Help-My Car Has Measles-Attack Of The Road Salt?

[Guest davidimurray]

My car has aluminium side panels and rear tub. Before my IVA at the start of November I polished all the aluminium with meguiars metal polish which I understand protects the metal.

 

After all the mucking around with the dvla, I finally got the car on the road on Xmas eve and since then I've done 230 miles.

 

Putting the car away last night I noticed some spots on the aluminium. Cleaned the car down today and it is covered in spot marks on the ALU - the car looks like it has got measles. The marks don't wipe off and need a hell of a polish to get them to become less visible hopefully they will disappear with more elbow grease.

 

I am guessing that this is road salt eating the alu? What can I do to protect the ALU after I polish it again? Any tips for polishing the marks out?

[speedtripledan]

It is why I drive a car with full GRP body, I couldn't be doing with the up keep on an ally car. Vinyl wrap would be another option

[Guest kevin booth]

How about chrome wrap, very easy to apply as a bit thicker than normal wrap.

[Guest mower man]

Just polish it weekly !!!!! ,There is no magic potion cos if you get a good finish laquer wont stop on long [ no key ] my stain

less is nealy as bad esp with salt percy ,v ,erance is the only cure or flat it acid etch prime and paint or skin it with vynl mower man

[Guest davidimurray]

Looks like i'm just going to have to be very vigilant, wash the car after every trip and coat it regularly with acf50 over the winter.

 

Would like to vinyl one day but not sure I can trust myself to do a decent job!

 

I have tried hand polishing out the salt marks on the panels with t-cut, autosol and meguiars without much luck. I tried machine polishing a small area using proper polishing wheels and compound and that got rid of the marks so looks like I will need to do the rest of the car.

 

Obviously this has come to the fore on my car as I have 'naked' exterior panels, but obviously the same thing will affect all cars with Ali panels, floors etc.

 

 

Anyone heard of products called Protectaclear and Everbrite? Seems to be a protective self healing skin that can be painted on polished metals including aluminum. The American website gives some info on them http://www.everbritecoatings.com, but there is also a .co.uk for buying from in the UK. If it does everything it says it sounds very useful -

 

quote:

 

ProtectaClear is a tough and durable coating especially formulated to meet the needs of our customers who want:

 

Highly Salt Resistant - Protect Stainless Steel, Brass, Copper, Window Frames and metal in a marine environment. Protect truck or automobile metal from salts or chlorides used on the roads in the winter. Protect your Stainless Steel Rails or Aluminum boats from corrosion.

 

Highly scratch resistant. Tough and durable clear coating for metal that gets a lot of use. Any coating can be scratched but because ProtectaClear is self-annealing, it can be repaired without stripping the entire coating. ProtectaClear will blend to itself and the repaired area will not stand out.

 

Wheels, Stainless Steel Appliances, Metal Railings, Door Hardware, Door Knockers, Cabinet Hardware are just a few uses for ProtectaClear.

 

ProtectaClear is a solvent based coating but has no residual smell after just 1 hour.

 

ProtectaClear is self leveling - No brush or applicator marks are visible if properly applied.

 

Very natural looking coating, lets the natural beauty of your metal show through.

 

Environmentally friendly.

 

ProtectaClear will not yellow or darken like lacquers.

 

Easy to maintain or to remove and re-coat, even years later.

[Guest mower man]

That stuff seems to be the muts nuts!! May be a resin coating as in autoglim May work ? mowerman

[Guest chris brown]

Never come across it but it must be worth a try Protectaclear sounds like the one you want. If it does most of what they claim it will be better than having to worry about marking the car every time you go out.

[Guest mower man]

I've just been on their web site and am very impressed , I think I.ll be trying some shortly mowerman

[Guest davidimurray]

I must say at first look I look I did wonder if it was too good to be true. I've been hunting around for reviews and it seems quite a few us bikers use it and are reporting good results.

[Guest davidimurray]

Well Having bought some Protectcalear I thought I would test some before putting it on the car.

 

Got a scrap of Alu, ran over half with the polishing wheel - not a perfect mirror but a shiny finish.

 

Then masked off either end, leaving a section of raw and polished aluminium in the middle. I then washed the alu with the ERW-BD degreaser, rinsed with water and then left to dry. I then applied protectaclear using a bit of industrial tissue - not the proper rag they reccomend. I then removed the masking and let the sample dry for 24 hours in the garage and another 12 hours in the house. Using my nail I dug a little hole in the coating to see if it would lift, the coating would scratch off but did not lift or leave a loose edge.

 

Then onto the test. Got some de-icing salt, covered the strip in it and then immersed in water for 72 hours. I then removed the strip, washed the salt off, reapplied some new salt and left wetted for a further 48 hours. I then washed off the salt and looked at the results, see attached photos.

 

Comments

When the coating is applied you can clearly see the edge of the coating. The coating is easy to apply and quckly flattens of it's own accord. There was very little difference between the polished appearance of the coated and uncoated part. I think it did slightly remove the 'sparkle' from the surface but not so much you would notice. On the raw piece of aluminium I could not tell the difference apart for the line where the coating ended.

 

The difference after being on test is clear to see, there is no evidence of the edge or my deliberate scratch lifting or anything seeping underneath.

 

I did try the coating on some samples of trim. On rubber glue on edge trim and tadpole trim the coating went on dried very slowly, but on flexing the trim it peeled off al left a grey stain. On the plastic ribbed type herringbone trim the coating just remained tacky never drying. Based on this I would not use it on any rubber.

 

Based on these result I plan to polish all my car and then apply the coating.

 

Pictures in folloiwng posts for interest

 

See attached photo of coated strip, centre 1/2 between the black marks has been coated with protectclear, either end is untreated.

[Guest davidimurray]

Another photo showing the strip after coating

 

[Guest davidimurray]

Sat in the test - covered in salt and submerged in water

 

[Guest davidimurray]

Overall view of the strip after removing.

 

Right hand side is the polished unprotected section, middle 1/2 between the black marks is protectaclear coated - note near the middle there is a small hole - this was my deliberate damage to check for lifting. Left hand side is uncoated ra aluminium.

 

[Guest davidimurray]

Close up of ploished area comparison

 

[Guest davidimurray]

Closeup of unpolished area