Cars are meant to be used outdoors. As the years go by, the conditions that vehicles encounter outdoors are sure to take a toll – and perhaps nothing will do more damage than the sun itself. As the sun’s rays beat down on a vehicle, the paint bears the brunt of the damage and it may start to look worse for the wear.
Read on to learn how to fix sun-damaged car paint. Also, to protect your vehicle from incurring so much sun damage, consider parking it under a carport from American Carports, Inc. You can easily customize a structure to fit your needs using our free Build & Price tool.
Identifying Sun Damage
Before you can work on fixing sun damage, you need to be sure that it is sun damage you are dealing with in the first place. The classic sign of sun damage is fading of the paint color over time. For example, what was once a bright red tone on your vehicle might start looking like a lighter, aged shade of red. Most likely, the fading paint is something you will notice gradually over time, as the tint of the paint slowly changes under the force of the sun.
You may also wind up dealing with peeling paint issues as another sign of sun damage. This is a more advanced stage of damage, so you’ll hopefully be able to act on this issue before reaching this stage. Either way, whether your paint is just fading or has also started to peel, it will be time to get to work on some effective fixes.
Getting to Work
When you are ready to work on fixing this issue, so your car can sparkle once again, consider following the process below. You may need to modify this process somewhat depending on the condition of your vehicle’s paint and what supplies you have available, but this should be a good starting point.
- Give it a great wash. This process always starts by getting your vehicle as clean as possible. There are a couple of options available to you on this point – you could wash the car at home in your driveway, or you could take it to a commercial car wash facility. Either way can work, but the most important thing is that the car is very clean before you move on to performing any more work.
- Clay bar rub. With a clean – and dry – car to work with, the next step is to use a clay bar to rub the vehicle and clean off anything that didn’t come free during the washing stage. When you buy a clay bar, it will come with some lubricant to use with it. You simply spray the lubricant on any spots that need attention and then use the clay bar to rub on the faded areas.
- Rubbing compound. If you would still like to make more progress on the faded paint after using the clay bar, you’ll move on to bring a rubbing compound into the mix. This is a product you can find at an auto parts store. You can think of rubbing compound kind of like liquid sandpaper – it is going to agitate the surface of the vehicle when it is applied. Use a circle pattern to work the compound onto the vehicle and aim to develop a hazy look across the surface of the paint.
- Buff it out. Finally, take out a clean microfiber towel and buff off the compound that is remaining on the vehicle. It will take a bit of elbow grease to work all of the compounds off to finish up this job.
You might be surprised to see just how much better your vehicle looks after going through the steps above. There will be some effort involved, but in the big picture, the improvement you can get in appearance for just a modest amount of time invested will be more than worth it.
Protect Your Car with American Carports
We hope this guide to how to fix sun-damaged car paint has helped! If your vehicle has already accumulated some damage, the tips above can help you improve the way it looks quickly and easily. Looking forward, think about adding a carport to your property to protect the paint and the rest of the vehicle from the havoc that Mother Nature can wreak. A metal carport is a durable, affordable way to improve your vehicle’s future. Start building your customized port with our free Build & Price tool today!
