Cover Your Car
People usually spend thousands of dollars buying accessories to beautify and upkeep their vehicles. Some of these “accessories” can have their good points and some may have bad points. With a little care and understanding, a lot can be achieved, even with the smallest stuff. Let’s take the Car Cover for example. It can protect your car if used and handled in the right way.
Car Covers can protect your car in the great outdoors from the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation, acid rain, bird droppings, wind borne particles, sun fading, the claws of animals and even the prying eyes of the thieves. Inside your garage, a quality cover provides a barrier against airborne dirt and foot borne varmints.
However, if used wrongly, the use of a Car Cover would be a double-edged sword as they are both protective and possibly damaging. A cover that does not fit properly may be more damaging than no cover at all. If it is loose, wind may cause it to flap against the paint, causing severe scratching. To obtain the best fit, order a cover that is custom fitted for your year and make of car. I know that the ‘one size fits all’ are cheaper, but will not provide the tight fit needed. If the car is not clean, the dirt trapped between the paint and the cover can also cause scratches as the cover is installed or removed or when it is moved around by the wind.
The key to avoiding these problems is to put a proper fitting cover on a clean car. The best types have a bottom locking system that allows a plastic coated cable to hold the bottom of the cover snugly. This will help prevent wind movement of the cover and also the thieves from taking a peek. One of the tricks to removing a cover is to start rolling at either the trunk or hood end and then roll the cover up without moving the cover. Walk along the car as you roll up the cover. This way, you have minimized the movement or scratching of the cover as you remove it. I have seen on numerous occasions, people practically pulling the whole cover from just one end, this is very bad for your paintwork. To install, just reverse the process and unroll along the car and fold down the sides.
Car Cover care is simple, and involves cleaning it periodically. It’s better for you if read the instructions carefully before proceeding with the cleaning. In anyway most of these covers can be washed in a machine with mild detergent and no softener. Remember, no Car Cover should be stored wet. If it is removed wet, dry as soon as possible. Solvents, such as gasoline usually eat holes in your cover.
Try it out, and let me know if it worked for you as well.
