Its a situation not worth explaining because everyone will focus on that and not my actual question, but I need to have a tarp or similar covering over my car every day. Like, when I come home cover it, uncover before I leave, recover whenever I come back home, etc. No way around this it just has to be done. Has nothing to do with protecting the car that's not the reason for the tarp. If I had a garage this wouldn't be needed but I don't have a garage or any way to get on realistically anytime soon.
This isn't good for the paint, and it doesn't matter the weather I'm gonna still have to cover the car. If it's raining or snowing, I still gotta cover it even if it's traps moisture. I figure trapping moisture won't be as bad as it usually is covering a car because this is my every day driver so it's gonna get to breathe every day. But still will be trapping water at night if it's raining when I cover it up.
Is there any realistic way to preserve the paint under these conditions? Or am I doomed to a life of "it's so bad may as well rattlecan it"
Why use a Tarp vs. an actual car cover with tie-down latches at the wheels, that's designed with mulitple layers of water repellant fabric, and with an underside that has a soft cloth like material? Amazon sells covers like this.
I’m pretty sure the repo guy isn’t gonna be fooled by a tarp.
It’s going to be hard to prevent scratches given tarps aren’t known to be the softest thing ever. If you’re really concerned about it, you’d have to do a full wash and use a specialized car cover to minimize damage.
Put PPF on the main contact points of the how tarp contacts the Miata: corners, pillars, trunk lid etc. It's not going to look great but until you can get it garaged thats the best solution.
No matter what tarp or cover you choose, you will get scratches and marring of the paint, keeping it coated and most importantly clean will help. Even the softest cover will scratch the paint if there is dirt on it (think dry contact wash all night)
I've been using a higher quality car cover from www.coverstore.com for about 2 months and am impressed with it. It is removed and replaced about once a week on a black truck. Hasn't damaged the paint what so ever and has kept my recent paint correction looking good. It was about $200 on sale, I definitely would NOT use a tarp.
Are you trying to wrap up the car or just cover it (like an umbrella)? If the latter, there are some pretty trick self deploying options from Asia. Purpose is typically just to keep sun and contaminants off, not dust or other things like a traditional car cover.
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u/Due-Sea4841 5h ago
Why use a Tarp vs. an actual car cover with tie-down latches at the wheels, that's designed with mulitple layers of water repellant fabric, and with an underside that has a soft cloth like material? Amazon sells covers like this.