[littlebadboy]

Hi! I and my wife together with our 11 year old and a baby girl went to Raymond Chevrolet in Antioch IL after being bugged for the longest time by a telephone marketer since last year. We have always had the eye for the Traverse but thought we could not afford it. But, we were given a very good offer for a used LT '09 and unexpectedly took it home last Saturday. In my country-of-origin, I had a white Sentra, Civic, and a Corolla. I also had a white with red stripes color schemed sport bike. Since I got here in the US, I got a white Dodge Avenger and then now got a white Traverse for the wife and growing family. Although it is not intentional, for some reason, I always end up with white vehicles. Although we are Asians, I and my wife decided to get American cars so we can help Uncle Sam.

We've been making excuses to ourselves to ride it because we enjoy how smooth the ride is and all its conveniences. Our only concerns are: the button to open the lid on the center console was missing. We found some scratches on the interior plastics, some stains on the upholstery, and nasty wide scratches on a hubcover. We did not notice them when we checked out the unit because because it was already dark.

As you know, having a white car is a little bit more challenging. In my country-of-origin, there was a company who applies a chemical on the outer shell to protect the paint. Is there a similar service here? Or, Would I need it? What are your suggestions?

How about underneath rust-proofing, is there an available service here too?

 

[USNative]

I have a 2001 GMC truck in Summit White color and have had no problems with it other than the typical rock chips that I pick up every so often on the highway by passing motorists (Montana is notorious for getting rock chips). :angryfire: The paints used today have improved especially on the lighter colors and most new vehicles are finished with a clear coat to help protect the paint .

I also think that most new vehicles have a rust protective undercoating sprayed underneath , but depending on the state you live and what they use on the roads during the winter you may need extra protection if you want to avoid corrosion . My dealer here in Montana told me that Montana don't use salt on the roads here to melt snow on the roads , thay are using a chemical now that is very corrosive on vehicles so when we have snow on the roads I drive as little as possible until the roads dry out .

I am going to be checking to see if there is an additional undercoating I can put on our vehicles to protect them from this new chemical . I don't know the name of the chemical they are using on the roads here but I am going to find out what it is and what I can do to combat it on eating on our vehicles . My suggestion is to ask your dealer if there is an undercoating and if there is any additional protection you may need for rust & corrosion .


Hope this helps !!!

 

[quantum]

Depending how much road salt is spread in your state, I would definitely consider undercoating.

USNative: I can't believe that they are using a chemical now. I thought everyone was trying to "go green". I know up here in the Great White North, we use a lot of salt (not good for vegetation or vehicles).

I read in the paper that our local region is switching from Brine (salt and water mix) to beet juice. Yes that is correct beet juice. Apparently its not purple/maroon either. It's a whole lot better for the environment. I wonder how that will affect our vehicles?

Anyways, sorry to go off topic like that.

 

[Toddzilla67]

OK, this is long. But first, welcome to the Traverse community!

Colorado DOT has been using Magnesium-Chloride (liquid) for quite a few years now. Sand and salt are rarely used. MgCl has benefits if it's sprayed onto road surfaces before roads get too bad. But MgCl leaves a residue that stays around for a LONG time and attracts moisture. It can also be more of a problem if the road surface temperature is too cold.

Our 1999 Buick Regal (117K miles) was white and the paint on it still looked fairly new because I took care of it. But I suspect the clear coat was at the end of its life. Even so, I will never own another white car that gets driven in Colorado winters. MgCl is a big problem if a vehicle isn't washed at least once a week and a touchless wash is not enough. I take a wash mitt into the manual wash bay with me. We had the Traverse a week and there were rust-colored spots on the paint when I washed it the first time. If neglected, these spots will get larger and stain the clear-coat. This spring I will use the clay bar on the Traverse, then seal the paint (Meguiar's #7 Glaze) and wax it (Meguiar's #26 Yellow Wax). And early this fall I will spend some time prepping the paint with different products just for winter protection. I'll search for the webpage that I saw from a guy that drives in these conditions all winter, but has used products that have really helped him with protecting white paint.

I spent 12 hours just on the Regal's paint last spring getting the MgCl stains off the car including the chrome wheels. Clay bar wasn't aggressive enough and that's scary. 3M liquid rubbing compound and a sheepskin bonnet on my buffer was the only thing that worked OK. And in spots where it was really bad, I had to use a white Scotch Brite pad with a small amount of the rubbing compound in small circles without too much pressure. Then comes the 50/50 isopropyl alcohol/water wipe-down, then seal, and wax.

