Saving Your Rig From Salt: The Real Way To Clean Up After The Beach (Mar 2026)

Never wash a car that's been sitting in the 40-degree sun or just finished a long highway run. If the metal is hot, the soap dries instantly and leaves spots that are a nightmare to remove. Park it in the shade for an hour first.

Take off the maxtrax, the awning brackets if they're easy, and definitely any recovery gear. Salt loves to hide behind these things.

Pop the bonnet, open the fuel flap, and if you have a canopy, open all the doors. Don't spray water inside the cab, but you need access to the jambs.

Before you get anything wet, vacuum the interior. If you get sand wet inside the car, it turns into mud and becomes 10x harder to get out of the carpet.

Check for any new chips in the paint or underbody scrape marks. These are 'open wounds' where salt will start rusting instantly.

Use a leaf blower or compressed air to blow out dry sand from window seals, the cowl (where your wipers are), and door sills. Getting rid of the dry stuff first prevents it from turning into abrasive mud.

Spend a solid 20 minutes under there. Use an angled wand to blast out the inside of the chassis rails. Keep going until the water running out of the frame is crystal clear. If it's brown, there's still mud/salt in there.

Mix your salt neutraliser (like Salt-Away) in a foam gun or sprayer. Coat the entire undercarriage, suspension, and brakes. Let it sit for 5-10 mins. This actually breaks the chemical bond of the salt.

Spray a citrus degreaser into the arches. Use a stiff brush to agitate the liners. Salt sticks to the mud stuck in your arches, so get it all out.

Foam the whole car from bottom to top. The foam pulls the abrasive sand away from the paint surface. Let it dwell but don't let it dry. A customer once brought in a black LandCruiser he'd 'cleaned' without foam, the swirl marks from rubbing sand into the paint were heartbreaking.

Rinse the foam off, starting from the top down. Pay close attention to the roof racks and gutters where salt spray settles.

Now you can actually touch the car. Use one bucket for soapy water and one with clean water to rinse your mitt. Wash a panel, rinse the mitt, repeat. This is the only method I trust to prevent scratching.

Gently rinse the engine bay. Don't use high pressure here. Focus on the radiator and intercooler, salt on these will cause 'white rot' and eventually leaks.

Use a damp microfibre to wipe down all door jambs. Sand acts like sandpaper on your door rubbers, eventually causing leaks.

Clean the wheels last. Use a dedicated wheel cleaner to get the brake dust and salt off. Don't forget the inside barrel of the rim.

Take the nozzle off the hose and let the water flow over the car. This 'sheets' the water off, making drying much easier.

Use your drying towel. Pat the paint rather than dragging the towel if you want to be extra careful.

Use your leaf blower to get water out of the mirrors, lights, and badges. This prevents those annoying 'drips' that leave salt streaks later.

Clean the inside and outside of the glass. Salt film on the inside of the windscreen is common if you've had the windows down.

Once the chassis is dry, spray a light coat of Lanolin or a wax-based protectant on the bare metal bits. It smells like a wet sheep for a day, but it's the best rust barrier out there.