To cover or not to cover?

[Paul from PA]

I am blessed enough to have my cars stored in a heated garage with radiant heat. I have free gas so no heating bill.  Should I cover them? 

[8E45E]

Are you going to work in there over the winter while they're stored, and thereby creating dust?  If so, cover them.  But if you are storing them only, with no work being performed and there is no air movement or leaks through the doors,  uncovered should be fine.

 

Craig

[1937hd45]

Like covering living room furniture, or seat covers on leather car upholstery, I paid for it and would rather look at it. Bob 

[Akstraw]

I cover mine indoors, mainly to keep the dust off.  (I am doing woodwork and auto body in the adjacent bays.)

Though the effectiveness of such things is debatable, I think the covers help retain the odor of FreshCab or such rodent repellants in the open brass cars.  If it weren’t for those two concerns, I probably would not use the covers indoors.

 

One more consideration;  a cover can help you avoid accidental walk-by surface scratches if your car is kept in a tight or actively used space.

 

[Robert G. Smits]

i Keep mine covered except for the closed cars I drive in nice weather.  

[nick8086]

44 years later it will look like this..

[nick8086]

or  the car cover.. I think I have 1/2 of my cars with a car cover..

[TAKerry]

I dont think you NEED to cover it. Like was said, if its a dusty environment, maybe. I have one for my car and its covered about half the time. It only takes a minute to put it on and off. 

[Matt Harwood]

I've always found that covers do more damage than they prevent. Unless you have a high-traffic garage where it might get bumped and the cover can provide protection, I wouldn't worry about it. Covers collect dust anyway and it ends up on the car just the same when you remove the cover, and any dust that's in there abrades the paint where the cover touches it (which is just about everywhere). I had a cover on my 1993 Mustang when it was in my father's garage for a while and it now has a nice line above the windshield where the paint has been abraded by the cover. I don't use covers here in the showroom, just dust the cars periodically with a duster.

 

Covers are more trouble than they're worth in my opinion.

[Brass is Best]

I do not use covers. I have a clean climate controlled storage area. Air movement is good for the cars. Light and air prevent mold and mildew. Also having a window open keeps cars from smelling musty. 

[padgett]

Occasionally I have to leave a car outdoors for a while and cover. Are reflective but breathable, have inner cotton layers, elastic ends, pockets for the side mirrors, ties at each wheel and a strap underneath. Takes about 5 minutes to install. Then I add a 15w (effectively about 500ma max) solar charger to keep the battery from draining.

[Paul from PA]

Thanks for all of the responses. My thought was to keep them uncovered. The only way I found covers to work properly was to first cover the cars with sheets or blankets and put the cover on. I don't do any dusty work in the garage but I am thinking of buying a couple of pedestal fans in to keep some air flowing.

 

[auburnseeker]

In a heated garage which would also be dry in all but a few circumstances,  I use those body shop throw away covers,  especially if I'm going to be doing something Dusty.  If not then I usually don't worry too much. Nice thing with the body shop covers is they only run less than $10, the dirt stays outside the cover and you can toss it at the end of the season. I agree with a regular cover unless you are concerned with the car getting bumped then it does afford protection if it's one of the heavy covers, that they get dusty and that ends up on the car. 

[Rusty_OToole]

Cover with cloth, bed sheets or a cheap cloth dust cover. Do NOT use plastic, it will trap moisture and cause rust and accelerate deterioration of the paint.

[auburnseeker]

In a heated dry garage,  not much chance of trapping moisture as they don't fit that tightly plus you can see through them to see if anything is going on.  No surprise when you remove the cover. Hot rod has been covered for 3 years now in mine and it looks pretty much like it did the day I covered it.  If you have a damp garage,  I definitely agree on not using plastic.  I even bought a dehumidifier this summer as when it's not heated in the summer and humidity gets bad for more than a few days it does have a slightly damp feel,  though once I put the AC in for the summer that's gone.  The dehumidifier will cover me for spring and fall now when the heat is not on.  Hot or cold is not as important as dryness though is one can find warm dry storage that's the way to go. 

[TAKerry]

My cover (deluxe edition from Cal Car Cover) does no more damage to the paint on my car than running a california duster over the paint to remove the dust!

[Pfeil]

When my 76 Olds was new and a daily driver it had to be outside because two restored cars were in my two car garage. The Olds was parked in shade at work and covered. When I got home I covered it again. When there was a threat of rain I covered it with it's cotton cover and covered that with a plastic cover. Today it's stored in my 1632 Sq foot garage/shop and covered with a cotton car cover. The car is still in it's original paint;

Edited December 17, 2020 by Pfeil (see edit history)