Car paint nightmare: Wet paintwork left to dry in the sun will result in water spots.
The layers that make up your car paint are relatively tough.
However, a lack of care will result in a dull and oxidised finish.
Car paint requires some TLC in order for it to look relatively fresh, even after a few years.
But what’s a car owner to do when our beloved rides are subject to daily contamination?
In no particular order, here are five things you must avoid, or immediately clean when they touch your car.
Car paint nightmare #1: Bird poop
There’s nothing more annoying that seeing bird droppings hit your freshly waxed paintwork.
Left untouched, the bird poop will seep into the pores of your car’s paint.
As your paint cools, it “moulds” itself around the poop.
Baked by the sun, you’ll end up with what seems like etchings, even after the bulk of the stain is removed.
Car paint nightmare# 2: Tree sap
Bird poop is hard to remove, but tree sap can prove even harder.
Depending on the tree species, the sap in question can be as sticky as glue.
Removing it, especially after it has been baked by the sun, may require a professional detailer.
Imagine what happens when other contaminants land on the tree sap stains.
The whole thing may seem impossible to clean.
Car paint nightmare #3: Paint
There’s always something being constructed in Singapore.
It’s impossible not to drive by road works or a building construction site.
However, the latter can be more dangerous than the tar and loose asphalt strewn around resurfaced roads.
One of our contributor’s cars was actually hit by drops of paint from a construction site.
Luckily, when contacted, the contractor responsible offered to pay for the damages.
Car paint nightmare #4: Tipper trucks
Next to road works and work sites, tipper trucks are a bane to freshly waxed finishes.
No matter how they’re cleaned, they always seem to drop soil, rocks and pebbles.
Beware of fully laden (or overladen) tipper trucks as they tend to “spit” out more of these things.
It gets even worse when it’s raining and you follow one.
The road spray, mud and rocks are just awful.
Of course, it won’t be as bad as a cement mixer dropping semi-dry or fully hardened bits of concrete!
Car paint nightmare #5: Careless passengers/motorists/riders
Often, we cannot choose who we park next to.
I always say a prayer after locking and leaving my own car.
I’m paranoid about coming back to ding- and scratched-filled doors due to inconsiderate drivers or passengers.
This is why you should be careful where you park.
A good tip is to avoid the lowest floors, spaces next to entrances/lift lobbies/escalators.
These are usually taken up by people in a hurry.
And some of these folks won’t think twice about bumping your door with theirs.
We’ve even heard one of our ex-colleagues say that his estate’s carpark is filled with entitled drivers.
These motorists tend to feel that certain carpark spaces are theirs.
And if they see other cars in “their space”, they will not hesitate to ding or even key the car paint.
