9secondflat

i just purchased my vette (after 18 years of drooling and having owned many fast cars...dutweiller ttype, vortec 5.0 etc..) so from this stand point i am very happy. however i dont have the fortune of having a garage to keep my car. since it is winter- snow ice pine needles etc are a concern for my black vette. if i could have found a white 00 hardtop than my gripe wouldnt be as bad but you look at a black car wrong and it scratches. i did some some searching and found the covercaft weathershield HD to be the best protection against ice/snow rain etc. the cost was just under 400, like 370 ish... when i recieved the cover i noticed it felt rather abraisive to the touch, not soft like a generation 3-4 cover. so what did i do. i used my cover that came with the car as a soft surface against the paint. (this cover hugs the car like a glove) and than on top i placed the new custom fit outdoor cover. yesterday we had winds of 50-60 mph. when i arrived home my new cover had blown off and my second cover (the soft one) was half blown off. it was not flapping in the wind since we had alot of rain and the temps were close to freezing so it was rather stiff.
i put both covers back on and went inside. this morning as a result of the heavy rain the roads were 100% clean no salt/sand etc..no forcast for rain just sun so i figured i would take my car to work. when i removed the cover i noticed over the left rear fender 3-4 inch scratches. mother ****er..... i didnt even bother looking over the rest of the car as i would have had a **** fit. my question what the **** can i do to keep my black car from getting the **** kicked out of it in the winter????

DeeGee

I had the same problem with the Camaro in winter in Italy.

I made the mistake of covering it when it was still dirty. I now have swirl marks all over the rear and roof.

The one time I tried to cover the Vert in a rain storm here in Vegas, I got back to find the cover in a heap on the floor.

I wish I'd just left it uncovered. Wind, dirt and covers don't fit well with a nice paint job.

9secondflat

when i covered the car it was clean, i washed it prior to installing the cover.

G5x4'sgirl

Do like I do when I am going to leave the cover on my truck for a while (since it too is black) I have a place that I can tie the cover to under the truck on all 4 corners no problems out of mine since I have done that

bozo4onion

I feel your pain. These cars must have Jello for clear coat. Mine (Navy Blue Metallic) swirls if a leaf falls on it. Get a Porter Cable random orbital and bunches of beer. Good luck.

y2kcorvettebob

I lived in an apartment for 2 years while owning a vette, I went to a car show and asked around for anyone renting garage space and met a guy who knew a guy.....Well it was a fellow car nut close to the house...like a mile, an easy drive in my Exploder. turned out not only to be a place to keep the car, but also a great place to do those all important winter mods!

Patches

I've been using a Weatheshield cover for 4 years every day and have never had a single mark or scratch on paint from the cover. It is very paint-friendly. I actually returned a Wolf cover in favor of the Weathershield because it was so much rougher.

Stock Man

Before I had a house with a garage I found a neighbor in the area that would rent me a space for the winter. I just didn't want to leave it out. It cost me about $30 a month which I figured was a great deal. Good luck getting the marks out. The Porter Cable dual action buffer is great with some mild compound.

DallasC5

Sorry to hear about the scratches. I knew I would be having all kinds of problems (especially with vandals and thieves) if I bought my car before I bought my home. So I waited approx. 5 years before I bought my vette to have a home with a garage first.

Hope everything works out and you never regret getting your vette!

Blue Smooth

OC Vette

I have the same problem with my black Vett. I park in the garage, dust it, than cover it with a thin Wolf dust cover. I get a lot of small scratches from the cover on the trunk lid where I roll it up. They rub out but it is a pain. From what I have read on this forum, most people experience the same thing. If any one has a cover that they use on a BLACK Vett that dosen't scratch, I would love to hear about it.

Hammie

I second the porter cable notion.

I myself have a Weathershield. I am not impressed with it. First off I paid like 260 from PFYC.com, so you got completely ripped off. I am not a fan of how so much water finds its way through the fabric. I hardly use it outside because the car is never outside, but it doesnt pack tight like it sayd it should, and its water repelling material is subpar. Not worth the money if you ask me. If you wanted to do the safest way (outside garage) get an outdoor car bubble.

Vetteman Jack

If its not your daily driver, then trying to find a garage to rent is a good idea. Otherwise, unless you can find a way to keep the cover from bumping up againt the paint, you are probably going to continue to have the problem.

troy144

edensknight

And, with very high winds and rain: It is best to keep the cover off, to reduce the incidence of having the cover beat onto the painted surface of your C5 which may cause damage to the paint.

Freestyler

http://www.topoftheline.com/tolae/cyclo-polisher.html

the cyclone iis a dual head, pure random orbit unit $300 compared to porter but the external has barely changed in 50 years (or whatever) buy one from ebay for 150.00 and spend 20-30 on getting the guts refreshed (if need be)

you can NOT burn (as a novice or distracted expert) (they say) with this one (unless you sit on it and spin :lol with this one

aeroplane detailers and professional shops appearantly use this one, if its good enough for them , its good enough for me

Good luck,. good idea about tieing it down, maybe sewing on some eyelets and then using some soft spongy cables to the hockey puck mount points may keep the cover down in hard winter days

Freestyler

sebringsilver97coupe

hmm. my car is silver so the swirls etc arent an issue but i purcahsed a multi layer cover (3 or 4 cant remember) from corvettes of dallas, says MAX TECH on the front, paid 99 bucks. its soft on the inside, water repellant etc. my car sits out right now since my house isnt finished and it'll rain on it and the water never soaks through...keeps the car clean. plus it just shakes off if u take it off while wet. although its silver, scratches can show, especially as close as i look at it but my cover has never scratched the car. ever. its always put on when car is clean. but i did have a black car before this and yes it would scratch in a rain storm i think. its not the vette's clear coat as people want to say. its any car w/blk paint. any car.

MagikDraggin

Has anyone ever used one of those inflatable big plastic bags, to keep their Vette in over the winter months? I read where they have outdoor ones as well as indoor ones, for around 4 or 5 hundred bucks.

Temperature, humidity, climate controlled...the whole kittenkaboodle. I wonder if something like THAT would hold up in a 60 mph wind?

Hammie

Yes, it's what I already mentioned. The outdoor ones are a little more expensive than you're thinking though, and they do work well but can't possibly be practicaly if you're driving the car very often. Seems like a lot of work to protect it.

masksqueeze

Wouldnt it be fine to just let it bare the elements, I mean come on, these are cars we are talking about here. Unless its show car or an investment I wouldnt worry about it. Park it somewhere away from potential falling debri etc. Mine sits in the drive way wind, rain, or shine. When the sun comes out, I wash and wax it again. If your worried about ice and what not, just let it be, ice melts. My 2 cents...