Car Covers General Advise

Covering your car
If you wish to cover your car, here is some general advice that might help guide you to a decision for which cover to purchase.

This information applies to all car covers from any supplier, even if you do not purchase from us this information applies to covers from £20 to £400, we hope it is informative and assists you on your decision.

We are the only company that can offer THIRTY THREE differnt sizes of outdoor cover and TWENTY TWO indoor sizes from stock, we are not a one size fits all company. In addition to this we have records of over 3500 vehicle details for our fully tailored indoor covers and if we do not have your vehicle details we can measure it.

This enables us to select the best fitting cover for your car and NOT the closest from five general sizes. We have FIVE different sports car sizes for instance as we feel the fit is crutial for air circulation and breathability of the material. From Pre-War shapes to Caterham we have them all so you can be confident the fit will be correct.

There are two things you should avoid when covering a car -

1. You must never use a material that is 100% waterproof (one that does not breathe), such as an "old tarpaulin" or plastic sheet. Moisture from below the car rising from the ground or air bound moisture will still get underneath the cover and will leave the car damp, condensating or sweating. Mould will be encouraged to grow, water marks and micro-blistering may appear in the paintwork and the car will probably be in a worse state than if it was not covered at all.

2. If you are storing the car outdoors or indoors you should also avoid using a material which is hygroscopic (natural moisture absorbant material) Cotton for instance is hygroscopic and although many cars have been covered with cotton sheets over the years it is not very suitable in our climate. Due to the way it is woven it will not stop dust from going through and because it is hygroscopic it will also absorb and hold moisture against the body of the car.

If storing your car outside
Ideally in this country you should use a good fitting SEMI-tailored car cover. By this we mean a cover that is designed to fit a certain length and shape vehicle, not a "one size fits all" cover or a fully tailored outdoor cover with mirror pockets etc.

A "one size fits all" cover will more often than not be too baggy, and as such will probably fit poorly and move about excessively in the wind - excessive flapping can damage the car and also prematurely wear out the cover. This type of cover tends to appear value for money, but more often than not they can cost you far more than if you had spent three times the price on a decent cover in the first place!

A fully fitted cover, will be well made, look great and cost you alot of money, however it will sit too close to the body of the car and restrict the breathability of the material. In climates found in the south of France, Spain or California they are great and we would happily supply them, but in this country they are not really suitable. No matter how well it fits moisture will get under a cover (and by moisture we do not generally mean rain, more likely evaporation from the ground) and you need either the sun and or wind to help remove this moisture. So even if the cover is breathable, because it fits like a glove it will not allow the air to circulate beneath it and if the sun does not come out the moisture can remain or at least take much longer to escape.

Therefore a good fitting, breathable semi tailored car cover will allow better air circulation so it is not essential that the sun comes out to help remove moisture. Think of a well fitted mitten, rather than a glove and you will probably not go far wrong and if it has a soft inner lining then even if the wind picks up and the cover does move slightly, it will not mark the car. We deliberately do not fit wing mirror pockets, we allow for the mirror in the cover shape and this helps to hold the cover away from the body slightly to allow for better air circulation. A breathable cover can only breathe if air can get to both sides of the material.

The other properties that are important for an outdoor cover are that it should be breathable - preferably through the whole body of the material and not just through a couple of vents. Vented covers allow air circulation in small areas but still leave pockets where moisture does not escape (i.e. if the vents are on the roof, the top of the car might dry out but the headlights will still be damp). To achieve this, a multilayer construction with offset perforations through every layer to allow moisture and air to escape but does not encourage rain sleet and snow to penetrate. It should also be in a light colour to help reflect away as much damaging ultra violet light as possible. (Ideally covers should be made in white, but that is far too impractical.) If colours are dull or dark then the ultra violet is absorbed and this not only can be harmful to the vehicle beneath, but can prematurely destroy the cover making it brittle and fall apart. Additionally the seams should also be welded, as stitched seams can be broken down by ultra violet light. It should ideally be made in a multi layer construction as this makes them more rigid and less likely to flap about in the wind, and finally it should have good holding capabilities, preferably with strong elastic hems at each end to hook under the bumpers and some other form of strapping that can go under the vehicle to secure it in high winds.

If storing a car indoors
For indoor solutions you have even more choices, but again there are rules that apply and the most important one, mentioned already, is to avoid covering the vehicle in a hygroscopic material unless the car is to be kept in a really dry environment.

So in general dry environments cotton or natural fibres are best avoided, but there are plenty of "non hygroscopic" man made dust covers out there and even in the "one size fits all" category, but remember the better the cover fits the least likely it is that dust will get underneath it.

If storing a car in an open barn or a garage that is not heated then a good semi tailored breathable cover is recommended for the same reasons as described for outdoor covers. However, if you have the luxury of a dry warm garage and you wish to spend the extra money you could go the "whole hog" and have a fully tailored cover. As to whether it does a better job compared to a good semi tailored cover, we doubt it, but they look fantastic!

On a separate note if you have a garage, there is a train of thought that you should seal it up to stop moisture and draughts getting in. However, in the majority of cases allowing it to be draughty can actually be a help rather than a hindrance. (This does not apply to a heated garage.)

If you use a de-humidifier, these are great at keeping a car moisture free, but be very careful how high you set them. If a de-humidifier is set too high it will draw all the moisture out of everything around it. That includes rubber seals, leather seats and anything made of vinyl or soft plastic all of which can become brittle and crack as well as anything made with wood, such as veneer dashboards which can warp and cause the veneer to crack. These can also be expensive to run and need emptying.

The remaining solution does not remove the moisture from the air, but does not allow it to settle. This final option is to use one of the "air circulation tents" on the market. - The Cair-o-port will cover but never touch the car. The frame allows you to drive the car in and out easially, you can even put a wet dirty car away and the fans will dry it off so you can clean the car when convenient. The three filtered fans constantly circulate air to stop moisture and dust from settling on whatever is being stored. The cair-o-port is the most sturdy and designed to be used in garages with up and over doors as it sloped back at the ends - it is also unique as it benefits from an extra fan to insure excellent air circulation under the car.

Covering in General
Remember the most important rule of all is that a cover can only be put on a clean car, as any dirt between the cover and the panel work has the potential to scratch. (This rule does not apply to the Cair-O-Port) Finally if you are storing cars in the winter outdoors and it snows, the cover it will not be able to breathe - regardless of how the cover is made! Brush it off at the first opportunity.