Appearance Care; Water Marks; Paint Chipping- Page 271

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Maintenance and Care

Appearance Care

Form No. 8Q44-EA-01K

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Water Marks

Occurrence

Rain, fog, dew, and even tap water can 
contain harmful minerals such as salt and 
lime. If moisture containing these 
minerals settles on the vehicle and 
evaporates, the minerals will concentrate 
and harden to form white rings. The rings 
can damage your vehicle’s finish.

Prevention

It is necessary to wash and wax your 
vehicle to preserve its finish according to 
the instructions in this section. These 
steps should be taken immediately after 
you find water marks on your vehicle’s 
finish.

▼

Paint Chipping

Occurrence

Paint chipping occurs when gravel thrown 
in the air by another vehicle’s tires hits 
your vehicle.

How to avoid paint chipping

Keeping a safe distance between you and 
the vehicle ahead reduces the chances of 
having your paint chipped by flying 
gravel.

NOTE

•

The paint chipping zone varies with 
the speed of the vehicle. For 
example, when traveling at 90 km/h 
(56 mph), the paint chipping zone is 
50 m (164 ft).

•

In low temperatures a vehicle’s 
finish hardens. This increases the 
chance of paint chipping.

•

Chipped paint can lead to rust 
forming on your Mazda. Before this 
happens, repair the damage by using 
Mazda touch-up paint according to 
the instructions in this section. 
Failure to repair the affected area 
could lead to serious rusting and 
expensive repairs.

J16L_EA.book  Page 39  Friday, February 22, 2002  11:34 AM