FALL and it's effect on your ride
 

It's been rainin down here in D.C. an awful lot. where I live, there are an awful amount of trees. They have been loosing their leaves for ever, it seems, and there are leaves, wet leaves and $heet all around my place.

Here's my question. My friend and I are talkin about contamanents on paint, and I said that leaves aren't as big a deal as bird dropings. He says that the leaves "bleed" some type of acidic chemical so they can decompose faster.

Fact or Fiction?

I think he is trying to sell you some BS with that crap, during the fall most of the leaves that fall are dead, so there is nothing going through them like there is in the spring/early summer. When a leaf is alive is does let out something, ever notice the outline of a leaf like on the driveway? hehe

I'm not sure about the acid thing but I'm pretty sure if you leave leaves on your car that they will screw the paint up. They screwed my driveway up and its much stronger than Nissan Paint.

I never thought about that..............:eek:

Wet leaves left on your car to dry can indeed stain your paint. Especially Oak Tree leaves. A simple cleaner wax will usually clean up the finish just fine.

When leaves decompose, they do so because microbial activity digests them. When this occurs, there will be some acidity, and yes, probably enough to damage paint. But still, having wet leaves on the paint in a microbe free world, would still probably harm the paint in some fashion.

Thanks guys for the answers....... I always try to pick off the leaves as soon as I see them, but I can't always be lookin outside at my car........well I do.....

One more quickie about the paint. I have the Sherwood Green color, and it's very succeptable to streaks, swirlmarks, due to the dark color.

I have tried everything from hand buffing, machine buffing w/ polishing compound, and Meguiars Scratch X, to a professional job (paid to have someone buff the car), to get these spiderwebs out. No luck. The only time it goes away is when I wax (due to the fact the wax hides them) I use Meguiars professional Yellow Wax. It looks great after I apply and buff the wax off... but the next time I wash the car the scratches are back. Yes I use a chamois (soft) and a high quality mit (and rinse it off before dunking each time too).

Am I just gonna have to wax it all the time, or is this wax just coming off to quickly? Any ideas would be great! THANKS

I have the same color paint and it flat-out sucks. I just gave up on it and now I try to drive fast enough so nobody can see the streaks, scratches, swirls, and chips. Seriously though, I hear alot of people talking about that Zaino stuff so you might be able to find some info on that. I don't know a whole lot about paint, even though my dad has a body shop. I figure as soon as I get it nice I'll have to subject the car to another Northeast winter.

just rinse them damn leaves off .. i think ill do that soon. and all the dirt and stuff stuck on thru the raining and crappiness of fall.

Did that man, I was talkin about swirl marks:(


Fall does suck though.

I don't think that a decomposing leaf, and microbe degradation would be that big of a deal. Most leaves go through decomposition in the soil and become fertilizer of sorts, and soil maintains a pH level of 6-8 ( acidic is the lower).

The Meguiars site states that contamanents of any sort do pose a risk to the paint. On their customized paint care web thingy, it asks if you park by any of the following, and goes through a bunch of options (fall out, construction, trees)

It's pretty cool. This is what sparked the whole conversatino w/ my friend in the first place. I Guess it goes w/ everything else... you don't want stuff sitting on your paint. I guess everything is bad for it, except wax and poish:)

If we thought fall was bad, spring absolutely sux w/ all that pollen.

Wanna bet? Go ask a botanist or a soil expert about how acidic a compost pile can get. I'd be willing to bet that a decomposing (basically any wet leaf) if left long enough will be more acidic than the average pH of acid rain in North America (yes I know pH ranges greatly in NA, thus, average). Also, let's not forget the combination damage a leaf can do just by sitting on a car by being wet. Combine the stains a leaf can leave just by being wet and the acidity that it can produce, and it's pretty obvious that one should get it off asap.

the leaves thing ****es me off too

mud flaps are extemely useful.. I have leave pieces and dirt all over the body of my car behind my wheels.. i drive almost 1,000 a week and don't have time to wash my car every day..

Nissan Maxima Owners = Smart :D
This just supports my idea even more!

attack of the killer leaves

they'll kill ya if you start sliding on em

very dangerous ;)

Yea, my buddy (who I was having this arguement w/) just slipped and twisted his ankle in those F'ing leaves. It's all bruised and swollen now.:(

if its bruised it might be broken ... better tell him to get an x-ray .... those leaves are mighty slippery especially when wet

His G/F said it looked broken, but he won't go. Too stubborn (plus he doesn't want to be told that he can't ski or snowboard)

well tell him that if he ignores it, it can have a very serious long term affect ... if it is broken, it's better to sacrafice one winter instead of all the winters for the rest of his life

Yea,
Funny thing is he broke the OTHER ankle last winter..

I'll tell him, but we'll see what he decides. You're right though, I'd rather walk w/ no problems the rest of my life, than go skiing in pain one winter........

where do you ski?

do you take your max on ski trips?