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-   -   Battery water accidentally spills inside the car - Now what? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/214008-battery-water-accidentally-spills-inside-car-now-what.html)

Faris Salim drops the following query:

The paint and rust issues can be eliminated using proper materials/repaint/touchup/rust removers. That part which shows maximum rust is seat belt's base which is fastened into the chassis.

Regarding seat, he will have to get the trim if only trim has been damaged. Or the entire cushion assembly if internal foam has been damaged as well.

Regards,
Shashi

EDIT: The above mentioned way was for fixing the issue to the original finish. There are other ways of hiding the damage like taking it to a reputed upholstery shop for getting custom covers made/opting for some seat covers etc. Also, I'd strongly recommend taking a call on the seat belt and replacing if their strength has been affected in any way.

I can help with more details regarding part numbers and prices of the parts, but will need the owner to confirm these details:

Car Variant:
Whether it has ISOFIX or not:

This is a horrendous amount of damage but not unexpected considering its spillage from a lead acid battery. It was a very bad decision to transport that in a car and I can't even begin to think why he thought that the rear seat was the right place to put the battery. Of course hindsight is always 20/20 and there seems to be little he can do now except replace the seat since the foam is soaked. The rusting is bad and you need to sand out the bad sections and repaint. This is what you normally do while restoring a classic and I suppose there are enough talented people who can do this.
In case someone else is unfortunate enough to spill an acidic substance in their cars, is there something that can be sprayed on the spill immediately to neutralise it?

I think it would be better to throw out the seat. Eventually the metal bits will corrode even if the cushion is changed.

Rotten luck, it happens!

Shashi is spot on. It can be fixed, but it is a tedious and most likely expensive job, especially the trim. It really depends on how deep the battery water penetrated.

Whenever spilling battery water try and just hose down all the parts with clean water asap. On paint and chassis and so you could even use dirty water, it is all about diluting it as much as possible. (obviously be careful with electrical bits). It is extremely corrosive and it just keeps eating away at everything for a long time.

Good luck.

Damn! A lot of damage seems to be done already which is obviously irreversible.

Remembering my chemistry lab sessions, I remember the advise by the professor to use baking soda (or sodium bicarbonate) to neutralize accidental acid spills. That is easily available in market. This works for Sulphuric acid; which is inside the car batteries and also works for other commonly used acid found in bathroom cleaners, which is the Muriatic acid. Follow this up by washing the affected area thoroughly with water.

Remember, acid always neutralizes a base, and a base always neutralizes an acid.

The seat fabric needs change and the rusted fasteners need to be replaced. After complete cleaning by the above method, sanding/ painting the surface along with treating with rust converters by brands like rustoleum should be considered. The seat belt need to be changed as with time, the damage will tear up the affected area completely.


Regards,
Saket.

Edit: Never transport the battery in the cabin. If at all you have to, use the boot/ trunk and place the battery inside some container with an insulated base where spills can be arrested to a confined area which does not damage your boot's carpet in anyway.

That looks bad!

When moving from apartment A to apartment B in Bangalore, I sold off my luminous UPS system. The guys that came to pick it up were totally clueless about the consequences of acid spill or what it entails. They were planning to transport the system without any thought to safety!

I got it packed for them and the process of securing it took about 30-45 min before I felt it was ready to be transported. Had to educate them on sulfuric acid and how it reacts to eat everything in its path.

In case of such acid spills though, one should not touch any of the spill region with hands. Give it a good wash with water and something that will neutralize the acid - some weak base like baking soda.

Any other damage to materials would then have to re-painted, replaced, and touched up, etc.

Faris shares the following via email:

1. The seatbelt clamp needs to be changed. It will spread rust if left that way.
2. The seatbelt itself should be replaced as the acid will eat away the fabric around that clamp over time rendering it weak and dangerous.
3. Since the affected area is not in sight normally, take it to any workshop (or even a DIY), sand down the entire rusting area properly and apply primer. Upon drying apply 3-4 coats of paint, each one after drying. You don't need a NEXA as aesthetic is not an aspect we require there.
4. Replace all fasteners there with new ones.

This should effectively solve the issue.

Regards,
Saket

The seat trim is the least of the worries, it can be covered up by some good seat covers. But the rust and effects of battery acid on the metal may be more difficult to deal with. Many thanks for posting this GTO. The images are etched in my mind would never transport any corrosive fluid in my car, ever.

I think the concern here is that even after giving the car to authorized service center, the problem was not root caused and solved (as is the case with majority service centers).
Looking from the invoice, the work was carried out on 28th August 2019.
It's not even two months and it seems that the work was not carried out properly.

I guess the car would have been accepted by the service center by assuring the customer of good work. Now they are washing their hands off by saying that they don't know how to deal with this problem. Shouldn't this have been written in the "recommendation" section of the invoice after the work was done?
For the upholstery cleaning, it is mentioned in the invoice that "we saw acid traces in vehicle floor and we just cleaned it".

Lesson learnt: Don't carry corrosive goods in the vehicle and try to root cause the problem and fix it before blindly following the service adviser.

Now that the seats have been replaced, the issue remaining are the seat belts and floor.

Replace the rear belts. I wouldn't recommend using them since we don't know if the fabric has been affected in any way.

Regarding floor, clean the rust using Rustoleum's Rust remover. Link to the product: https://www.amazon.in/Krud-Kutter-MF...BPM398X1CX66N1

This product is super efficient in removing the rust and you won't need any sanding etc. Just 5 minutes of application of this product results in:

Before:



After:



Once that is done, clean the area properly, sand the old paint a bit to make the surface a bit rough, apply epoxy primer(or normal primer) and then only apply the paint. I'm pretty sure after these steps, your floor should be rust free. Don't skip any step. Remember, any paint job is as good as the preparation. Also replace all fasteners(nut, bolt, washers) around that area.

Regards,
Shashi

Quoting for emphasis. Everybody needs to remember this!
I think that neutralising the acid has only been mentioned in one post? (No, at least two) And yet it is the most absolutely vital thing to do in case of any acid spill or contact with vulnerable things. However much one might think it has been diluted and/or washed away, it is likely that traces will remain and continue to cause damage.

Have had plenty of contact with sulphuric acid --- and usually neutralised it by washing away with soap. Plenty of little holes appearing in my workshop clothes, from drops I never new were there. The whole area needs to be treated .

And the pictures show what even the diluted acid can do. It is probably worth wearing eye protection even for a clean-up job.

The rusting issues can be treated with a rust converter and appropriate top coat. I would say seat can be replaced or re-upholstered.Once you open the seat you would be able to see what level of damage has taken place, if its just superficial then just replace the cover and you should be good to go.

Not unless the acid is neutralised. This is not rust caused by water, it is corrosion (which may have made way for the rust). If acid remains, it will continue to do it's work of destruction.

If I remember correctly (it's 30 years since I was a hobby jeweller) sulphuric acid attracts water, even from the atmosphere. It won't dry or evaporate: it keeps itself wet.

My Old 800 had a hand built battery from one of the local mechanics. It used to spew battery water on the battery stand and it's lower region. Over the years the stand and the area underneath corroded but it held for 17 years that I had the car. I think the corrosion can be taken care of by a good body workshop. It's funny Maruti says it is not able to deal with such type of issues. A manufacturer should be to assist with all types of problems with their cars.