Salt on the roads may have been a bad thing, but the MgCl alternative may be worse. And I've got no idea how environmentally friendly it is either.

 

[Toddzilla67]

Look at this thread at AutoGeekOnline:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...7125-5-exterior-shampoos-my-observations.html

This guy drives 1000 miles a week in MgCl and this thread is him talking about what he uses to wash the car. He also says he has Meguiar's NXT wax on the car to help protect the paint. I think he's using a different paint protector (sealant) now that works even better, so I'll try to find out what that is. EDIT: Here is the product I was thinking of, http://www.autogeek.net/klashiggloss.html.

There is a huge write-up on this forum about white paint and the oddities it possesses.

Hope this helps.

 

[Dr. Chris]

You may want to have a clear 3M bra applied by a professional to protect the paint from road rash, stone chips and bugs. I have one on my Enclave and its on the front bumper, hood, front fenders, back of side view mirrors and door handle cups to protect from fingernail scratches. Once its applied, it is virtually invisible. There are various manufacturers of clear bras. Mine is Autobahnd Roadblock. This autobahnd brand has a lifetime warranty. See the link below. You wax right over it like your paint.

http://www.autobahndint.com/home.html

CT

 

[Toddzilla67]

This is actually something I've been meaning to check into. I'm waiting for a call from them to see if they've got templates for the Traverse. How much did yours cost to do this CT?

 

[VB - LTZ]

I had the Dealer ship install it you can get most window tint shops to do it. The price depends on the kit there are ones the do the just the hood or ones like mine the cover the entire front end fronts of the mirrors & you can even get it for the head lights. So the price for the kit installed could go from a couple of hundred dollars to around 4 or 5 depending on what you having done.

 

[littlebadboy]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and the tons of tips!

The 3M clear bra and Klashigloss sounds interesting. I will definitely look into that as soon as I can find a dealer nearby.

Does the LT1 have a rear sensor? If it does, I have not noticed it working yet.

 

[VB - LTZ]

??? Are you talking a bought the rear back up sensor? If you have it you should be able to see the sensors on the back bumper. They can be turned off from what I understand I have not messed with it so im not really sure.

 

[rbarrios]

if you do have the sensors-- youll see them on the rear bumper..
theyre circular- about the size of a nickel and theres about 4 or 5 of them.

You can turn off the feature via the DIC.

 

[USNative]

My LT1 has the rear sensors . I found out it had em when I was backing up in my driveway and got close to the bush in the yard . It beeped and I saw the message come up on the dash . That's how I found out about having one . It's niether here nor there to me having the sensor and I could see where it could become an annoyance to some . But it was kinda suprising to have a feature I never knew I had on this vehicle . ;D

@ Toddzilla67 , I think the chemical I was talking about is the Magnesium Chloride that you mentioned . I am pretty sure that's what the dealer said it was . Anyway he did say that you want to wash the vehicle good after driving on snowy roads if you want to avoid corrosion it can cause . Kinda hard to be going out in subfreezing temperatures and washing vehicles after each use. He did say it was some pretty nasty stuff . I guess I will not only wash the vehicle but I will spry the undercarriage off as best as I can if I take it out on snowy highways. IMO I don't think it is neccesary to use something so harsh on people's cars to get rid of snow . That's taking things a little to the extreme if you ask me. : Maybe they should look in to using the Beet Juice like Quantum said is used on the Canadian highways . It's better to use something Green that will do the job than to use the crap they are using here , that's for sure .

 

[Toddzilla67]

Hey, the beet juice thing sounds pretty good to me. It's renewable and it's got to be way cheaper than MgCl.

As I said before, MgCl does have some benefit for keeping the roads from getting ice and snow build-up. Yes, it may keep the road safer, but it probably saves DOT tons of money since it can help cut down on the number of plows on the road during and after a snow fall.

Driving to Denver for work this morning I suspect I used over a quart of washer fluid. The roads were barely wet from late night/early morning snow. But the mag on the roads will turn your windshield (and headlights) brown after a few miles. There isn't a wiper or fluid made to cut through all the film that's left on the windshield. If a person ran out of washer fluid on a day like today they would be screwed.

The undercarriage of our Regal never looked bad from driving through the MgCl. But the paint sure suffered since weekly washing had to be avoided because of sub-freezing temps. The only thing I can think of to prevent the stains again is to prepare the paint for the winter onslaught. I think protective film on the rock-chip prone areas is a great idea (and we'll be doing it soon), but the surface of the car will still have to withstand the chemicals that are on the winter roads.