How Can I Protect My Painted Wheels From Winter Road Salt?

Winter can wreak havoc on all kinds of surfaces. You likely already know that it’s important to get your car body washed regularly in the winter, even if you’re not going anywhere or seeing anyone, because ambient salt particles floating around in the air settle on your car and like to burrow their way under the paint. Your car’s wheels are no different, painted or not. 

The best way to protect your wheels, especially if they are painted, is to get curb rash, pothole damage, dings, scuffs and scratches repaired as soon as possible. This is not just cosmetic - salt and rust are opportunists, constantly looking for a vulnerable spot in any metals where they can dig in and proliferate. 

If you leave scratches unrepaired, the resulting corrosion from salt and rust can become so bad that, forget the inconvenience of having to get your entire wheel repainted, you may have to get your entire wheel replaced! Such is the corrosive power of salt and rust it can compromise the structural integrity of your wheel. Yikes.

Getting scratches repaired is also vital regardless of the size of the scratch. Paint and sealant are there partly to look pretty but also in large part to do a job: protecting your wheel from the elements. At their core, wheels are sturdy beasts built from the strongest iron, but just like Superman, they have their Kryptonite. Salt and rust may seem quiet and innocent but they are the Devil Incarnate when it comes to metal wheels, especially if they can find a crack or scratch to gain entry to the tasty metal beneath. 

And since you can’t exactly keep your scratched wheels parked in the garage forevermore, the reality is that in the course of normal use they will be exposed to salt on the road and in the air. 

This all sounds very scary and serious, we know, but it doesn’t have to be for you. 

Salt City Wheels are Utah’s premier mobile wheel repair specialists, bringing all our years of wheel repair expertise, know-how and can-do directly to your door so your damaged wheels don’t have to go out in public and embarrass themselves. 

If you have a scratch, dent, ding or curb rash on your formerly-glorious wheels, don’t let salt or rust ruin them further - give Salt City Wheels a call now at 801 425 3044 to schedule your wheel repair. 

We’ll have you back on the road in a jiffy!