5 Harsh Chemicals That Will Eat Away Your Car Paint Almost Instantly

Are you worried about the finish of your car?

Paint isn’t only there to make your car look nice, it’s there to protect the body of your car. Exposure to the elements, impacts, and general wear and tear can take its toll, wearing away the paint. But what you might not realize is common chemicals found in your garage can damage your paint job too.

Keep reading for these 5 harsh chemicals that will eat away your paint almost straight away.

1. Gasoline

When you fill up your tank, gasoline can drip out of the nozzle and drip onto your car paint. How much damage it causes sometimes depends on how long the gasoline sits on the paint.

What happens is it causes paint discoloration and fading, as it thins out the clear coat layer that’s on top. If this keeps happening and it eats deeper, it’ll wear the base coat down too. Wash off any gasoline immediately with water to prevent the worst damage.

2. Battery Acid

Another chemical that eats car paint fast is battery acid. It’s one of the worst corrosive materials for paint, but any acid can cause damage. You’re at risk of causing permanent damage when the battery acid leaks or you spill it during a change.

This causes the chemical process of corrosion, which will scratch and dent the paint. To prevent leaks, put in place regular checks on your battery to look for evidence. When you’re working on batteries, take extreme care not to spill any of the acid.

You can’t protect your car always, especially in situations where you have to transport it. For those cases, use a protective film to keep it safe from all damage, not only chemicals. You can click to discover more.

3. Rust

The chemical corrosion process of rusting is one of the biggest causes of peeling paint. If the rust gets deep enough, it’ll harm your surface coat, which weakens every paint layer. Over time, it will detach from the main body and peel away.

If rust gets deep enough into the body panels, that’s permanent damage and you need to replace them. If the damage isn’t too bad, a repair technician could save them. But at the very least you’ll need car repainting services to get your car looking like new again.

4. Hydraulic (Brake) Fluid

Another corrosive substance your car relies on is hydraulic (brake) fluid. This can eat away at the paint job of your car by eroding the surface layer away first. As time passes, this causes the paint to chip and peel. If left, you’re looking at a rust problem.

It only takes 5 minutes for brake fluid to crack the clear coat and vinyl on your car. If you have an older car that’s painted with lower quality paint, or not waxed well, it’s even more at risk. If you do spill brake fluid on your car, clean it up with water right away.

5. Bleach

There are substances like sulfuric and nitric acid in bleach. These acids will seep into the surface of the paint and work into the grooves and impurities.

As such, they will eat away at the layer of paint, dissolving it. To prevent the damage as best you can, make sure you clean any bleach off your car right away. Though it’s likely you’ll need a repaint.

Don’t Let Harsh Chemicals Ruin Your Car Paint

So, there you have it! Now you know these 5 common harsh chemicals to avoid spilling on your car.

Anything that contains acid will cause corrosion. In some cases, you’ll be able to fix the damage with a repaint, in others you’ll need to replace body panels. To save yourself the cost and stress, always keep your garage chemicals stored in a safe cabinet.

If you found this article helpful, be sure to check out our other blog posts for more!

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