FROM COVER TO COVER
If you've invested time and money restoring the look of your car by way of a full detail, you'll want to keep it safe from harm when not in use. Thankfully, Porsche owners are well catered for when it comes to indoor and outdoor protection...
Even if your Porsche is stored outside, protecting it from dirt and dust following a full detail is something you'll have considered in the lead-up to completion of the work. As we've already discussed, wax and ceramic coatings are excellent at repelling all manner of muck and preventing water marks, but if you're likely to be leaving your car for long periods between drives, a good quality cover is a sound investment. And, if you look beyond main dealer offerings, you'll be surprised at how wallet-friendly many popular aftermarket alternatives can be.
When selecting a car cover, there are a number of factors to consider. Breathability is one of the most important. Irrespective of whether the product is designed for indoor or outdoor use, trapped condensation can be bad news for paintwork, which is why it's worth spending a little extra for a softlined cover which allows moisture to escape. If the car is kept outdoors, look for a cover which offers breathability, but simultaneously manages to repel water.
If your Porsche is kept in a garage, you might think a car cover unnecessary, but dust has a nasty habit of settling without much in the way of encouragement, even in indoor spaces. Tightly woven fabric will prevent dust and other pollutants from taking up residence on your
Porsche's freshly cleaned bodywork. Aim for at least 180gsm, which will not only look fantastic, but will be tearresistant and protect against accidental knocks and dings. Avoid thinner covers (e.g. 130gsm), which aren't dustproof, can tear easily and are too thin to adequately protect your Porsche.
Choose an outdoor car cover with soft buckle straps and a soft inner lining to remove the risk of marring or scratching — wind might do its best to move the cover after it has been fitted. A multi-layer, heavy duty cover with doublestitched seams will prove most effective. Though more expensive than a cover designed exclusively for indoor use, an outdoor cover of this type can also be used if your Porsche is stored indoors.
While dust can be relatively easy to displace, tree sap, bird droppings and industrial fallout are far more persistent and can cause serious damage, especially to fabric convertible roofs. UV rays will also do a good job of compromising a canvas roof, discolouring and disintegrating the material, often turning edges brittle. As we'll highlight in a forthcoming issue of 911 & Porsche World, replacing a droptop's retractable roof is a convoluted process, which is why you should do all you can to avoid this expensive job.
What, however, if the fabric roof of your convertible is already tired, perhaps as a consequence of being left unprotected under a previous owner's rule? Don't worry, you can refresh its condition from the comfort of your own home using a simple three-stage correction kit from Renovo. Each kit comes with three main products. The first is a fabric soft-top cleaner, which removes ingrained dirt without impairing the condition of the fabric. The second included product is a colour reviver. Available in black, blue, brown, green or red, you simply paint it onto the cleaned surface. Then, when dry, apply the kit's waterproofing solution, which includes UV protection and a mildew growth inhibitor to ensure the canvas looks like new for longer. Despite being the choice of professionals, Renovo's threestage soft-top restoration kit's easy application is ideal for the home user. And, for owners of convertibles with soft rear windows, an optional Renovo polish to remove 'cloudy' discolouration caused by the plastic creasing during roof retraction is also available.
It's not just your car's bodywork which be protected when a good quality car cover is in use. Owners of older Porsches will know the problems prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause to dashboards, which can split along their tops when subjected to extreme temperatures caused by heat blasting through the windscreen, creating a 'greenhouse' effect. Paint covering leather in older Porsches can also dry and crack when subject to extreme heat. A thick car cover will provide protection against this kind of damage occurring.
Clearly, no matter how frequently you clean your Porsche or where it is kept, a car cover is a good idea, but what are the benefits of a custom-fit cover,
such as those available from Porsche? There's no denying a custom-fit cover is a fantastic accompaniment to your car. The manufacturer will have carefully measured every inch of your Porsche, taking into consideration all body contours to pull together a design offering the best possible fit. There's less chance the cover will move and many owners prefer the look, but customfit covers can be very expensive (many hundreds of pounds) and are tied to the host vehicle — unless you intend to replace your Porsche with an identical model, it's unlikely you'll be able to use this type of cover for any other car in the future.
COVER YOUR TRACKS
This isn't to say you should buy a 'universal-fit' cover. Many of the bestknown aftermarket manufacturers will have an app on their website asking you to punch in your car's particulars. Using this information, you'll be presented with covers in a size best suited to your Porsche. Rather than be loose-fitting, these products are likely to be made from a lycra-blended fabric, which will cling to your car's curves. Some will even feature pockets for the door mirrors. There’s much more of a chance you'll be able to use the same cover on a vehicle of similar size later down the line, too.
Cost is an important factor here. A custom-fit indoor cover designed for the
IF THE MATERIAL HAS ATTRACTED TREE SAP OR BIRD LIME, YOU SHOULD SOAK IT IN WARM WATER BEFORE WASHING
718 Boxster and sold by Porsche, for example, is four times the price of the equivalent super-stretchy soft-fit cover from Richbrook ( richbrook.co.uk).
Does the Porsche cover repel four times the amount of pollutants? Didn't think so. Incidentally, both covers come supplied with soft carry bags for when the product isn't in use.
Along the lines of the example just demonstrated, an outdoor car cover sold by Porsche for the same model rolls in at more than double the cost of a Protector-4 four-layer breathable fleecelined outdoor cover from Car Cover Shop (visit carcovershop.co.uk). The company's products have been used for many high-profile car reveals, including those televised on Top Gear.
While it's clear an outdoor car cover should be water-resistant (as opposed to waterproof, which could trap moisture, rather than protect against it), you should check the washing instructions of the product you select. A good quality outdoor car cover won't lose any of its characteristics when cleaned in a domestic washing machine with light detergent, or when dried in a tumble dryer. If the material has attracted tree sap or bird lime, you should soak it in warm water before washing. In accordance with the severity of the soiling, rub gently with a soapy cloth. This will soften the contaminants before machine washing with detergent. Remember to select your machine's 'delicate' wash cycle setting.
It's important to be aware car covers may stain if placed over a vehicle which doesn't get cleaned often — the last thing you should be doing is throwing a cover over dirty bodywork, only for contaminants to transfer onto the inside of the material, which then rubs against the car's surface. Observe these fundamentals and you'll be giving your precious Porsche's paintwork an even greater layer of protection. ●