whats better - cover or waxing?

[Envious Eric]

so whats better for the appearance of the car? should the client get the car cover for over 200, or just pay to have me come out every three months and applied a couple coats of collinite?

[Alfisti]

The second one...pay you...that`s the best part.



Seriously, if he lives in a windy area a car cover can cause marring due to movement and dirt ingress.



Depends on his situation. How`s he going to store the car?

[imported_shine]

I can see a car cover being better if the vehicle is exposed to a lot of harsh sunlight = fading of trim and plastics. I agree with Alfisti too, it cannot be flapping around in the wind. Maybe Collinite is a better option. :nixweiss

[Lumadar]

Cover if it is not driven, and only applied after JUST being washed. Also, I would never cover a car stored outside...too many ways for it to cause harm. If he keeps it outside, I say his best bet is to just have it regularly maintained by a detailer.

[imported_Luster]

I would have to say BOTH. The car needs wax/sealant protection from the elements when it`s being driven and covered while it`s being stored.



BUT... one thing I`ve learned about car covers...



IT NEEDS TO BE FORM-FITTING AND TIGHT!



A sloppy fitting car cover can cause more damage than no cover at all!!!

[Accumulator]

I`ve used covers both inside and out. The *only* time I`d recommend the outdoor use of a cover is if there`s some horribly nasty environmental contamination issue. It can keep a car at the ~75-80% level in situations where it`d otherwise end up utterly trashed (that`s only *if* you do it right).



Putting a cover on a vehicle that`s not 100% spotless will lead to marring. IME it always does anyway...eventually. What about dirty tires that have dressing on them...get *that* stuff on your cover and it`s a PIA to clean it off. Can`t use dressings on exterior trim for the same reason; it`ll get on the cover and then end up smeared all over the vehicle during the on/off manipulation.



Once a cover is wet and dirty the whole thing gets even tougher. Yeah...dirty water *does* penetrate any cover that "breaths". No, the car doesn`t remain spotless under the dirty wet cover. No, the condensation doesn`t really evaporate like it was never there. At least that`s always been my experience.



What do you think the average person is *REALLY* gonna do once the cover is wet and dirty and the car gets wet and dirty too? How many people are gonna wrestle with the cover then...let alone launder it every time it needs it (those "you can wash it at home!" ones still do a *LOT* better in a big commercial washer ).



To do outdoor covering right you have to wash the vehicle *and* the cover quite often (and you still get some marring). I`d even go so far as to say that most people would require *two* covers so they always have a clean(er) one handy.



It can be a good idea in certain circumstances, but most people won`t want to bother doing it right and would be a lot better off with just a good LSP and frequent washing.

[Envious Eric]

YEAH, I think that I will tell them to save the cover and just have me out to detail it...I figured as much, but I wanted some other opinions...