HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-10-14, Page 35THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1987. PAGE 35.
You can fix nicks and dents at home
Now that summer vacation is
over and you’ve put thousands of
kilometres on your auto or truck
visiting the beach, mountains or
just plain sky country, you can sit
back and relax.
Glancing over at the gleaming
side panels of your vehicle you can
now see imperfections, however.
On closer inspection, they turn out
to be nicks and dents.
Then you remember all those
gravel trucks or construction areas
you thought you safely crawled
through - they left their mark. They
can range from a simple paint chip
to a long gouge from any number of
nocturnal visitors to parking lots.
If upon closer examination, you
find that bare metal has been
exposed, some quick action is
needed. Otherwise rust sets in
when metal is exposed to the air.
Don’t despair if you do see some
tiny flecks of rust already because
Road chemicals can
destroy your car's paint
Winterisjust around the corner.
Driving will be hazardous. Your
local highway department is ready
ing its snow removal equipment,
and stockpiling mountains of salt
and calcium chloride.
These ice and snow melting
chemicals mix with sand and dirt
and accumulate in hidden areas of
your car: Fender wells, door and
vehicle frames, moldings, and all
sorts of nooks and crannies.
The damp mixture rapidly at
tacks metal areas where paint or
undercoatings have chipped or
worn away. Oxidation begins and
shows up as ugly rust.
The process continues eating
away at your car as long as the
caked-up masses of dirt stay moist.
During dry weather, the rusting
stops but, as soon as it snows or
rains, it starts again and will
continue this way until it consumes
all metal to which it is exposed.
Car makers constantly are trying
new metal coatings to prevent rust
from starting. But, once chipped or
scratched away, the bare metal will
start rusting at the first sign of
moisture.
There are steps you can take to
stop this vicious destruction of both
the underside and the painted
areas of your car.
Next time your car is in the shop
for repairs, have your service man
put it on a lift. Use his work light or
take your own powerful flashlight.
Make a note of all the pockets of
accmulated mud and dirt.
Use a stiff brush or tool to
remove it, or try blasting it off with
a high pressure water hose when
you get home.
Open the doors and wash out the
dirty areas that house the hinges
and door mechanisms. Wash the
wheel wells and squirt the hose at
the point where trim and moldings
meet the paint. Open the hood and
trunk, and clean the narrow rain
channels.
Although normally neglected in
winter, frequent washing is a
must. Wait for a day when the
temperature is above 32 degrees.
Use a good detergent soap and
wash the entire exterior of the car.
Tips to try
if you’re
For best winter protection, seal the
paint with a coat of high grade
abrasive-free wax.
modern chemical primers do bind
with the metal through the rust and
can halt the corrosion.
For your first nick-fixing effort
try to find some brush-on primer
rather than the spray can variety.
Spraying requires masking off
the surface you do not wish primed,
any breeze can direct the spray
exactly in the opposite direction
and some of the propellants used
aren’t pleasant to inhale.
Prepare the surface by sanding
with varying grades of sandpaper,
using a finer grit each time. Of
course, the surface has been
cleaned already with a wax and
grease remover so you can elimi
nate unwanted debris that could
prevent primer adhesion.
Once the nick area is feathered
into the surrounding area and
given a prime coat, you must apply
some spotting putty prepared
especially for small jobs such as
this. It almost looks like the sealing
wax our great-grandfathers used
on important documents.
More sanding and prime-coat
ing is necessary before you apply
the touch-up paint or enamel.
Resist the temptation to use a
power-operated sander because
sanding by hand takes a fraction of
a millimetre off each time. A power
sander can take off fractions of a
centimetre in a split second and
ruin hours of work.
Power sanders are suitable
when you wish to clean away
postcard-sized patches of rust, but
when you get down to the fine
tuning, a small sheet of sandpaper
in a flexible sanding block is the
ticket to success.
Professional finishers and paint
ers use fine sandpaper between the
coatsofprimerandbetween the
coats of paint or enamel to provide
for better adhesion and better
quality at the end of the job.
While you may not be able to get
the precise match-up in color that a
paint shop can, the touch-up paints
available are enough to save your
car’s body.
Beware too that automakers may
use the same color for some years
in a row but the name they give it
may change from classic white to
antique white to Oriental pearl at
thedropofan advertising copy
writer’s pencil.
locked out
Continued from page 29
accessible place - your wallet, or at
home, a phone call away - a new key
will cost only $1 - $2.
•Try a wire coat hanger only if
your car is a pre-1980 model with
rubber weather stripping and
flared door locks. Straighten the
hanger and loop one end. Wedge
the loop between the door’s edge
and the stripping or through an
open window crack. Once inside,
fish for the lock to pull it up. Keep in
mind you may puncture the
stripping, crack a window, or
scratch the paint.
•Smash a window with a rock
wrapped in cloth if you can’t reach
aphoneoryoufeelunsafe. First
make sure your keys are visible,
locked in the car, not misplaced.
Cost: Up to $75 to replace a small
ventilation window; $90 to $150for
a larger side pane.