Bare metal

[Lydia]

Ok so the owner of the Mazda I detail had a little mishap and hit a sign. She's didn't get hurt fortunately and she didn't hit anyone. Right front panel is caved in a little in front of the wheel. The headlight and bumper didn't get messed up. So my question is: is there anything I could put on the bare metal to keep it from rusting? She is probably going to take it to a body shop and get them to fix it somewhat (just hammer it out some and cover up bare metal...she doesn't want to replace the panel) so I just want to put something on there to prevent rust for a few days....it's amazing how quick bare metal will rust here in FL.

Thanks!

-Lydia

[Murr1525]

Well, you could just wax the area. Just be gentle around the edges of the scratch.

They should clean the surface before working, so it would be ok.

[Lydia]

Ok thanks for the suggestion! The rest of the car is beautiful and clean; I had just washed and waxed it that day lol. So I guess I'll just put some wax on it carefully. Would DC#3 work ok?

[Mike Phillips]

If the place she's going to take it to is going to paint the affected area, then you could clean the area really well, scuff it with some sandpaper or a scotchbrite pad and then wipe with some rubbing alcohol, and then apply either some clear automotive touch-up paint or even some clear fingernail polish.

The goal is simply to seal the bare metal from exposure to the environment/atmosphere, anything you apply the body shop is going to sand/scuff off before making the repair, so it's temporary at best.

Waxing the area will help also, another idea would be to apply some NXT Metal Polysh as it contains an anti-corrosive ingredient that will protect the metal.

Just be sure to tell the body shop what you did to the area before hand as a courtesy to them so they know the what and why of what's going on with that area.