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Car Care Tips for the Exterior of your car

Maintaining a car care regime is much easier than you would like to believe. Keeping your car in the top notch condition will not save you money in the long run but also enhance the resale value of your car. Here are a few tips that will help you keep your car shining like new.

Protect car paint from the sun

It is true that paint makes your car look nice and glossy; it also serves another important purpose. It protects your car against rusted body panels. No doubt parking the car in the garage is the best way to protect the paint on your car. But in case it is not possible, you can always turn to a cheaper option, a blessing called a car cover. Parking in the sun cause the car's paint to fade and break down. A car cover serves multiple functions and protects your car against bird droppings, dust and moisture. Additionally, the slightly cushioned covers also protect the car from minor impacts like tipped bicycle or small falling tree branch.

Touch Up Nicks As Soon As Possible

While it is a good exercise to touch up minor paint works, they do not stay for long. Make sure to keep some matching touch-up paint in stock so that you can touch up any small nicks before they have had a chance to set in. These nicks are often found around door edge.

Tape Can Save Cracked Light Covers

Many people do not pay attention to slight cracks in the taillight or turn-signal cover. But leaving it like that may make the compartment to fill up with water and moisture. This can cause some real damage to your car. A viable short term solution is to tape it over the crack. You can make use of the red or orange tape that is made for this purpose. These tapes are available in any automotive parts shop.

Avoid Light Fixture Problems

When changing a bad light bulb in your car, make sure to clean dirty or corroded sockets with a fine steel wool or small wire brush. Before installing the new bulb, wipe the socket clean of any kind of debris.

Fix small Windshield Chips

If you a notice a rock chip, crack, or ding in your windshield, bring the car to a windshield repair shop and get it done. It will cost you much lesser than replacing the windshield entirely. The experts can fix the chips and cracks in the windshield quite efficiently, even quite long ones. The repair will not only stop the chips and cracks from spreading but also improve clarity.

Do not Mix Water in the Washer Fluid

Refrain from adding water in the windshield washer reservoir. While it will affect the quality of cleaning itself, it is also prone to freezing in cold weather and damage the system. Do not switch on the windshield washer system if you think that the fluid is over in the tank. This may cause damage to the system.

Fix the washer fluid tank

Once a car reaches a certain age, washer -deicer fluid tanks get a little cracked. One of the best possible ways (temporary, though) to cure it to insert a plastic freezer bag into the tank and fill it with the washer fluid. Later you can replace the cracked one with a new washer fluid tank.

Don't Try to Carry Too Much

Every car comes with a load specification or weight limits. Never take lightly the weight specification mentioned in your user's manual. Also check the weight limitation of your roof rack. Usually, the range varies from 68 to 90 kgs. If you really need to deliver a heavy load, you can consider taking professional help. It will save quite a few wear and tear on your car.

Secure Loads to Avoid Dents and Scratches

An improperly stowed luggage can cause damage to the finish of your car's exterior and interior. You can invest a small amount of money on buying appropriate racks for bicycles, cargo, and luggage. A good way of avoiding car dents is to secure objects properly and prevent them from sliding.

Inspect wheel-well splashguards

These guards, though flimsy on many of the cars, help to keep water and dirt from splashing up into the engine compartment, which can cause some serious damage to sensitive electrical parts. But these guards tear off very easily and most of the times, the driver does not even notice it. Regularly check for any kind of damage to these guards when you wash your car. Re-secure the guards in case they have come off, or replace if need be.

Wash in winter, too

If you hate to wash your car during the winter, you are not alone. Washing during the winter is of prime importance because the mixture of sand, slush and ice can cause your car to rust. The fastest corrosions happen when the temperature repeatedly rises above and then falls below freezing. During this time, be sure to clean the undercarriage and hard-to-reach areas that are more susceptible to rust, such as the bumpers and inside the wheel wells.

Wax to protect your car's paint job

Driving a clean, shiny car is fun, right? One way of making your car shiny and glossy is to wax it. Car wax preserves paint by slowing down the oxidation and creates a block against bird droppings, sap, and pollution. While liquid wax is easy to use, it is better to use paste wax. Paste wax brings the hardest, longest-lasting finish. Buy a paste wax that contains high amounts of carnauba.