Bloddy road gritters

[wibblebrain]

So drove up to Liverpool last night in my new (to me) car.

Having washed it recently I could only spot one stone chip on the front and that had been touched in almost invisibly.

But the road gritters were out in force on the M6 and M62 meaning I had to drive past 3 of the buggers.

Front bumper is now riddled with stone chips revealing the white primer underneath! bds!!

What can you do when faced with having to drive past these sodding things? Any way to minimise the damage?

[wemorgan]

Top ranting.
Ha. What next, complain about ambulances making excessive noise?

[Willy Nilly]

stop talking bks, they spread rock salt not granite and the spreaders don't even throw it out very fast. If they damaged your paint it is because the manufacturer used Crayola paint. If the roads weren't treated you'd be moaning about that too.

[williamp]

1) dont overtake them
2) overtake quickly, minimising your t.e.g ( time exposed to grit)

[Evanivitch]

You know what can be more damaging to your paint?

Black ice.

[TameRacingDriver]

I often hear that in places like Japan they don't use salt so cars over there don't really have the rust issues they have here, so what do they use and why don't we use it?

[HarryFlatters]

Evanivitch said:

You know what can be more damaging to your paint?

Black ice.

[Impasse]

TameRacingDriver said:

I often hear that in places like Japan they don't use salt so cars over there don't really have the rust issues they have here, so what do they use and why don't we use it?

Winter tyres?

[wibblebrain]

Willy Nilly said:

stop talking bks, they spread rock salt not granite and the spreaders don't even throw it out very fast. If they damaged your paint it is because the manufacturer used Crayola paint. If the roads weren't treated you'd be moaning about that too.

It's not powdered table salt! It's salt and grit and stones. So it does damage the paint, just like any stone and grit would do so,

I accept the need to salt the roads, the intention of the post was to see if anyone could volunteer a strategy for minimising the damage.

The frustration is that it wasn't really freezing, although I guess they were forecasting that it would be eventually that night. (It wasn't)

Not overtaking isn't really an option because they're travelling so slowly that it's unrealistic to consider sitting behind them for the length of time you would need to.

[snorkel sucker]

It's only a bloody car.

You'll get over it.

[Monty Python]

So you're travelling behind a slow-moving gritting lorry that is throwing out rock salt fast enough to damage the paint? What sort of car have you got?

[Dr Interceptor]

You can have the clear 3M film applied to the front of your car to prevent any damage.

[smithyithy]

It's possible to use just a salt water solution, with no dry rock salt, though I'm not sure if the overall performance advantages / disadvantages.

We use dry rock salt from the barn mixed with brine to help it stick.

[1Addicted]

Never had an issue, just blaze passed being careful not to move out to overtake too close to the gritter, and then leaving a good gap between the front/side of the car as I go past. Unless you encountered three gritters blocking all three lanes and you had to summon some Ken Block tactics, I don't get why, especially on Motorways, that you managed to mince your paint.

[MDMA .]

Brand new car, front end clear wrap to protect it. If I had a brand new car, id wrap the front end of it to keep it fresh looking.

About the salt, it wasn't even cold or frosty last night. Why do they even grit when the roads are wet and no forecast for cold weather. Council muppets again. Do they not check to see what temperature it will be. They will be moaning when we do have a cold snap that they have ran out of salt. Egits.

And not being cold, I meant near me. But the gritters were out in force.

Edited by MDMA . on Friday 12th February 09:19

[kambites]

If you think it's bad in a car, you should try overtaking one on a bike.

It was sub-zero in a lot of the country last night, including most of the south coast.

[swisstoni]

Has the OP made sure that the marks he's seeing are not just bits of grit that just need washing off?

[CrutyRammers]

MDMA . said:

Brand new car, front end clear wrap to protect it. If I had a brand new car, id wrap the front end of it to keep it fresh looking.

About the salt, it wasn't even cold or frosty last night. Why do they even grit when the roads are wet and no forecast for cold weather. Council muppets again. Do they not check to see what temperature it will be. They will be moaning when we do have a cold snap that they have ran out of salt. Egits.

And not being cold, I meant near me. But the gritters were out in force.

Edited by MDMA . on Friday 12th February 09:19

You really think that they send out the gritters without checking the forecast? Really?
It's an odds game. If there's a certain chance of freezing, they'll send them out. Better to grit and for it not to freeze, than for it to freeze and have not gritted, yes?

[Dr Interceptor]

There was a frost on the cars this morning in Farnborough, Hampshire... and that's in town, not in the sticks.

[stuno1]

WTF is with some of these replies?!?! He isn't saying they are not needed and provide a good service, he is saying it has damaged his bumper.

If you are on the motorway while they grit it does damage paint.

Sadly OP all you can do is get past them or sit further back. No way to protect the car other than a wrap or paint protection film. I use the family snotter in this weather and leave my p&j at home.