In the sun

[Simpo Two]

Next week my DB9 will be in a car park in the blazing sun all day every day.

Normally it wouldn't concern me but the interior of this one is so nice, and still smells new, that I wondered if I should take any steps to protect it. I thought of a silver reflector in the windscreen but doubt it will make much difference if the car will get baked every day. Maybe towels over the seats to protect the leather (and veneers)? What do others do?

[bogie]

Whenever I have to leave my Roadster in direct sunlight, at an event etc I just one of those cheap silver screen reflector things. It does work quite well.

[thebraketester]

Hire a stbox car for a week and leave it in the garage.

[Simpo Two]

PS I do have an outdoor cover for it, though squeezing it in with everything else could be a challenge.

[Jon39]

I might be wrong, but if any leather is going to become misshapen, I think it tends to be the top of dashboard pieces, particularly above the glovebox.

Perhaps concentrate on keeping direct sunlight away from those areas.

[AstonV]

The silver windshield shade makes a huge difference. If it were me I’d also lay white towels or sheets on the dash and seats. White will stay cool. Or outdoor cover.

[Simpo Two]

AstonV said:

The silver windshield shade makes a huge difference. If it were me I’d also lay white towels or sheets on the dash and seats. White will stay cool. Or outdoor cover.

Thanks. I looked into a hire car - to my shock even an economy one was £600+ for a week, so that's not going to happen. There was one place at £144 but they can't deliver and I don't want my car in a yard for a week.

On the windscreen shade, having had a quick look on Amazon, is there any type best suited to a DB9 in terms of size/style?

NB And the rear screen is equally big!

[AstonV]

I have these for my cars, they reflect the sun well. This USA Amazon, but I an sure they have there as well. It's highly reflective and insulated.

https://www.amazon.com/BNYD-Windshield-Sunshade-Fo...


Don't know the quality of this, I bought at a local auto supply, but for only a week should work well.

Edited by AstonV on Tuesday 12th July 20:32

[Simpo Two]

AstonV said:

I have these for my cars, they reflect the sun well. This USA Amazon, but I an sure they have there as well. It's highly reflective and insulated.

https://www.amazon.com/BNYD-Windshield-Sunshade-Fo...

Thanks, looks good.

I decided not to pursue car rental. Thrifty Car Rentals wanted over £600 for a biscuit tin on wheels for a week. Not my idea of 'thrifty'. And I CBA with working out out how to collect and return it. Anyway, I did the maths and taking the Aston will only cost an extra £56 in petrol, so Lord Simpo is going to do it the proper way.

All things considered, I may as well take the outdoor cover - I should be able to cram it into the passenger footwell (love these 'grand tourers' lol) - and Mr Martin will sit among the serried ranks of averagemobiles in the boatyard car park for a week festooned in grey. My hunch is that overall that will keep the car cooler than an internal reflector; what does the panel think?

[F1NDW]

Well the cover will certainly stop the UV getting at everything.

[milu]

Thing is your car won’t be clean if you’ve driven to boat yard so cover may scratch it.
Can you still buy the small, top only covers?

[Simpo Two]

F1NDW said:

Well the cover will certainly stop the UV getting at everything.

It was more the temperature I was trying to avoid; UV can be dealt with by towels as suggested before.

You can get top-only covers from a tenner: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Car-Covers-Cover-Frost-Sn... . Maybe that's the best answer to keep the cockpit shaded but not scuff the bodywork.

That said, my car lives under an outdoor cover anyway, and is not always 100% clean when it goes on

ETA I've looked at some half covers and the reviews aren't great. They may almost fit a hatchback-shape but will never fit a DB9, so I think the full cover it is. I'll take the straps for underneath so it doesn't flap about.

Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 12th July 22:29

[Astontony]

Simpo Two said:

Thanks, looks good.

I decided not to pursue car rental. Thrifty Car Rentals wanted over £600 for a biscuit tin on wheels for a week. Not my idea of 'thrifty'. And I CBA with working out out how to collect and return it. Anyway, I did the maths and taking the Aston will only cost an extra £56 in petrol, so Lord Simpo is going to do it the proper way.

All things considered, I may as well take the outdoor cover - I should be able to cram it into the passenger footwell (love these 'grand tourers' lol) - and Mr Martin will sit among the serried ranks of averagemobiles in the boatyard car park for a week festooned in grey. My hunch is that overall that will keep the car cooler than an internal reflector; what does the panel think?

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I use 2 covers when I have to leave outdoors. 1. An internal soft black cover and 2. the all weather cover over the top. My reason being the all weather ones are rather scratchy to the touch and i am worried about if it is windy the cover may scratch the paintwork. It has worked fine for me in 25c to 30c temperatures and the soft show indoor cover stays dry..