There are times when the built-in storage system of your vehicle is just isn’t enough to carry your outdoor luggage. And the only place that you could conveniently put your stuff is on the roof. This is why car roof racks have been an essential car accessory for many car owners. It is the best way to carry large, oddly shaped or unwieldy items that just wouldn’t fit inside the vehicle. You just have to make sure that you strap everything properly. Otherwise your stuff might end up bouncing off the road.
When installing a car roof rack, you have to be really careful not to scratch the paint of your car. Here are some tips that will help you install your car roof rack without damaging your car’s paint.
1. Wash your car. If your car is covered with dust, road salt, tar, bugs and other substances, it is advisable to wash your car first before installation. When washing your car, avoid using dish washing detergent or soap. Doing otherwise will remove wax from your car and may cover your car paint with swirl marks.
You can use two buckets. One is for water and another for soapy water. After you’ve soaped down one section of the car, dip and rinse the sponge into the bucket of clean water before soaping up again. This will minimize the dirt that will go into the soap solution that might rub against the paint of your car when applying soap.
2. Dry your car. After washing making sure to dry the car. This will help it look clean and prevent evaporated water from leaving behind deposits or water spots.
3. Evenly wax and buff. This step will protect the car from harmful elements. It is important to ensure that your car’s roof has at least a good wax coating before installing the roof rack.
4. Mount the roof rack. Just place it carefully over to model 3 roof rack where it should go but don’t install it yet. You need to make sure that the rack is positioned properly leaving a small space between the rack and the roof.
5. Cut some strips of vinyl. Once the roof rack is installed, it creates a situation where certain dust particles, salt and moisture can get trapped in there with the base bars rubbing it all against the car’s paint. This is what causes the damage that most car owners complain about.
In order to prevent this from happening you need to put a couple of clear vinyl strips between the roof and the feet of the base bar. This is why waxing the roof of the car is so important because it will provide protection from the vinyl. In addition, it will make the vinyl strip easier to peel off in the future.
6. Apply the vinyl film. While the rack is held up, apply the film by sticking down one side first. Then, smoothly and firmly slide your hand through the vinyl to push out tiny air bubbles. If the vinyl is not properly smoothed out, the edges are not firmly affixed and air bubbles are present, it will quickly peel off and dust particles could easily get trapped under the vinyl strips.
After some time and you want to remove the vinyl film, you would probably see a light patch from where it used to be. This is not something to be worried about because this means that you car is just dirty and the light patch you’re seeing is simply a clean spot. Your car will need some cleaning and waxing to fix the problem.
