Hot weather takes a toll on your car, and for most people, the temperature inside the car, plus the tires and engine, are the most likely to show effects of the excessive temperatures. Your car's exterior, however, also suffers in the heat. If you don't protect your car's paint job from hot weather, you can end up with a scratched, patchy-painted vehicle a few years from now as layers start to peel off. Protecting that finish is, luckily, simple -- but don't fall for some myths along the way.

Wax, Not Dirt, Protects Your Car's Paint Job

Placing a defensive layer between the paint and the sun is essential, and that layer is wax. Ensuring the car is waxed properly means that there's this coating that serves almost as insulation against damage from the light. Dirt does not protect your car's paint at all; while it might look like it could keep the light off, what it really does is create tiny scratches in the finish, both in the paint and in any wax that may already be on the car. As the weather gets hotter, washing your car more often can actually help preserve the paint job.

The Engine Contributes to Paint Stress

Heat and light from above place stress on the car's paint, and so does heat from below -- in the engine. The working temperature of the engine gets hotter in summer as environmental temperatures make it harder for the engine to cool down. All that heat can heat up your car's hood and the paint on top. Ensure your car's coolant system is working well before the start of hot weather.

Shaded Parking Protects Your Paint, in Addition to the Car's Interior

If you're now thinking that parking in the shade might help the paint job, too, you're right. You already know how much cooler your car feels inside when you've parked in the shade; that cooling effect also helps protect the paint. Fewer UV rays reach the car (the shade blocks a lot, but some still bend around objects and hit the car), and the heat stress is, obviously, reduced a great deal.

If you haven't been caring for the exterior of your car lately, start with a car wash. With the dirt gone, you can have a new layer of wax put on over the paint to give your car's paint job its best chances of surviving the summer.

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