Car Lept Outside - Recommend a Cover Anyone ?

[WonkyGibbon]

Hello All,

Chuffed to bits new owner of an S3 here ! Got it last week and it's only broken once so far - but drove down the A303 at the weekend and it was ... oh boy ... well you lot already know the deal.

Anyway - for the forseeable future it's going to have to live ungaraged with the elements which I feel a bit bad about as it's always been garaged to date and thus is in very good nick.

I was going to get a condensation thing for moisture inside but I was wondering if anyone knew of any particular car covers that would keep off the birdshit and water (yep - there's a leak in the cover at the back). Also does anyone know of any gunk I could put on the roof to re-waterproof it ?

Zoooom,

WG

[spivvy]

this site may help

www.renovouk.com/
not used it myself though but would be interested to know from people who have used it

[Martin H]

I can vouch for Renovo - works a treat. They do a great kit which includes cleaner, coloured "dye" to recolour the roof and a proofing liquid to reseal the roof. Also included is a small container of very fine rubbing compound which gets rid of all those scratches on the rear screen

On the car cover front I have a Classic Additions tailored cover, it fits great, is really waterproof and also breathable so no condensation issues. They were doing a special deal on these a couple of months ago, not sure if they are now. Website is www.classicadditions.co.uk

[WonkyGibbon]

Thanks Guys. I've ordered some of that renovo stuff - it sounds good (particularly the stuff for defogging the rear window).

The ClassicAdditions site is certainly a lot cheaper than some other prices I've been quoted. Did you get the Heavy Duty or the Light Weight (and do they pack down well) ?

Many thanks for your helps,

WG

[Colin BlueS2]

On the waterproofing side a lot of people swear by Thompsons Waterseal (the same stuff used for brickwork). Benefit is you can pop down to B&Q and get some today!

Colin

[dern]

I use renovo black roof renovation stuff to get the roof back to black and then some tent water proofing stuff from millets (comes on a big can to be applied with a brush not the spray on stuff) but thompson waterseal is the same I believe. I have a cover from halfords, not the cheap blue thing (the waterproofing fails very quickly, they aren't breathable and flap about like b*ggery) but the silver ones that feel like
paper. I can't recall what size I got but it only just fits on, doesn't flap about and is breathable. The most important thing you can do if keeping the car outside is make sure all your door/roof seals are in good order. They are very easy to replace and can get seals for not much money from woolies (url anyone?). Also make sure your drain holes in the boot surround are kept clear with a bit of wire - you need to do this very regularly - or the boot gutter fills up quickly and then your boot fills up with water. I use to autoglym bodywork resin polish on the back window and it works extremely well, it's also good on the bodywork.

Regards,

Mark

[Ren Dao]

WonkyGibbon said: Thanks Guys. I've ordered some of that renovo stuff - it sounds good (particularly the stuff for defogging the rear window).

The ClassicAdditions site is certainly a lot cheaper than some other prices I've been quoted. Did you get the Heavy Duty or the Light Weight (and do they pack down well) ?
Ive got the lightweight one which is about 90% waterproof - its great and packs down reasonably small. Not too much of a hassle taking it on and getting it off at the end of a hard day at work - no complaints.
Many thanks for your helps,

WG

[roger brown]

Whatever you do, don't buy one of the covers sold by Halfords. They're rubbish.

[PetrolTed]

I've got a Leven Technology hood cover. Doesn't cover the body obviously but does a good job of stopping the leaks.

[WonkyGibbon]

Thanks All - that's helped a lot (and potentially saved a load of wedge too)

[GJP]

dern said: ...make sure all your door/roof seals are in good order. They are very easy to replace and can get seals for not much money from woolies (url anyone?).

www.woolies-trim.co.uk/

hth

[WonkyGibbon]

And there was me thinking I could just pop down the highstreet !

[chin up]

I finally got round to using renovo on my roof at the start of the year. To be honest, I didn't see that much of an improvement, but I think that's because my roof was in pretty good nick beforehand anyway. I do think that Fabsil (the camping shop brush on stuff) is better at waterproofing the mohair than the renovo ultra proofer though. Water seems to bead strongly with fabsil on. Or thomsons....it's all similar stuff.

Ref the car cover. Personally, I like to leave the air circulating to dry everything out once the rain has stopped, and car covers can sometimes hinder this. However, if the roof leaks, then using a storm cover to go over the roof alone seems like the ideal plan, and won't scratch your paint like some car covers I have seen, either.