Unless you park in a garage or live someplace utterly void of a sprinkler system, chances are you've probably let your machine become at to the lowest degree a lilliputian scrap misted by a sprinkler. While many people don't think twice most parking their car in the driveway, if y'all aren't conscientious, y'all could exist dowsing your car in hard water, and it could be ruining your car'due south paint. You might non discover it at first, but over time, sprinkler water can ruing your vehicle, even if you exercise regular washing maintenance.

Harsh sprinkler water

In many places, sprinkler water is non-potable, and information technology is not as heavily filtered every bit our standard drinking water. This is because the filtering process isn't necessary when watering your grass, and is the reason you shouldn't drinkable water from a sprinkler — not that most people would be inclined to in the starting time place. Only that's also what makes the water besides difficult for your auto'due south paint.

Raindrops beading on classic auto paintwork | National Motor Museum/Heritage Images

How to protect your paint

The obvious solution to this problem is to keep your automobile as far away from sprinklers as possible, but that isn't exactly a reasonable fashion to solve things. At that place are means that you tin protect your motorcar'south pigment if getting sprinkler water on it is inevitable. Giving your vehicle a no-touch wash in one case a week with something similar a force per unit area washer can help reduce the hard water stains, just if y'all aren't washing your automobile correctly, it could lead to other problems.

Cleaning a sunroof
Donnie Parker details a vehicle | Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

RELATED: Should You Launder Your Motorcar After It Rains?

A detailing and maintenance choice that has been rising in popularity is a smashing way to protect your car's paint from sprinkler water and other damaging elements. It's called a ceramic coating, and it can be rather expensive. The ceramic coating seals in your car'due south pigment by creating a chemical bond with the articulate coat, merely information technology will not repair the impairment that is already done. If you don't want to beat out out to money for ceramic blanket, keeping your car correctly waxed can also minimize the effects of the sprinkler water.

Your paint will get tedious over time

If you allow your automobile to sit down in the sprinklers, over fourth dimension, the hard water will stain your car's clear glaze. Information technology's more noticeable as the regular water stains we meet often, but it can damage your motorcar'due south pigment and require paint repair and correction, which can require wet-sanding a layer of the pigment's clear coat, and in more astringent cases even a completely new paint job.

Workers spray pigment a car body vanquish | Yuan Jingzhi/VCG

RELATED: Yous've Been Washing Your Car Wrong This Whole Time

Yous don't have to own a show car to care about your car's paint. Fifty-fifty if you aren't e'er on top of your ordinarily scheduled automobile wash, or you let your auto get a trivial muddied sometimes, that doesn't mean y'all should let your car's pigment get ruined if it's preventable. Sprinklers can't always be avoided, but with some simple tricks, you tin can avert ruining your car'due south paint.