How Can I Avoid Salt Corrosion From Curb Rash?

It might seem like a bit of no-brainer, but the simplest advice when it comes to avoiding curb rash is to watch where you park. And this isn’t meant to be facetious - even the best driver can actually scratch up against a bollard, curb, or randomly-positioned lump of erroneous concrete in a dark parking lot. And there are odd lumps of erroneous concrete aplenty scattered through Salt Lake City, Holladay, Park City and the Salt Lake Valley in general. Utah loves its concrete vehicular corralling measures!

Curb rash typically doesn’t come from general driving - it nearly always happens when you’ve slowed almost to a stop and are maneuvering into position to park. Of course there is the odd occasion when some pesky neighborhood child gets a little too close to admire your wheels while seated on their cute little pink bike….and scratches the living daylights out of everything with pedals and handlebars (clearly this has never happened to me!). Either way, curb rash is an easily-treatable condition that can quickly turn into a plague if left, especially during the rigors of winter.

It may seem like nothing but if you break the surface of your wheel paint or protective coating even just a little bit, it can allow salt and moisture to enter, having a party together just out of sight until it all goes a bit wrong and your wheel paint starts flaking off in glorious, sunburn-esque sheets. 

If it’s too late and you’ve already got a titch of the dreaded curb rash, parking in a heated garage might feel seem like a safe bet for your car to help protect it from the elements. However, moisture from accumulated melting snow and ice reacts with the salt and actually speeds up the whole corrosive process. 

The ideal if you’ve managed to acquire a nasty case of wheel curb rash or scratches is obviously to have the wheel professionally refinished and sealed again, which the mobile experts at Salt City Wheels will be happy to do for you. If you need to postpone wheel repair, at the very least keep your wheels clean (with regular soapy water washings) and dry so road salt from driving doesn’t burrow in and destroy your beautiful rims quite so quickly.

If you’re at your wit’s end battling corrosion from a teeny tiny wheel scratch, give the Utah wheel engineering professionals at Salt City Wheels a call today at 801 425 3044 - our mobile wheel repair experts will have you sorted out faster than you can dry your eyes!