ec_nyx

Hi All,

I live in Southern California, and unfortunately I do not have a car port (off street parking). Therefore, I have the daily problem of morning dew. When I had my old car, the morning dew would always cause dust to stick on the car throughout the day, resulting in "runny dirt" patterns all over. I vow to take good care of my new RX8 and not let this happen. I currently have a car cover, but I was wondering if there are any people out there who don't use car covers, and instead do a quick detail/wipe down of the car in the morning instead? Is that a possible route to go? What do you guys think in terms of car cover VS quick detailing to tackle morning dew? Is there a clear winner? I have never done quick detailing, but it seems straight forward enough.

Honestly, I don't have any qualms about using the car cover, it's just that the morning dew does settle on the car cover, making it slightly wet, and I don't want to just stuff it in the trunk....I suppose I should just re-cover the car when I get to work.

Thanks in advance!

PS: I tried posting this in autopia.org, but for some reason I keep getting a blank screen when I click "submit".......Does anyone else experience that?

New Yorker

I'd go with a good cover. After you've used it several times and get the hang of it, you'll be able to put it on in less than a minute—and remove it in about two or three. The covercraft website is a great place for figuring out which cover is best for where you live: http://www.covercraft.com/outdoor_covers.htm

The quick detail routine is fine, but it will take a little longer. Plus, it's nice knowing your car's being protected from strong sunshine, UV rays, and stormy weather when you use a cover. And it'll help keep the interior cool—and protected—on all those hot, sunny days. Just my 2˘.

rovic

I have the same problem, but don't always have the desire to whip out the cover. Usually I'll cover 1 or 2 days after I wash, then let it go. So usually I wash Sat, cover Sun-Mon. Tues no cover (cars starting to get a lil' dirty so why bother), do a QD spraydown and wipe on Wed. Forget to cover Thur-Fri. Then it's Sat start over.

Wish I had a garage. Probably only was everyother week.

architect

A good cover will not keep the interior cool on summer days, in fact... it's much warmer without the ventilation. I cover mine on the days it's driven to work. Sunshine kills cars.

AcidAngel7477

true, sun does kill. i would just tackle the dew in the morning and cover it when i get to work..simple as that, being that there nothing more you can do. thats what i dew with the 7 lol...when there dew involved.

:AA:

RWagz

Most covers I've seen are breathable anyway - which defeats the purpose for me.

In other words, the car still gets wet, waterspots, etc

lone_wolf025

I've heard that car covers can actually wind up scratching your paint especially when placed on a dirty car. Any truth to such things?

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Every now and then my 8 stays outside at my GF's place and I have this exact same issue.

Based on my own experience, I would recommend going the route of the car cover instead of relying on a quick detail every morning. With the car cover, you'll still find a bit of dew in the morning (not always, but some days) but most of it will not have soaked through the cover. I've found that the OEM mazda cover does this quite well even though it's a bit pricey.
The trick to this is to not get the dew on the car when removing the cover. Loosen a corner on the front of the car, lift the side of the cover a bit to release one of the mirror pockets and then loosen the rear. (work only on one side of the car at this point) Take the side of the cover that was just loosened and pull that over the car in one smooth motion. (basically, pull the right side of the cover, over to the left or vice versa)
If you do this correctly, the top side of the cover will now be facing down, the majority of the water will drip off of it onto the street or sidewalk, and now you just need to fold it neatly.
I choose not to fold it and actually lay it out in her garage or somewhere in the back yard to air dry while I'm at work.

I keep a 2nd cover in my trunk for when my car is at the office. It picked it up at Costco for $29 and it actually works quite well. The cover is made of 4 layers, is quite soft, and is breathable which is what you want during the day.

Sounds like a pain to have 2 covers but it's the only way I can assure that I'm not putting a damp cover on a dry car during the day. (could end up with water spots on the car that get baked in during the day with the cover)

In the long run the car cover will be easier then towel drying your car every morning and using tons of quick detailer. (which could get expensive after a while)

Hope this helps.

architect

Sure... a thick cover can scratch the paint if you're putting it on a dirty car... but so will a quick detail in the morning. Between the two... you're going to have more hairline scratches detailing a car every morning than you would by using a cover. It doesn't take much to leave marks in the clearcoat. When we say scratches... we aren't talking about actual scratches in the paint. A cover will not leave anything that can't be waxed out by hand. Thinking long term, the effects of constant sunlight versus a few hairline scratches in the paint that will easily buff out... go with the cover. I really don't recommend wiping it down every morning as it's been sitting outside collecting dust, tree sap, bird droppings, anything and everything that's been floating in the air all night. Just be careful when you're putting on and taking off the cover. I start from the front, tuck it under the front lip and being somewhat tall, I'm able to keep it pretty much elevated until I get to the rear window. Try to refrain from moving it around once it's on. And another tip, buy a size larger than is suggested. It's easier to put on AND you won't have to stretch the cover to fit hence reducing the amount of contact between the paint and the cover.
Sure, I catch hell from coworkers for covering my car on sunny days... but it's best for the car and their cars look like crap.

lone_wolf025

Thanks for the clarity. Much appreciated.

ec_nyx

So, I *usually* use the car cover, simply because my car is fairly clean now, so why not keep that up? I actually ended up using a combination of the two. I would use the cover, but then use the quick detail for any "spot treatments".

However, if the car cover hangs too loose, won't that also cause possible scratching on a windy day?

Thanks for everyone's response!

PS I have the Covercraft Noah car cover (which I think I talk about in a different thread). It's a fabric based cover, custom-fit. So I assume (and hope) that scratching is minimum.

coastie08

I'm interested to hear what you have to say about the Noah car cover...I'm looking into buying that exact cover soon.

architect

Covercraft makes one of the best covers money can buy. I believe they're in the top 10 list of cover manufacturers.

That's a good method. Stick to it. Just keep in mind that the more you spot detail, the more hairline scratches you're leaving in the paint. The only way to clean a car's paint without damaging the surface is with running water. Anything that requires friction, you're rubbing dirt, dust, and debris into the paint. There's no perfect solution to keeping a daily driven vehicle in showroom condition but there are preventative measures to reduce wear on the paint... sticking with the original question, there are many more positives to using a cover than there are negatives.
For all those that are serious detailers, I recommend this forum...
www.autopia.org