How often does road salt realistically need to be removed to prevent permanent corrosion damage?

[JCERRN]

Question is the title. Manual maintenance section says “immediately” remove road salt, other contaminants. Realistically, how long do you guys think salt or other contaminants can stay on the panels/undercarriage? No one washes the car every day. Especially not when its 20 degrees outside…

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[Bobo_LaDouche]

I work on a salt playa. Immediate is not soon enough. )))

A pvc pipe in a U-shape, with holes drilled and a hose attachment, can wash the underside of your car if you drive over it. Bottom of the CT is basically flat, so it is really the wheel wells that need attention. Driving in the rain is also good.

 

[Crissa]

Luckily, the colder it is, the slower these chemical reactions are.

-Crissa

 

[bosshog]

Luckily, the colder it is, the slower these chemical reactions are.

-Crissa

The cybertruck is made out of stainless steel so by definition there should be no rust ever . However not sure about the undercarriage etc

 

[JCERRN]

The cybertruck is made out of stainless steel so by definition there should be no rust ever . However not sure about the undercarriage etc

Not asking about rust. Referring to corrosion/ finish damage

 

[bosshog]

Not asking about rust. Referring to corrosion/ finish damage

Corrosion is rust and cannot occur in stainless steel. As far as I know stainless steel never corrodes or rusts

 

[JCERRN]

Corrosion is rust and cannot occur in stainless steel. As far as I know stainless steel never corrodes or rusts

Rust is oxidation of iron. The iron in stainless steel is protected by a layer of chromium if it is adequately passivated. Chromium can be corroded by salts.

 

[jimbaum]

I take mine to the carwash immediately after any percipitation. Luckily I have an unlimited wash and it seems that the stainless stays more shinier the more I take it to the wash.

When I took it very sparsely before (in worries of the carwash messing things up), I found that the dirt and grime were much harder to get off (maybe it embeds into the grooves of the stainless?).

 

[gadgetmerc]

I live in Minnesota. Our roads are covered in salt for at least 4 months a year. I try to wash it once a week with the cheapest wash available. There have been a few times where its been 2 or 3 weeks but I haven't had any problems yet. It would be nice if they had more realistic guidelines.

 

[bentoncalder]

I have permanent salt spots now on my hood/front end after just 24 hours of salt being left on it. Not noticeable unless you go close and look for it but definitely disappointing.

 

[gadgetmerc]

I have permanent salt spots now on my hood/front end after just 24 hours of salt being left on it. Not noticeable unless you go close and look for it but definitely disappointing.

Can you post a picture. Curious what it looks like.

 

[JCERRN]

I live in Minnesota. Our roads are covered in salt for at least 4 months a year. I try to wash it once a week with the cheapest wash available. There have been a few times where its been 2 or 3 weeks but I haven't had any problems yet. It would be nice if they had more realistic guidelines.

Clearly the “immediately” is because they can then say “well you didnt follow official guidelines” if there is permanent corrosion and you seek them to repair. I just wondered if that is the case, how quickly noticeable corrosion would set in for them to feel that they had to say immediately. Does that mean as soon as you finish a drive? The moment the car is splashed?

 

[WormtownKris]

Question is the title. Manual maintenance section says “immediately” remove road salt, other contaminants. Realistically, how long do you guys think salt or other contaminants can stay on the panels/undercarriage? No one washes the car every day. Especially not when its 20 degrees outside…

Well John,
As you know, we were below freezing for most of the last 6 weeks. Other than the one rain we got a couple weeks back, my truck has been coated in road salt. Parking outside, it's been too cold to take it to a car wash since our last storm, and if I did, it would be recoated by the time I got home.
So, if 6 weeks is too far past immediate, I will be able to tell you soon what if anything happens to the finish.?

 

[Crissa]

The cybertruck is made out of stainless steel so by definition there should be no rust ever . However not sure about the undercarriage etc

Unfortunately, that's not how finishes work. There's always something that will break through.

Being able to re passivate the steel easily is a big advantage of stainless, though.

-Crissa

 

[M0unt41nm4n]

Question is the title. Manual maintenance section says “immediately” remove road salt, other contaminants. Realistically, how long do you guys think salt or other contaminants can stay on the panels/undercarriage? No one washes the car every day. Especially not when its 20 degrees outside…

Immediately is true. I let mine sit for a week or two. You get these white spots that don’t come off easily. You will need to BKF or Citrisurf them with some serious elbow grease to get them to come off. So now, my CT doesn’t get to play outside until it’s dry outside. It’s too much of a PITA to clean after mag chloride gets in it.

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