To cover or not to cover?

.atomic.

So after mulling it over for a couple of years, I finally made the plunge into classic car ownership. Last summer, I imported a 1967 Mercedes Benz 300SE Coupe from the States into Ireland (Cork). Up until then the car had been kept in the dry climate of the West Coast of the US and is essentially completely rust-free. Now I'm facing up to the fact of getting it through its first Irish winter.

In an ideal situation, I'd have a garage to keep it in, but that's not the case - it's kept in the driveway down the side of the house. So I bought a carcover to put over it to try to protect it from the elements as best I can. (An 'Autopyjama' stormproof cover to be exact; some of you might be familiar with them).

The car was never intended for daily use. It gets used weekly during the summer and about fortnightly during the winter.

So here's the question: is the cover doing more harm than good? When it rains and gets wet, is it simply trapping a layer of moisture against the paintwork which is even more likely to lead to rust than if I was simply to leave to car exposed to the rain? Would I be better to leave the cover off on the basis that it'll have a better chance at drying out once the rain stops?

I'd be interested to hear your opinions on this one, especially from those among us who also don't have garages to keep their classics in. What do you do? And why?

junkyard

Your asking for trouble tbh, not only will the wind blow the cover against the paintwork and damage it but the cover will also cause micro blistering in the paintwork too. I'd get it stored. There's a man in Carrigtwohill who stores classic cars at a reasonable price, its safe and secure. I had a few cars stored up there last year and it good and dry too. I'll P.M. him your details if you want them.

corktina

I agree with Junkie....or build a car port which will keep the worst of the rain off and allow the wind to blow through drying off the rest.I get a feeling it's condensation/trapped water does more harm than rain.

MercMad

Mmm I stored my 230SL outdoors for years, under a cover, but I did use it every second day, so it heated up and dried out thoroughly !

Keeping it outdoors for extended periods will see it deteriorate, and a cover will be useless !

A carport is a good idea, or any type os cover that does not touch the car and lets the wind blow through. There are some prortable/folding types available nowdays so strt searching. A few hundred spent now is better than a few grand later !

Alo has the car been Waxoyled ?

BrianD3

It's very hard to find concrete information about this. There are numerous conflicting views and theories about the best way to protect your car from corrosion. You'll hear mention about
-freeze thaw action
-covers trapping moiosture and damaging paint
-car ports being better than garages
-best procedure for garaging your car after driving it.
-does the type of surface underneth the the car make a difference to condensation on the underside
-efficacy of various rust treatments and paints

One thing I have noticed is that a car left outside seems to dry very quickly after rain if left in a area which is well ventilated and exposed to sunlight. Whereas a car left in a more sheltered area may get a little less wet but when it gets wet it stays wet for much longer. This makes me think that a car port with good ventilation and good sunlight may be the next best thing after a dehumidified sealed garage.

If you don't have a port but you park your car in a well ventilated sunny area and you wax the outer panels with the heaviest wax you can get and Dinitrol the rest of it, keep the car spotless, avoid driving on dirty, wet and especially salty roads, pay a lot of attention to keeping drain holes unblocked and window seals in order then I'd say you'd be pretty well protected....

corktina

i have two cars in a good quality garage and two under a car port which keeps most of the rain out. They all seem to be surviving quite well.The only problem I have is that our cats love sitting on the cars, which doesnt help them to keep clean....(vinyl roofs especially popular... :mad:

gn3dr

Well I stored a car onder a cover for approx 12 months and in the end I thought it did more damage than good. Condensation never got the chance to dry out under teh cover and mould was found inside the car. When I took the cover off it improved matters.

Wouldn't recommend a cover unless it was a Carcoon.

Eric318

... and whatever route you choose, get your car Waxoiled and dose it in WD40!

corktina

WAxoyl yes, but is it best to wait til the car is warm and dry in the summer to avoid trapping moisture in?

Kieran R

.atomic. wrote:

So after mulling it over for a couple of years, I finally made the plunge into classic car ownership. Last summer, I imported a 1967 Mercedes Benz 300SE Coupe from the States into Ireland (Cork). Up until then the car had been kept in the dry climate of the West Coast of the US and is essentially completely rust-free. Now I'm facing up to the fact of getting it through its first Irish winter.

In an ideal situation, I'd have a garage to keep it in, but that's not the case - it's kept in the driveway down the side of the house. So I bought a carcover to put over it to try to protect it from the elements as best I can. (An 'Autopyjama' stormproof cover to be exact; some of you might be familiar with them).

The car was never intended for daily use. It gets used weekly during the summer and about fortnightly during the winter.

So here's the question: is the cover doing more harm than good? When it rains and gets wet, is it simply trapping a layer of moisture against the paintwork which is even more likely to lead to rust than if I was simply to leave to car exposed to the rain? Would I be better to leave the cover off on the basis that it'll have a better chance at drying out once the rain stops?

I'd be interested to hear your opinions on this one, especially from those among us who also don't have garages to keep their classics in. What do you do? And why?

oh no got a new car cover to protect my 59 zodiac sitting on driveway as new motor 53 chevy pick up now hoggs the garage came from cover systems in uk wife not impressed as was requested christmas pressie now im wondering to use or not

mustang68

Ok,

I have a carcoon it it is really good. For those not familiar with them, its a cover that inflates, so that it doesn't touch the car and there is dry air constantly circulating around the car.

Cons:
On windy days in non sheltered locations the cover can blow around rubbing the paint in a particular location, its easy to spot and resolve by throwing a towel over the place.

It can take a while to get the car in/out (5mins), so it puts you off taking the car our for a pint of milk

Pros:
It keeps the car dry all over, not just protected from rain

Because it has a charger and everything is dry it starts right up.

The car looks the same after leaving it there for two months


It is really good for putting the car away for a few weeks or the deep winter, its not good for a daily driver.