Cover for 3months

Cover for 3months

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CuffiaDB

Original Poster:

174 posts

217 months

Wednesday 23rd May 2018
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Hi,
My p&j will be stored in a secure compound, but outside😧From Aug to Oct while the back of the house is ripped apart...and the garage is demolished. I need to source a reliable cover that will protect the car during this time. One of my concerns is about covering the car whilst it is still warm (or very hot!!)
Can anyone offer advice or guide me to a previous thread?
Thanks in advance!

ChimpOnGas

9,637 posts

178 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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Obviously there are indoor covers and outdoor covers and the OP is looking for an outdoor cover, but it's worth exploring both types for a moment as this may help others who are considering buying an indoor only cover. The fact is you can use an outdoor cover inside but you must never use an indoor cover on a car that's parked outside, even for a day or two. As such anyone shopping for a car cover of any type is well advised to just buy a breathable outdoor cover, even if they think they'll only ever use it inside.

There are no downsides to this approach but it will always give you the option to use the cover outside if the situation arises, outdoor covers are also longer lasting and more durable so even if you think you'll only ever use the cover inside, for all these reasons a good breathable outdoor cover will always prove to be the smarter, more flexible and ultimately better value purchase.

What the OP needs to look for is a breathable outdoor cover with a soft lining, the cover should be loose fitting but not excessively baggy causing it to move too much in the wind as this will likely end in scratches.

Tight fitting covers look sexy but in my opinion are actually to be avoided as they tend hold moisture against the car's paint finish causing potential clear coat lifting, micro blistering of the clear and eventually the base coat, and at best if you use a tight fitting cover you run the very real risk of turning your clear coat milky over time. Even people who only ever keep their car inside need to be wary of these slinky sexy looking tight fitting car covers, obviously the car will never be rained on inside but that doesn't mean the car and cover isn't subjected to high levels of moisture that naturally exists in the atmosphere even in your garage. Actually its quite common for an unheated garage with poor airflow to create it's own micro climate where the levels of humidity are significantly higher than they are outside in the open air.



Keep in mind with outdoor car covers you can't have both 100% waterproof and breathable, you either have one or the other, what you absolutely must avoid is a cover that doesn't breath properly as the car will sweat beneath and you run the very real risk of lifting the clear coat clean off the base coat in places, this is more common than you might think as many covers simply dont allow for safe evaporation. Avoid this type of cover that has a slightly shiny look, the material does not breath so you will be creating a paint damaging sweat box underneath it.



Remember, there's always water in the atmosphere, and in the UK there's nearly always a lot of water in our dank and damp atmosphere, so on a cold wet day cover or no cover that moisture will always condense on the car especially on the cold metal parts, air moves everywhere and caries that moisture with it so even the best cover can't stop it. This in itself is not actually a massive issue until that is the sun comes out and starts to evaporate that water, if you use one of the above shiny material 'Sweaty Betty' covers the evaporating water simply can't escape. The previously condensed water tends to puddle in places on the car's paint, with the sun now out your 'Sweaty Betty' cover clings to it as the water can't escape, the whole clear coat & paint lifting recipe then gets super heated by the blazing sun. Using this type of cover is like sitting in a nylon tent on a hot day compared with a breathable cover which is like sitting in a traditional canvas tent that breaths so much better, if you've every experienced both types of tent on a hot day you'll know exactly what I'm getting at. I've actually seen 'Sweaty Betty' type silver/grey cover material bond itself to the car's paint finish in the hot sun with disastrous consequences, so please avoid the above slightly shiny type car cover at all costs!

On the other hand a good quality loose but not baggy soft lined breathable outdoor cover like this one will keep the worst of the weather, dust, bird droppings and other nastiness away from your paint without promoting the dreaded 'Sweaty Betty' situation when the sun comes out.



If you lift the above breathable type cover off the car immediately after heavy rain you must expect to find some water sitting on the body in places, this isn't actually anything to worry about, sun and wind will soon follow the period of rain to dry the cover by the process we dry our cloths on the washing line....evaporation!

More importantly that water sitting on the body will be wicked into the cover and so in turn will be evaporated away into the atmosphere too, a good cover that ticks all the boxes that I used for a period in all weathers before securing my council lockup and subsequently moving to a new house with a garage, is the five layer fleece lined Moltex breathable outdoor car cover from Hamilton Classics.



Use the drop down menu on the HC website to find the TVR Chimaera/Cerbera size and above cover will fit your Chimaera a treat, it's neither too tight or too baggy, it's not 100% waterproof in heavy downpours but still keeps 90% of rain off the car, what little does make it trough is quickly and efficiently wicked up into the cover and safely evaporated back into the atmosphere where it belongs. Basically it's a self drying system that ensures there is never water held against the car's pain finish for longer than a few hours, as soon as the rain stops the gentle wicking, drying, and evaporation process starts and very soon the car is 100% dry again beneath the cover.

