What is limescale contamination on cars?
Limescale is most often found on cars as hard, white chalky stains which will not wash off with normal car shampoo. We generally find limescale can contaminate cars in one of three ways:
1. Multi Storey Car Parks: This occurs when a car is parked on lower levels of a multi story car park or underground parking. Rain water which is soft and possibly slightly acidic, making it very solvent, runs down the building, and during its journey from the top to bottom, it flows over concrete, it absorbs calcium carbonate and efflorescence.
It can then drip from the ceiling of car parks onto cars, where it is deposited as limescale. This is, or something similar, is by the most common form of limescale contamination we see.
2. Transportation: Limescale can occur when transporting used appliances or water tanks, which contain limescale laden water. For example, we have seen this happen when a used washing machine has been loaded on it's side, onto the roof-rack of an estate car.
3. Hard Water Spots: Normally, hard water spots are formed when soft rain water reacts with dust deposited on a car, the droplets of rain are then cooked by the sun until they evaporate leaving hard mineral rings. However, if a car is exposed to hard water, for example, being parked near a sprinkler or fountain on a hot day, or if the car is coated in certain kinds of environmental dust, these water spots can be severe.
Car Limescale Removal
As with concrete and cement removal, acid-based products dissolve calcium-based contamination, and so similar methods are employed in removing limescale from cars. Likewise, because this type of contamination is likely to cause chemical etching to the surface of the paintwork, it is usually necessary to machine polish the paintwork to fully restore it.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 01/01/2024 12:06