What is Rust?
Below, we run through some of the main types of rust and what causes them.
What Causes Vehicles To Rust?
Rust develops on your vehicle when the iron in the panels and frame react with oxygen and water. This oxidising of the metal appears as a reddish-brown coat that can corrode parts of your vehicle.
Rust damage usually happens because of a combination of factors:
- British Climate – Continuous exposure to rain, sleet, and snow will heighten the chances of moisture oxidising with the metals on your car. Road salts used to grit British roads during the winter months can also speed up the corrosion process, even higher temperatures can lead to corrosion too.
- Vehicle Age – As your vehicle ages, paintwork and protective coatings can become chipped, damages, and suffer from wear and tear. If the metal bodywork is exposed to moisture it will eventually start to rust and corrode.
- Vehicle Materials – Newer vehicles have some protections to the paintwork and also use arch liners to prevent damage to the inner wheel wells. Most older vehicles however, were generally made without protective coatings being applied to the paint, leaving them more vulnerable to rust and corrosion.
- Your Style of Driving – If you tend to drive off-road, down country lanes, or even through puddles on a consistent basis you could run the risk of increasing the corrosion to your car.
Types Of Rust
As a general rule, there are three main types of rust:
- Bodywork Surface Rust – This type of rust usually affects the top layer of your car, and occurs in damage to the body panels. Treating the bodywork damage at an early stage will give you the best chance of avoiding the rust spreading and increasing in size.
- Scale rust – This occurs when surface rust has been left untreated long enough to corrode the metal on body panels. Road salt is well known for speeding up the corrosion process and could affect the integrity of the metal itself.
- Penetrating rust – This is the most advanced and most damaging type of rust for your car. If you leave surface and scale rust to develop, you might need to replace entire parts and body panels.
Common Locations That Attract Rust
Rust and oxidisation can occur anywhere on the body of your vehicle. In fact, surface rust is often the tip of the iceberg, as it’s common for oxidisation to form inside a panel or part and work its way outward. The most important thing to look out for is any exterior paint-bubbling. This is often an early sign of rust.
- Vehicle Frame rails – Run underneath both sides of a car underneath the doors, these are where you would ordinarily use a jack to raise the vehicle.
- Your Wheel wells – Whilst liners do protect this area considerably more than they used to, the arches above your tyres are prone to rust.
- Your Exhaust System – Your exhaust system is exposed to moisture from the inside and outside of the car which can be trapped by mud and dirt.
- Suspension Components – These components are exposed to moisture and dirt all year round as your tyres flick mud and road dirt up onto them.
Rust and corrosion can cause your vehicle to fail its MOT and can also make your vehicle unroadworthy, if you have any concerns about rust or corrosion to your vehicle, get in touch with the team and we will be happy to advise you.