central52 Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 I just finished polishing my 47 Plymouth. Should I get one of those car covers to protect it from dust,etc. while it's parked in my closed garage? I take it out once a week for an exercise run. Ed P. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 that depends on your enviroment and if you like rinsing it off and drying it..for overall contaminants and fallout..I would suggest a soft cloth protector..one that does not have zippers etc ...odds are if you are like myself..you do not have a second hand to help throw the cover on and these old cars are long and tall...these are available in a low cost as they are not required to shed water or breathe per say when evaporatoring any rain that should fall... Quote
desoto1939 Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 Definately get a cover onthe car. This will protect it from getting dust onthe car. Dust and dirt when onthe car can scratch the car when you run you hand over the body. Some people do this very often and then the scratches start to appear. Here isa suggestion. MArk on the cover each corner by the widshield RF LF and by the rear window LR RR. This way you always know if you have the cover on backwards if you take it off. Get into a habit off alwasy rolling the cover up in the same manner when taking it off the car. This also helps when putting it back onthe car. If you do get any dust onthe car you can use a detailers spray and a mirofiber towel to just wipe off the dust. Sugestion here is that cut off the little tag on the micro fiber towels these will scratch the paint. Alwasy use a good car wash such a Maguiers never use a liquid dish soap as this will remove all of your wax or polish. I also use a california squeegie to remove the water beads from the car after washing the car. This get the water off the car without letting it dry on the car and to form waterspots. Then use a large microfiber drying towl with the tag removed to dry that car. I got all of these techniques from a major auto detailer while attending the AACA convention that is held every Feb here in Philadelphia. If you have little kids in the family also cover the fenders with extra old bed spreads since these areas are very likely to get hit by kids bikes and other objects. I have leraned this from experience. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com Quote
blueskies Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 I just finished polishing my 47 Plymouth. Should I get one of those car covers to protect it from dust,etc. while it's parked in my closed garage?I take it out once a week for an exercise run. Ed P. I have a California Car Cover for my '50. I keep it on the car when it is in the garage for long periods of time, like winter storage. But in the summer, I drive the car often and I find the cover to be a hassle. The car gets dirty sitting out and being driven, and I don't put the cover on if the car isn't clean. So I wind up washing the car to get the cover on. Drive it once or twice, and it's dirty enough not to put the cover on again. Might as well just leave it off and keep washing the car... Pete Quote
blueskies Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 ...and I'm lucky if I have to wash the car once a year..... Norm... it's hard to get your car dirty enough to need a wash running back and forth in the driveway... lol. Here's what my car looks like every few days... A duster won't take the bugs off. Pete Quote
Young Ed Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 Pete do they have bigger bugs where you live? After a 1000 mile trip into WI and back my car doesn't look that bad. Of course it did rain a bunch that may have washed a few of them off Quote
Young Ed Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 Norm what do you think we were driving through in WI? Not so much on the way to Oconomowoc but certainly when we went up to door county. Quote
Young Ed Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 Could be Norm we took smaller highways and stayed right on the coast of lake MI as much as we could. I put my car away and got the truck out so I still gotta clean that mess off. Good project for the long weekend. Quote
John Mulders Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 I would really like to get a cover but I have four dogs running around. I would not be too happy with the cover ripped off the car as the wind moves the fabric and the dogs get interested (or if a critter crawls under it). Possible damage to the paint if the dogs put their paws to the car.. John Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 I use the "old bedsheet trick" - mainly because the two cats like to lie on the nice soft top......and they do shed plus leave little footprints. The rest gets dusty, and I apply the California Car Duster. Every so often, it gets waxed with that blue carnuba wax or McGuiars. Think I've only washed it once in the past 12 or so years. Use wax or bug and tar remover on bugs. Just wash the tires and wheels from time to time. Bought a cover once......it sat in the box for several years.....then when I had it on the 54 Plymouth about a year and a half ago -- someone stole it. Was out by the street, near the house. Didn't have that little cable that goes under the car in place. Ah, well. Quote
