint on your car’s body. It also exposes fresh metal base and corrodes.
To put it simply, the formation of scale rust is the reason why metal becomes etched and pitted giving it a coarse texture.
Penetrating Rust
If you leave the rust problem unchecked, it will eventually eat through your car’s metal, i.e. it will penetrate across your car’s body. As a result, you will notice Swiss cheese-style holes in the car fenders to more risky problems such as weak frames and suspension components.
Therefore, those living in places with rust-prone conditions, should not wait for tiny rust bubbles to appear on their vehicle. Instead, keep a check under the car and inspect for any rough or compromised parts.
When scale rust worsens, the base metal flakes away and leaves holes. Now you can either completely replace the affected parts or if it’s just a bodywork issue, you can cut out the rusted parts and weld metal patch panels in those spaces.
How to Prevent Your Car’s Body from Rusting
If you don’t fix rust on your car it will spread and soon make your car totally rusty. To prevent this hassle, you can follow these steps:
- Wash your car on a regular basis to keep the car body dirt and debris free.
- If you take your car to an automatic or manual car wash, make sure they are careful. A pressure washer may rid the filth from underneath the vehicle but there are drain holes in door bottoms and rocker panels. Make sure both these holes don’t have any water in them after the wash. Water molecules can also rust the car.
- Use a lubricant to reach the tight underbody places of your car and get rid of water, dirt and filth to protect your car parts from corrosion.
How to Fix Car Body Rust
If the car’s body has already rusted, you can repaint the affected areas. Just sand off the rust sticking on your car and rough up the area you wish to paint with sandpaper. Once the existing paint is completely off, use a brush or spray on the new coating.
Then, clean the bare or unmasked area with a grease-cutting dishwasher and rinse it with water. After it dries, wipe the area with a lint-free cloth to remove the remaining lint or dust. Next, apply the paint prep solvent (a product that is capable to remove dirt, car wax, road grease and other surface containments). This method will help remove rust from your car.
That is all about car body rust, its prevention and fixes. That said, if the problem has worsened and the rust on the vehicle’s body cannot be fixed, you may consider replacing your car. Here is a list of used cars in the UAE.
Stay tuned to your favourite cars blog for more on car anatomy.
Related Posts
