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Written By Greg Dumond
AUTO CARE TIPS
PROTECTING YOUR INVESTMENT
WASHING THE CAR - SIMPLE BASICS
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Unfortunately many of us do not take proper care of our vehicles.
The paint finish on the vehicle is sadly ignored, to the point that we
sometimes have to turn to the wrong type of cleaners to rejuvenate the
car. Ignoring your car by not keeping it routinely washed will only
contribute in laying a foundation for premature paint oxidation and poor
protection from the Earth's harmful elements.
How do you know which cleaners or soaps are best for your automobile? Many retail detergents and soaps are very high in alkalinity. alkalinity is much like acidity. It can actually corrode and pit the paint. What's a definition of an acid and an alkali? An acid is a compound and when mixed with water creates a positive electrical charge. The stronger the acid, the stronger the charge. An alkali on the other hand, has a negative electrical charge. A pH scale is used to determine the measure of positive and negative degrees for acids and alkalis. Since the measure of electrical charges are present, the determinate of what we call a product as being "pH Balanced" is done by actually measuring the temperature of the solution. To better understand this phenomenon think of the pH Scale as a thermometer. The thermometer takes a temperature reading of water or fluids, where a pH Scale takes a temperature reading of the chemical heat of the solution. To go one step further, a chemical solution that is loaded with alkalis is considered to be "hot". Since there is no "cold" mark on the pH scale, a desirable low pH solution will read around the middle of the scale. The temperature gauge of pH Scale ranges from 0 to 14. Zero being an indicator point of the highest acid or highest positive electrical charge. |
A middle number
like 7 would be an indicating number of a neutral position void of both
positive and negative charges. Conversely, if the pH Scale approaches
14 then the negative electrical charge is much higher. This is how
to avoid paint damage through the use of properly balanced acid or alkali
washing products.
Household detergents and soaps generally are not pH balanced. A good pH balanced soap must have a near neutral pH Formula. It is equally as important that it contain no harsh abrasive. Even mild detergents, like household "joy"® and other commercial products, can deplete the natural oil content and accelerate the starvation or drying of the painted surface. A good car wash solution should contain a small amount of essential oils. It should also contain a blend of surfacants. Oils or carnauba waxes found in good car wash solutions dissolve into micron size droplets and fill the paint pores on the surface for optimum protection. A good car wash solution also contains some water softening agents which help counteract the harsh chemicals found in water. The softening agents also cause a sheeting reaction which helps the rinse water to bead and roll off the automobile surface, thus reducing potential water spotting problems. This is why it is so important to use the right type of car wash solution to create a sheeting reaction to prevent water spotting and chemical compounds from sticking to the vehicles's surface. THE END |
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