blueskies Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 Pete do they have bigger bugs where you live? Yep, lots of them weigh a pound or more... (sure takes lots of them though:D) We have to remember where Pete lives. He's out in the sticks with lots of open farm fields' date=' etc.[/quote']I live in the mountains Norm, the bugs here have to be hearty to survive... Pete Quote
blueskies Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 ...mainly because the two cats ... This is why I bought my car cover... the day I brought my car home from the paint shop, my cat jumped up on the trunk, and slid down trying to find purchase with her clawed feet... Pete Quote
greg g Posted July 1, 2009 Report Posted July 1, 2009 I cover mine during its winter sleep. During driving season, I wash a few times as possible (black car) and use the california duster and finish up with detailers spray. I was looking at it in the sun at the mopar show on Suday and decided it needs a good wash and wax. But I would rather just drive it. Quote
central52 Posted July 2, 2009 Author Report Posted July 2, 2009 A few of you guys mentioned the California car duster. Is it better than the usual ones I see for sale, say, at Pep Boys? What's the big attraction for them? Curious. Ed P. Quote
greg g Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 (edited) The dusters are cotton strings impregnated with some sort of light wax. They allow you to pickup the surface dust on your car while it it dry. The dirtier they get the better they work for some reason. They will sometimes leave a haze on the car. So its best to follow up with a detailers spray and a microfibercloth. With a black car I triy to avaoid wet washes, so I use the duater and spray a couple times a week. I am not one to search out band names, I got mine at one of the package stores, but I do believe it is the California brand. They have several sizes, inclusing on for the dash and interior. They really do pick up the dust. Edited July 2, 2009 by greg g Quote
Don Jordan Posted July 3, 2009 Report Posted July 3, 2009 I love all the chat about car covers but no one said where you get them... and I feel so stupid I have never heard of California Dusters and I've lived in California my whole life. Quote
central52 Posted July 3, 2009 Author Report Posted July 3, 2009 What is this "detailers spray" that's been mentioned? I assume once it's applied it has to be wiped off with a clean microfiber towel. Will that require the same rubbing effort I used to originally polish the car? Whew. All I want to do is keep the dust off after I polished the car. Not another rewaxing job. But, if it's worth it, where can I get a good quality spray? Thanks, Ed P. Quote
greg g Posted July 3, 2009 Report Posted July 3, 2009 You can get car covers at just about any auto parts store or in automotive departments of some of the big discouters. Detailers spray is a generic term for what is basically automotive pledge or end dust. Comes under a number of names like final detail, final inspection, wipe and shine etc. Quote
Don Jordan Posted July 3, 2009 Report Posted July 3, 2009 Norm - I just went to the web site - they have all sorts of stuff. Thanks for the lead. What I'm looking for now is a hermetically sealed garage. You know the kind - the one that keeps rats and dust out. After all my car is the Princess. Quote
Don Jordan Posted July 4, 2009 Report Posted July 4, 2009 Boy do I feel silly. I was out with my wife today, we were at Target. I asked one of the guys if he knew about California Duster - he looked at me like I was an idiot (of course many do) and lead me to the Auto Dept. Got some of those dust towels that feel weird when you touch them. Got a CA Duster for the car and a little one for my wife's car. They are pretty cool. So I went out in the garage and dusted. The house is a mess but the car is clean. I also got a car cover for $25. It was sort of a general size - it fits my 2 door perfectly. You guys are so helpful. BTW: way off topic. One of the down sides to an electric fuel pump is when the battery goes dead. I thought once I got it started the generator would take over so I bumped it down the drive way. Whoops. I've been playing musical batteries all day - if it was easy everybody would do it. Quote
radioguy7 Posted July 4, 2009 Report Posted July 4, 2009 My car sits outside where it was intended to be. Gets rained on and snowed on and will be driven every day once I get the engine unstuck. I love people's reactions when they see it sitting out in the driveway, they are like "OMG" arent you gonna put it in the garage?? I don't like any of my cars to be garage queens, I feel they should be driven. I give them all a regular wash and wax so none are neglected. Quote
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