Step-down car cover

I was an autobody journeyman for 8 years somewhere in my life :rolleyes:

But I was priveledged to work on a lot of show cars and restorations during that time - I saw first hand the damage a car cover can do to a perfectly restored-or worse-original paint job.

Car covers are great if you are in a clean dry environment, or you don't care about your paint job

If you park your car outside with a cover on it any moisture trapped between the cover and skin of the paint it will cook and blister the paint from the inside out in a very short period of days, although the damage may not show right away.

If you park your car inside and moisture is trapped between the cover and skin of the paint it will dry and scar the paint - not unlike leaving bird poopy baking on your car in the hot sun

Please Note: When I talk about "moisture being trapped" I mean from ANY SOURCE, including c-o-n-d-e-n-s-a-t-i-o-n!

This is just my personal opinion based on my experiences working on cars that had anywhere from an everyday street car - to show quality restorations - the results were always the same...rework of the paint job, paid for at the expense of the customer.:(

Dave53-7C wrote:

Dan,

You make valid points about condensation and abrasion. I've heard that covers made from synthetic materials can, under certain conditions, leave imprints in paint. How do you feel about the flannel covers intended for indoor use?

Hi everyone!

There are many conditions that cause paint failure and I know there are plenty of people who've not had issues with their cars while using car covers - but, for every success story, I bet I have at least 1/2 dozen failure stories - here's an old thread on the exact problems...

http://www.classiccar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2080&highlight=costco+cover

It's not really so much about the abrasion - most covers are pretty well made to minimize that these days. It's the moisture that can eat into the skin of the paint because of the minerals or chemicals and introduction of a heat source.

I think moisture trapped, is moisture trapped - breathable cover or not ~ The prep work on the car, the materials used and length of time painted all are contributing factors. Just putting a cover on a warm car - once sitting outside or just driven - can cause condensation to form between the paint and cover.

With the materials alone for a prime paint job these days is a minimum of 1500-and up + labor ~ my opinion is unless you have an overriding reason ~ why take a chance?

My 1968 Chevelle had an acrylic lacquer paint job, parked outside for more than 13 years with no car cover. Never checked, bubbled, peeled or otherwise ~ honestly!

I've always had much better luck just keeping my cars clean and waxed only 1-2x a year tops.

There are times where you might disregard this "cover advice" - like not wanting major water damage in the interior from leaks or a broken window etc...but the trade off will always be the chance of the paint failing, discoloring or bubbling - I've seen each one of these failures all caused by car covers ~ the insidious thing is sometime it shows up right away - and sometimes it years later.

I'd just end by saying if you do use a car cover, try to make sure the car is dry, cooled off and has a good coat of wax on it to help buffer any potential issues.

Not step down ,but still a Hudson.



I have used a cover on my 1942 Brougham for the last 18 years, still looks as good as the day it arrived in Australia, our climate may differ here to yours, but we certainly don't suffer from cover damage Down Under. Must admit I do let the car cool down if been out on a run and definately dry it off if been in the rain. The car is always in a garage when covered.