The final rule you absolutely must religiously obey with all car covers, always!.. is:

'Never ever put a cover of any type on a dirty car'

As soon as you put a car cover on a dirty car two thinks happen, firstly as the cover moves in the wind it will grind the dust and dirt particles over your car's paint finish, scratches are inevitable. The second thing that happens when you put a car cover on a dirty car is the cover picks up and holds the dirt forever, without access to a huge industrial washing machine you are never going to get that dirt out so your cover is now effectively made of a very efficient sand paper type material.

I hope this all this helps the OP and others, if you store your car inside or outside I would strongly recommend a correctly sized fleece lined Moltex breathable outdoor car cover from Hamilton Classics, I now have a garage but I still use mine as a dust cover to this day so while it's not the cheapest cover on the market it has proved itself over time to have been an exceptionally good value purchase.

http://www.hamiltonclassic.co.uk/acatalog/OutdoorC...

I bough my first one years ago, eventually the fleece lining started to break down but this still didn't effect it's performance, all it meant was a small amount of white dust was left behind on the car each time I removed the cover, this simply blew away safely in the first few minutes of driving so it really was a non-issue and to be honest this light dusting only started when the cover had done a good few years service.

Two years ago I actually bough a second one from Hamilton Classics at the National Classic Car show as they offered me a brand new cover they had as a demo on their stand for a price I couldn't pass up, this new one is their latest version with the new improved centre layer material and while it has only been used as an indoor cover so far it has not as yet started to shed the fleece liner.

Based on my extensive experience, the five layer fleece lined Moltex breathable outdoor car cover from Hamilton Classics would be a highly recommended option for the OP, and anyone else looking for a quality breathable indoor and outdoor car cover for their TVR Chimaera yes


ianwayne

6,243 posts

267 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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I bought one of these in December for use outdoors:
https://www.cover-zone.com/products/car-covers/sto...

Best one I've had by miles after trying cheaper ones. I've very pleased with it. Note that they are substantially cheaper from other suppliers though. With another 20% off on an ebay sale day, I paid under £100.

The car will still get condensation underneath it when it has been raining heavily, as mentioned above, it is not 100% waterproof like a tarpaulin, but because it is breathable, the car will dry out without you having to remove it. Sunshine helps! They DO recommend you remove it once a week however if possible. I leave the windows down about an inch too for air circulation.

It's a very good fit although not totally perfect because it isn't bespoke for a Chimaera. The way it fits though you would be forgiven for thinking it is custom made. The undercover straps I only have to use if very strong winds are forecast. Other cheaper covers would come straight off in nothing more than a strong breeze.

After 6 months, it IS beginning to fade slightly but I've not had to use it for 2 weeks now. smile I expect it's got at least another winter in it.

It is size CCC257 and being sold as the same size for a Z3 or MX5 elsewhere.

Edited by ianwayne on Thursday 24th May 15:10

N7GTX

7,822 posts

142 months

Friday 25th May 2018
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Yes, dont buy one of those £50 Halfords covers that claim to be waterproof and breathable. They are not. I had to machine polish all the marks from the paintwork after leaving the cover in place for a couple of months. mad

QBee

20,903 posts

143 months

Friday 25th May 2018
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If you can spot one of these for sale (Leven hood cover) your job will be sorted without risk of paintwork damage.....so long as you check regularly for bloody pigeon poo!!



N7GTX

7,822 posts

142 months

Friday 25th May 2018
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QBee said:
If you can spot one of these for sale (Leven hood cover) your job will be sorted without risk of paintwork damage.....so long as you check regularly for bloody pigeon poo!!


Yep, those hoods attract bird ste. Car will be clean though. laugh

ChimpOnGas

9,637 posts

178 months

Saturday 26th May 2018
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QBee said:
If you can spot one of these for sale (Leven hood cover) your job will be sorted without risk of paintwork damage.....so long as you check regularly for bloody pigeon poo!!


I have one of these, all I can say is it works as designed but it can scratch where it meets the paint, it can also sweat between the cover and the windscreen.

Also its hardly a full body solution to protect against dust, bird droppings and other contaminants... it is however useful if your hood leaks, but a better solution would be to fix the leak in the first place.

This type of top only cover is more suited to those who park their car outside and use it regularly as its easier to remove, store and replace than a full cover. In the summer it also stops trim damage from the sun and keeps the interior cool, in the winter it keeps ice off the screen and is also useful when it snows as you can easily and safely brush the sitting snow off the car.

The top cover definitely has it's place and uses, but its no a substitute for the full cover the OP is looking for.



TV8

3,118 posts

174 months

Saturday 26th May 2018
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I have the leven hood cover and the Hamilton Classics one as well from when the last car lived outside. Both are good and even with the Hamilton one that Dave is recommending make sure you have a very good coat of wax on the car as it will still sweat in some conditions.

Now the Chim is in the garage, I don’t bother with a cover for the other convertible, just a good clean and treatment of the roof and plenty of wax on the car to keep the fabric and paint as fresh as possible.