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I'm in sunny Florida. That means hot sun beating down on the car, interspersed by pollen blooms, bird droppings, and rusty water from the neighbor's sprinkler. Since I don't have a garage to use, I'm thinking about getting an outdoor car cover for my ES. Any experience with them? Any recommendation? Any warnings? TIA.
Still swear by the Cal pop top use it everyday and really takes just about as long to put on as putting the deals in your windshield . with windows cracked open just a bit , its stays waaaay cooler than anything out there .
For daily use where ever, as far as actual car covers go, def get the 4 layer type, the cheap Amazon ones i have gotten for my other project cars dont block the uv sunlight and dust or even water. a decent one will run about 150.00 but worth it .
Just a word of caution--if you are going to use a car cover, you really want to be keeping the car clean. If there is dust/dirt on the painted surfaces, when the car cover is rubbing against those dust/dirt covered painted surfaces, that dust and dirt can act like sandpaper and put surface scratches into clear coat.
This wasn't as important when using a car cover 20 or 30 years ago, but today's car finishes have much greater depth to their shine, and that depth will more easily show fine surface scratches. That will be particularly true with darker colors. Getting a high quality cover will reduce the risk, but you still need to be careful.
Just a word of caution--if you are going to use a car cover, you really want to bee keeping the car clean. If there is dust/dirt on the painted surfaces, when the car cover is rubbing against those dust/dirt covered painted surfaces, that dust and dirt can act like sandpaper and put surface scratches into clear coat.
This wasn't as important with using a car cover 20 or 30 years ago, but today's car finishes have much greater depth to their shine, and that depth will more easily show surface scratches. That will be particularly true with darker colors. Getting a high quality cover will reduce the risk, but you still need to be careful.
Scratching the paint is the main reason why I don't use a car cover while parked at work. I take the vehicle to get waxed a couple of times a year to keep it looking like new. And to avoid excessive heat in the cabin I had my windows tinted plus I use a sunshade for the front windshield. It's not uncommon to see people in my area that tint the front windshield as well. I might have the front windshield tinted to avoid the heat during the summer but definitely won't be 5% like the other windows, most likely 50% but might go as dark as 35%.
I've purchased three complete covers from California Car covers. All of them were the "Noah" classification which gives protection from rain, hail, wind, and dirt. Not cheap but I've had one for about 10 years for my '66 Corvette (which I recently sold), my '98 Corvette, and a '31 Ford roadster. They are continuously improved and they fit perfectly with a locking system using a plastic coated steel cable underneath the car. The Lexus gets the garage alongside the boss's Honda...
Scratching the paint is the main reason why I don't use a car cover while parked at work. I take the vehicle to get waxed a couple of times a year to keep it looking like new. And to avoid excessive heat in the cabin I had my windows tinted plus I use a sunshade for the front windshield. It's not uncommon to see people in my area that tint the front windshield as well. I might have the front windshield tinted to avoid the heat during the summer but definitely won't be 5% like the other windows, most likely 50% but might go as dark as 35%.
My car has 3m Crystaline tint with UV and IR block , def keeps heat out better than most and you dont feel the radiant heat on your skin like ordinary tint. but park in Florida sun all day , it still gets really hot inside ( yes black doesnt help) because alot of the heat is not only generated by sun penetrating thru glass but the roof and other surfaces heating up as well.
this takes the heat load out where it actually feels cooler than the ambient air . Had one of these for years on many cars, yes def keeping car clean , and i dont put it on until morning dew has evap. but tyvek is so light and it actually kinda floats on there when the breeze blows, I've never had an issue with scratches on any of the cars corners where its in contact etc.. and i'm pretty particular about my exterior. ( also whole frt is wrapped w PPF as well as trunk lid) if you have ever seen how big and acidic Pelican poop can be lol !
Granted this is not a complete cover , and the other posters are correct about cleanliness before cover is on and good quality ones as i mentioned are worth it and will hold up longer down here in our harsh sun. also Im sure OP will be using car often, but FWIW its not good to leave a full cover on for long periods when outside.
05-27-19, 06:57 PM
Outdoor Car cover
