Step 3:
Off into spring – without cracks and rust.
If you’re riding a lot of motorways or highways in winter, you will surely have experience with this scenario: grit, dirt or salt are whirled through the air at high speed and hit the car with unbridled fury.
This usually leaves scratches in the paint or small stone chips on the windscreen, bumpers or engine bonnet.
Due to poor visibility, this often causes damage when manoeuvring or parking.
You can easily repair small damages to paint yourself (in most cases). There’s also a simple method for stone chips.
Find and repair paint damage
Following a proper rinse of the car, paint damages become visible rather quickly. These occur especially on the engine bonnet, the wheel arches, the bumper or the exterior mirrors. In each case, paint damage and scratches must be removed as quickly as possible.
The depth of the scratch decides the best method of removal.
Polish superficial scratches
What you need:
Superficial damages often require only the polishing of the affected area. Use a commercially available car polish and a clean, fuzz-free microfibre cloth.
Rub the polish in circular, smooth motions.
Before each polish, the affected area on the car must be thoroughly cleaned again. The cloth must also be free of any dirt to prevent dirt particles from being rubbed into the paint.
Paint repair kit for deeper scratches
What you need:
For deeper scratches, use a paint repair kit.
In this case, the area that requires polishing must also be thoroughly cleaned beforehand.
Apply the repair polish and carefully polish the area for about five minutes and in a circular motion. After the repair polish is dried (in approx. 5 minutes), apply the mirror polish and polish for about five minutes.
If the scratch is deeper, the affected area can be treated with a paint grinding compound before polishing it. If this fails to bring the expected success and there is plenty of paint in the affected area, the scratch can also be whetted with a fine (e.g. 2000-grit) wet sandpaper.
Both methods should be performed very carefully. If unsure, we recommend going to a specialist body shop.
Touch-up pen for very deep scratches
What you need:
If the scratch on the car is so deep that the body’s metal becomes visible, a touch-up pen is the last resort.
Firstly, clean the damaged area. Shake the touch-up pen rigorously and apply the paint using the small brush on the pen.
If the scratch is still visible after this treatment we recommend visiting an expert. Also, if you’re unsure about how to use a touch-up pen, going to a specialist body shop is the right solution.
Make absolutely sure that the touch-up pen’s colour is identical with the car’s colour. Every car paint is characterised by a three-digit numerical sequence. Depending on the manufacturer, the code is placed differently on each car (e.g. driver’s door or sticker in engine compartment).
Stone chips on the windscreen
What you need:
Stone chips on the windscreen require quick repair.
Before going to the body shop you can apply a windscreen repair resin. This prevents further damage and protects from dirt. This also protects the windscreen wiper blades.
Once the crack is bigger than a two-euro-coin, less than ten centimetres from the edge or in the field of vision, the entire screen must be replaced.
Else, repairing the screen will do.
The windscreen repair resin must never impair the view. Moreover, this is only a temporary solution until you visit a body shop.
Alcar
Life Hack:
Scheiben schützen mit Tesa
Instead of a repair resin you can use a small piece of Sellotape for a quick fix.
Toothpaste as polish substitute.
SHARE LIFEHACK!
Create your individual dream car.
Easily find your personal favourite in our 3D Configurator.
» Start 3D Configurator
SHARE #SPRINGMYRIDE MOMENT WITH US AND WIN
Winning is easy, simply:
Social
Media:
WIN A SET OF RIMS OF YOUR CHOICE
PARTICIPATE NOW AND WIN BIG
Silver or black, matte or shiny, 18 or 20-inch? It doesn’t matter – if you win, you decide! Among all raffle participants we toss up a complete rim set by AEZ, DOTZ or DEZENT. The raffle entry deadline is on 23.5.2018.
What you need to do?
Simply fill in the form by clicking on below link, keep your fingers crossed, and win.
And with a little bit of Instagram you can increase your winning chances even more! Simply click a picture during your springtime check, mark it with our hashtag #SPRINGMYRIDE and post it publicly.
Good luck!
