Gritting Trucks at 30 Degrees? Why Summer Salt is a Silent Killer for Your Car (and How Prolan Helps)

It's the middle of summer, the thermometer reads 32 degrees, and you're driving down the highway with the air conditioning on. Suddenly, you spot a familiar orange flashing light in the distance. As you get closer, you can hardly believe your eyes: it's a salt spreader. Spreading salt in summer?!

No, you haven't suffered a heatstroke. During extreme heatwaves, municipalities bring out their salt spreaders in droves. But while this is necessary for the asphalt, it's a double disaster for your car: you not only have to deal with aggressive salt, but also with splashing, glowing-hot bitumen.

In this blog, we explain why salt is spread in summer, why 'summer brine' and liquid asphalt are so dangerous for your vehicle, and how you can permanently protect your car from this with the Prolan rust protection kits from Fawkes Rev.

Why does the municipality spread salt in extremely hot weather?

When temperatures remain tropical for days, the asphalt can reach temperatures of up to 50°C or 60°C. The bitumen (the 'glue' in the asphalt) then begins to melt. The result? Sticky roads, loose stones, and rutting caused by heavy trucks.

To counteract this, municipalities spread road salt. Salt attracts moisture from the air. This moisture then evaporates, which has a cooling effect on the road surface. Furthermore, the salt increases the melting point of the bitumen, keeping the asphalt hard. A smart move by the municipality, but a major challenge for your vehicle.

The danger to your car: Summer brine and sticky bitumen

Everyone knows you have to watch out for brine in winter. But the combination of factors often makes spreading salt in summer even more aggressive for the underside of your car:

• Turbo-rust from heat: Rust (oxidation) is a chemical process that occurs many times faster at warm temperatures. Salt that lands on metal at 30°C eats through paint and coatings at lightning speed.
• High humidity: Salt needs moisture to cause damage. The combination of summer brine, high humidity, and a sudden, warm thunderstorm creates the perfect storm for rust formation.
• The bitumen trap: The soft, liquid asphalt splashes up and sticks to your wheel arches and underbody as a rock-hard, black crust. This bitumen hermetically seals the splashed salt and moisture underneath. As a result, the salt can invisibly eat holes in your chassis, while you think you've cleaned the car thoroughly.

The solution: Preventive summer protection with Prolan

Unfortunately, a trip through the car wash after a heatwave is not enough. Plain water cannot remove hardened bitumen or trapped salt. The only real way to protect your car is to ensure that the dirt cannot attach itself in the first place. And that is exactly where Prolan excels.

Why Prolan offers the ultimate summer and winter protection:

Prolan is a revolutionary protective product based on natural lanolin (wool grease). Unlike traditional petroleum-based or wax coatings, Prolan offers unique benefits that are perfect for summer:

• Prevents melted bitumen from sticking: This is the ultimate game-changer for summer. Prolan forms a unique, smooth barrier that liquid asphalt and tar simply cannot attach to. Anything that splashes onto the underside will simply slide off or wash away effortlessly, without having to scrub hard.
• Extreme creepability: Prolan stops existing rust immediately. It creeps into the smallest pores of the metal and displaces all existing moisture and oxygen.
• Resistant to extreme heat: Cheap Tectyl or wax layers (not to mention finished oil) can become liquid in summer due to the heat of the sun or the exhaust and drip off. Prolan stays perfectly in place and retains its protective factor, no matter how hot it gets under the car.
• Salt-resistant: Prolan is 100% resistant to brine and salt water. It forms a flexible, non-sticky, wax-like layer that withstands the most aggressive summer brine.
  Prolan is also used to protect subsea cables and even oil rigs in the ocean!

Get to work yourself: The Fawkes Rev Prolan Kits

Don't want the next heatwave to mark the beginning of the end for your car, camper, or 4x4? At Fawkes Rev, we have assembled special DIY kits with which you can easily treat the underbody and wheel arches of your vehicle yourself at home.

Whether you choose a convenient spray can for the vulnerable corners, or a complete set with a pressure sprayer for the entire underside; with Prolan you give rust and sticky summer asphalt no chance.

Don't wait until the salt spreaders are out and the asphalt is melting. Prepare your car for summer now.

View and order the Fawkes Rev Prolan Rust Protection Kits here