Paint chips and scratches are part and parcel of motoring and car ownership.
They may not be 100 percent avoidable, but with these preventive measures, your precious set of wheels may be able to escape unscathed.
Here’s what you should remember whenever you drive.
1) STAY CLEAR OF CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES!
Preventing paint chips and scratches becomes easier if you give construction vehicles, such as cement mixers, a wide berth.
Stay away (and we mean far away) from them, as they have a tendency to drop bits of mud and gravel.
Although they are supposed to be hosed down before leaving a construction site, it’s not always possible to wash away everything that’s stuck to them.
I’ve seen cement mixers scatter bits of concrete (dry or otherwise) when they go over bumps.
Beware of tipper trucks, too, especially if they’re this huge. If they’re overloaded and spill their sand or gravel, it could cause scratches, dents or worse: a chipped windscreen.
2) GIVE KERBS A WIDER BERTH
Your wheels aren’t the only victims of kerb rash. If you’ve got a body kit, that could be a victim of paint chips and scratches as well.
Pay attention to kerbs when you enter carparks, especially those you’re entering for the first time. It’s easy to miss the kerbs near the gantry/entrance.
A good trick is to watch the vehicle in front and how the driver manoeuvres around any kerbs. That’ll give you a good idea of how wide your turns need to be.
3) WATCH WHERE YOU PARK
Convenience and being close to the lift lobbies are important to most motorists. But if you want to avoid paint chips and scratches, you’ll need to be more careful about where you park.
As a general rule, it is best to avoid lower floors (in the case of tall multi-storey carparks), unless the capark is a multi-level basement.
The reason behind this is that the spaces closest to the entrances may be taken by drivers who are in a hurry, and therefore less likely to care about dinging other car doors.
4) INVEST IN PAINT PROTECTION FILM
One of the best ways to avoid paint chips and scratches is to cover your vehicle in clear protection film.
Depending on the film, it may just be tough enough to resist scratches from flying gravel, mud, etc.
Some protection films are even compatible with ceramic coatings, which lets you keep your car shiny and doubly protected.
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