Stone chips making you grumpy? Then do this to your car to protect against rust

Wrapping your car in cotton wool or leaving it locked in the garage are possibly the only solutions to avoiding stone chips to the paint work, chassis, underbody, front vendors and wheel arches. Well, actually there is another way to avoid stone chips, and that is to not to drive too close to vehicles in front of you. But, realistically, even with sensible driving, stone chips are inevitable. The real crunch is whether you choose to deal with them or ignore them. The latter of which can have dire consequences to your car within time. 

How to protect stone chips from corrosion

When a stone chip exposes bare metal then it needs more than just a DIY paint touch-up. Forming a barrier to air and moisture will stop the onset of corrosion eating away. 

A question frequently asked: "I have a couple of stone chips on my car bonnet. Nothing major but there are specks of rust in them. How do I treat the rust before applying a touch-up pain? 

The answer: avoid the use of sandpaper on the localised area and apply rust remover or rust converter. The key difference between a rust converter and a rust remover is that one causes rust to separate away from the metal surface while the other converts rust to a stable compound. 

Minimal surface preparation is required prior to application of DINITROL RC900. The resulting inert compound which is produced also offers some protection from further corrosion.

It is not just the front of a car that bares the brunt of stones, gravel, grit and road debris flung up onto it, but wheel arches and the underbody get a good hammering too. 

You can protect these areas with rust proofing underbody wax and touch-up exposed areas with DINITROL Stone Chip, which will protect your car against corrosion. DINITROL stone chip products are available as an aerosol or in litres and can be overpainted.

DINITROL Protect Super 447 is a rubber synthetic resin based, quick drying rust proofing seal for wheel arches.The addition of zinc improves rust protection and prevents or delays rusting in places where the coating has been damaged. The product is particularly well-suited for after-treatment of vehicles. 

DINITROL 447 Protect Super does not attack PVC coatings, is permanently elastic and resists stone impact and road salt. After thorough drying,  DINITROL 447 Protect Super can be coated with all conventional paints.

For the underbody, apply DINITROL 445, a long-term stone chip and rust protection coating with a synthetic resin/plastic basis. After drying, the materials are resistant to carbon hydride-based cold cleaning agents, surfactant-based acid and alkaline high pressure cleaners, salt water and road salt. 

Dinitrol will penetrate the seams for added rust prevention reassurance.

Rust is a sign or corroded metal or steal and isn't just confined to a vehicle of a certain make or age although older cars and classics are most vulnerable. Humidity and road salt are major contributors. Stone chippings exposing bare metal, if left untreated, will fall foul to the presence of air, moisture and road salt. Rust prevention coatings will eventually get damaged by stone chips, so check your chassis, wheel arches and underbody and touch-up with stone chip rust protection!