There's Pollen Everywhere, But Does It Damage Your Paint?

Over the past few weeks, many of us have noticed a difference when walking to our cars – a yellowish tint overlaying the entire surface.

In addition to triggering our allergies, pollen just seems to stick to cars. Sure it looks bad, but are there negative effects for your paint? Well, this is what pollen looks like on a microscopic level:

Now, imagine millions of those on your vehicle’s paint.

The tiny, microscopic thorns on pollen are what help it stick to your car’s surface. However, the most damaging aspect of pollen is not the thorns, but the acidity. We’ve discussed acidity and how it can damage your paint on a previous post on acid rain. The good news is that for pollen’s acidic properties to take place, it needs another element – water. So when your vehicle is covered with pollen, the oncoming rain is what will activate the acid properties which will, over time, deteriorate your vehicle’s paint.

Pollen should be removed from your car as often as possible through hand washing – avoid automatic car washes. The more layers of pollen there are, the more chance it has of clinging to the paint’s pores and causing damage like fading or reducing the clear coat. Protective sealants and paint protection options like Ceramic Pro and Paint Protection Film can make washing pollen off much easier. Simply put, the more layers of protection between your car’s paint and outside elements, the better protected it will be.

Come to Capitol Shine to get that pollen off and while you're here, ask us about all the different ways to protect your paint - it's what we specialize in!

Schedule your service appointment by clicking here or call 202-380-7100. Please schedule at least 24 hours in advance to ensure time and date.