Yes, a Car Cover Can Damage Your Paint

Every owner wants a glossy, well-kept car, but where it is parked is often out of your hands: open air in blazing sun and driving rain, under trees with bug residue, tree sap and bird droppings, or in a damp and dusty car park.

To protect the paint from oxidation and fading, many owners buy a car cover against sun and rain and to keep off bug residue and droppings. But a cover carries a risk most owners never notice: it can scratch the paint.

Why? On a windy day, grit from the ground is blown up under the cover. In the enclosed space the cover creates, the grit is rubbed against the paint by the wind, leaving countless fine scratches. The cover flapping against the body does its own damage too.

You uncover the car and find a spread of fine scratches. Nobody wants that, and they cannot simply be ignored: over time they deepen and corrode. A full paint correction at a detailing shop is expensive. The practical answer to these fine scratches is a scratch removal wax.

A scratch wax targets light damage on the paint. Apply the wax to the scratched area, wipe, and the marks are quickly reduced, restoring the finish and protecting the surface.

If you often park under trees and the paint carries stubborn bug residue or droppings that a normal wash will not shift, use a dedicated bug and tar cleaner. Its formula reaches into paint, glass, alloy and plastic surfaces to lift bug residue, tree sap, oily film, oxidation and other stubborn deposits quickly.