How UV Rays Affect Your Car and How to Protect It

Parents, most of us take extra steps to protect our kids’ skin from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays by applying sunscreen. But did you know that our car can also suffer sun damage from UV rays? That’s right, they not only damage the skin but can also harm vehicles in significant ways. In this blog, we’ll look into how UV rays impact cars as well as strategies to maintain optimal condition.

Exterior Woes: Retaining That Showroom Shine

Your car’s exterior serves as its first line of defense against environmental elements. Unfortunately, sunlight can be especially harsh on its paint job. UV rays cause oxidation, leading to faded or flaked paint with lackluster appearance caused by UV exposure. But that’s not all, UV exposure also takes its toll on trim parts such as rubber and plastic components in your car, becoming dry, cracked and brittle over time.

UV Rays Affect Upholstery, Dashboards and Beyond

As UV damage seeps through car windows and penetrates your upholstery, leather seats become susceptible to drying out and cracking under extended UV exposure. Dashboards and other plastic components can also become victims. Prolonged exposure may even cause warping and become hazardous parts.

Damage Control Strategies

Are you wondering what steps can be taken to safeguard the condition of your car against the sun’s relentless assault? Here are a few tried-and-tested solutions to keep it looking as new.

• Park Smart: When it comes to parking smart, keeping your vehicle out of direct sunlight is always the best solution. Choose covered parking, use a carport, or at minimum look for shaded spots.
• Install Window Tint: Window tint can be an effective strategy against UV damage, blocking up to 98% of harmful UV rays that reach interior spaces and passengers alike. Furthermore, window tint helps regulate interior temperatures for improved comfort by decreasing air conditioning use while keeping temperatures cooler overall. When purchasing tint from https://agdnow.com/window-tint-tempe-arizona/, you have several shades and levels of protection to select from to meet your individual needs.
• Wax on, Wax Off: Regular waxing will not only keep your car looking its best but can also provide important UV ray protection. A proper wax job will reflect back some UV rays before they have time to damage the paintwork. Aim to wax your car every three months for maximum protection.
• UV Protectants: Many products on the market offer additional UV protection for various components of your car, from interiors and exteriors, such as dashboards, trim pieces and seats. Protectant sprays can help ward off sun’s damaging rays by being applied directly.

Conclusion

While we all love spending time outdoors in the sunshine, it’s important to keep UV rays at bay as much as possible in order to ensure our cars retain their beauty for many years to come. From dull paint jobs and cracked dashboards, UV rays can have devastating consequences that you should prevent by planning and taking preventative steps such installing window tint and regular upkeep. So make sure you slather on some sunscreen, grab a UV protection, and protect both you and your four-wheeled friend against damaging effects caused by sun rays.

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Featured image from Christian Wiediger on Unsplash.