A roof rack is a very handy tool on your car, albeit a relatively easy one to neglect during car maintenance. Non-maintenance or insufficient maintenance of the roof rack can affect its performance, can cause safety issues, and may ruin your vehicle’s aesthetics. It’s only when the roof rack starts rusting that drivers realize how much it contributes to the car’s looks.
You can clean your roof rack by uninstalling it and washing it with warm soapy water. After the roof rack dries, protect it from fading and corrosion before reinstalling it on your clean and dry vehicle.
This article will show you exactly how to clean your roof rack. It will also go into why you should avoid going through a carwash with a roof rack. Read on to find out how to care for your car’s roof rack properly!
1. Uninstall the Roof Rack
The first thing you’ll need to do any time you clean or perform any type of maintenance on your roof rack is remove it from the vehicle. It is far easier to inspect and clean the roof rack when it’s separated from the vehicle, so uninstalling it will save you a ton of trouble.
On top of being harder to clean, washing your vehicle with the roof rack installed increases the chances of the rack’s pads trapping dirt. Over time, the trapped dirt will reduce the pads’ functionality.
After removing the rack, ensure the pads remain clean. You can do this by standing the racks on edge or placing them upside down.
Even the best roof racks can suffer from wear and tear, especially when subjected to extreme weather conditions. Therefore, ensure that you remove your roof rack regularly, primarily if you use it frequently. It’ll help you spot any damage as soon as possible and ensure that every component of the roof rack is in working condition.
2. Wash Gently With Warm and Soapy Water
A gentle clean with warm and soapy water will remove most of the debris from the roof rack. You might need to be a bit more aggressive when removing caked-in blemishes like bird droppings, but you likely won’t need to clean a stain strong enough to require chemicals like alcohol or bleach.
However, you might need something stronger than warm water and soap to clean an aluminum roof rack. Aluminum is light, sturdy, and durable, making it an excellent material for your roof rack. However, cleaning an aluminum roof rack can be a tad more complicated.
The best product for cleaning aluminum is aluminum polish. I recommend Weiman Silver Polish and Cleaner (available on Amazon.com) as it is an inexpensive option that will help you make your aluminum roof rack look like new. Make sure to wash off all the grime before using polish on the aluminum roof rack.
After the rack dries, smear a bit of polish on a microfiber cloth and polish the rack, leaving a thin layer of the product. The polish removes oxidation and restores the shine of the aluminum bars.
3. Rust Proof the Rack After Drying
After the roof rack dries, don’t forget to rust-proof your roof rack. Rust proofing is critical if you’ve used the rack for a long time or live near the ocean.
If your roof rack has already started rusting, use a wire brush to remove visible rust while leaving a thin layer for the rust converter to work on. Then use a rust converter, such as this Rust-Oleam Rust Desolver (available on Amazon.com) to convert the rusted surface into a paintable one. This product is easy to use and doesn’t need to be rinsed off, so you’ll be able to get the rust off your roof rack in no time.
This video by The Roaming 5 shows how to repair a clean and rusted roof rack:
Allow the paint to dry before protecting the roof rack from rust and corrosion. I recommend using Fluid Film Rust/Corrosion Protection (available on Amazon.com) to safeguard the roof rack from corrosive elements, as it’s an affordable and tried-and-true product that will keep the rust off of your roof rack.
4. Reinstall the Roof Rack on a Clean and Dry Car
Once your roof rack is clean and protected from rust, the last step is to reinstall it back on the roof of your vehicle. Both the rack and your car should be clean and dry before reinstalling your rack.
You should wash your car after removing the roof racks to remove any dirt that might have collected on the racks’ mounting points.
Is It Safe To Go Through a Carwash With a Roof Rack?
It is not safe to go through a carwash with a roof rack. The machines and rags used to clean the vehicle can get tangled on the roof rack, which may damage your rack or the car wash equipment.
Automatic car washes use brushes and cloths to clean your car. If these clothes and rags get hooked onto the roof rack as the car moves through the car wash, the vehicle and the car wash equipment are both likely to suffer severe damage.
Touchless car washes use high-pressure water jets rather than brushes to clean your car, but they aren’t necessarily better for your vehicle or roof rack.
To compensate for the lack of abrasion on the car’s surface, touchless car washes use potent chemicals that can remove the protective layer on the paint and roof rack, exposing them to damage.
I also recommend my article on not going through a carwash with a cargo box. The cargo boxes usually can withstand the pressure of the water, but I discuss in detail why you shouldn’t go through a car wash with a cargo box in the article.
Best Practices for Cleaning Your Car With a Roof Rack
Here are some tips you should keep in mind when cleaning your car with a roof rack:
- Don’t wait. The more often you can clean your car, the less troublesome each wash will be.
- Scrub dirt away first. Start by using non-abrasive cleansers like soapy water and a sponge to scrub away any dirt. You could also use a pressure washer for this step.
- Use aluminum polish. If your car has any aluminum accessories, such as a roof rack, don’t forget to finish the process with a high-quality aluminum polish.
Conclusion
Cleaning your car’s roof rack is very easy. Just remove the roof rack, wash it with warm and soapy water, protect it with a corrosion inhibitor, and reinstall the roof rack on a clean vehicle.
Avoid going through automatic car washes to clean your car with a roof rack. The risk of damage in an automatic car wash outweighs the few benefits of an automatic car wash.