Auto Corrosion  from Road Salt/Brine                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                             

Like a termite bore through wood, rust eats through the critical components of your car. (Auto Corrosion) Its favorite meal is steel, wiring, and aluminum. You won’t see it until it’s too late. A silent enemy, (Salt Brine) its destruction is aided by the salt-covered highways meant to keep you safe….. But what is it doing to cause auto corrosion?

CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=268040

The Cost of Salt Brine is auto corrosion

 

 

Protecting our highways since the early 40s, salt has been a cost-effective go-to resource. Over the years, as the highway infrastructure grew and commuters and truckers needed to travel in all conditions, salt became a standard in keeping roads passable. While this solution saved a number of lives, its effect on the environment and budgets is staggering; as well as its effects on cars and trucks.

 

 

Salt corrodes and it doesn’t just affect cars and trucks. It affects where you drive; bridges and reinforcing rods in concrete — below the road. It also affects the vehicles that lay the salt, the heavy rigs pouring millions of tons of salt on roadways to keep drivers moving. According to Brad Plumer’s research and interview with Xianming Shi, an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at Washington State University for Vox.com, the U.S. spends just under $3 billion to make roads safe during the winter and another $5 billion to pay for the resulting damage Annually. But what is the cost to consumers for auto corrosion?

 

 

The Effects of Salt Brine on Your Car

 

Did you know that:

• Americans use more than 48 billion pounds of salt to clear the effects of winter weather on the roads every year
• Rock salt lowers the risk of collisions by nearly 85 percent

 

Many of us put the key in the ignition, put the car in gear, and head along our merry way. Our vehicle gets us from Point A to Point B and we don’t think much about it beyond that, except to feed it fuel. But, on wintry roads coast to coast, what we don’t know and can’t see; can hurt us.

 

 

You probably know the basic components of the car affected by rust, but our list may offer a few surprises. The usual suspects: frame, sub-frame, brakes and brake lines, ceramic brake pads, fuel lines, cross members, exhaust, front suspension, steering components, floor plans, radiator, trunk, gas lines, shock towers, fuel tank, and wheel wells. Find anything that surprised you?

 

 

Rust forms when moisture and oxygen combine on metal. Salt accelerates this process. Taking your car out of the cold and letting the ice melt in a warm environment, such as a garage, increases the chance of rust. Road salt crushed under your tires spins into all your car’s components big and small.

 

Years may pass before you realize the damage of auto corrosion. Though it can take as little as two winters to begin to show rust underneath, a car’s outer layers of primer and paint keep the worst of it out of sight. Try our NHOU Salt Brine Eliminator before undercoating your vehicle

How Does Salt Brine Accelerate the Auto Corrosion Process?

 

 

Imagine a small rip in a piece of fabric. As you use it or wear it, the rip gets bigger. It stretches wider and wider until it eventually weakens and tears in two. This is the effect of oxidation (corrosion) not sticking to the surface of the metal and flaking off (pitting). Those little “pits” of rust you see will eventually weaken and disintegrate the metal on your car and unchecked, which could leave you stranded or worse.

 

 

Salt, saltwater, and moisture in the environment are all contributing factors to the rate of rusting metals. Salt, itself, increases the conductivity of moisture; much like lightning striking a metal pole. The salt’s reaction in a moisture-rich environment is one reason iron or steel rusts more quickly. Concentrated salt deposits, like those on icy, winter roads only exacerbate the problem.

 

 

 Vehicle Undercoating Services

 

Vehicle undercoating has never been more important because of the introduction to salt brine on the roads. The use of brins is known as anti-icing or pre-wetting measures.
Brines have the same melting characteristics as solid rock salt, but since it is applied in liquid form, the salt can begin to work immediately. The brins are also more effective in lower temperatures.

 

You need to be proactive with corrosion because “Anti-icing is currently recognized as a pro-active approach to winter driver safety by most transportation agencies. Pre-wetting [using salt brins] has been shown to increase both the performance of solid chemicals and abrasives, as well as their longevity on the roadway surface, thereby reducing the number of materials required,” the study said.

 

I share in the concern of infiltration into streams, rivers, and lakes, it would be a shame to find out too late that we have created a hostile environment for our freshwater inhabitants.

Why we think you should consider a vehicle undercoating service

 

Toyota may soon agree to a settlement of up to $3.4 billion in answer to a class action lawsuit about its inadequate rust protection. Extend the life of your car or truck with an automotive wellness check. With structural integrity at stake, how will you protect your car? NH Oil Undercoating

Many Toyota owners who maintained a proactive oil-based rustproofing maintenance program won’t experience any of these manufacturer defects.

 

Consider a vehicle undercoating service with NH Oil Undercoating®

 

Like you, we were not happy with just washing our vehicle down as a corrosion maintenance program, especially when so many car washes are recycling their water and likely not removing all the contaminants (salt and Road brine)
we worked with a team of corrosion engineers and chemists who have over 40 years of experience in automotive chemical coatings, to create a very effective and affordable product to help you extend the life of your vehicle.

NH Oil Undercoating® is designed to create a barrier that can’t be broken, chipped, or cracked. By staying fluid, our environmentally friendly petroleum-based rust protection heals back over after any abrasions providing lasting protection, even in extreme conditions.

 

For those of you not able to attend an NH Oil Undercoating® Inc workshop, here are workshops that have been videoed and uploaded to the website.
These videos are comprehensive and go through the science on how oil-based rustproofing works, tools and equipment, DIY kits, preparation, application, and maintenance.