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I am a pilot so my yet to arive MINI will spend 3 or 4 days at the airport every week. I am thinking about using a cover during that time to protect it from all the stuff that seems to collect on the cars left under the airport. Will the cover cause more bad that good(scratches and such from dust or wind flapping)?
I am in Chattanooga so am dealing with similar weather issues and cover my car almost every day. It helps a lot with keeping my MINI clean and maintained.
I can't tell you the number of times I have seen bird crap on the cover and been very thankful it was not on the paint all day. It even seems to help with the wipers lasting longer just not being exposed to UV rays, 4 years with the same wipers and they still work great.
However, don't go cheep. Get a good cover. You can get a NOAH cover for reasonable price (I paid $130). If you want better get Stormproof fabric.
So from reading the stuff listed by MLPearson it looks like that unless the car it totaly clean putting the cover on will cause damage. Since I need to drive 30 miles to the airport there is no way for the car to be clean before I put the cover on so I guess it's better to not cover.
Well you could use quick detailer before you put the cover on...takes maybe 5 minutes tops. Just depends on whether or not it's worth the effort for you. I do it regularly because I have no garage.
I'm in the same boat too. I tried the indoor cover, cab cover and after awhile, it became too much. Mind you, I did this everyday. Here's the key too, not only does the cover become dirty after awhile, so do you. I have a suit that gave it's life for my car.
The parking garage I use has no assigned spaces but after awhile, I found a few spaces in the garage where the dust, crud and all are less.
I have a California Car Duster that I use regularly and hit it with the QD every other day or so.
Motor On
__________________ Snozeberry - 2007 R56 MCS DS/DS Premium, Cold Weather, Convenience, Sport, LSD, Punch Carbon Black Leather, Chrome Int & Ext, 17" Web Spokes, 6 Speed, Antracite Headliner, Driving Lights, Rear Fogs, HiFi, Bluetooth, Ipod, TomTom 510 with Kuda Mount. Red Alta CAI, Boost Tubes and Intake Tubes.
My experience, after nearly two years of using a car cover on the softest, most easily marred paint that shows every little problem (Jet Black)...
It's better to use the cover than to not use the cover.
Not using the cover, the car gets contaminated by all sorts of stuff, from bird poop to air pollution to pollen in the air, etc.
Does the cover cause some light swirls and scratches ? Maybe. But I'm going to get them anyway, just from the normal wear-and-tear on the paint. So, if I'm going to have to use the PC buffer and some polish twice a year anyway, I prefer not to have to wash the convertible every week in addition.
If you QD the car before you put the cover on and you're sure to keep the inside of the cover clear of any debris, you are much better off with the cover than without it, IMO.
I would cover at an airport if staying for a few days. The pollution fall out from all the airplanes I would assume would cause more irreversible damage than a cover. That white roof is going to end up being quite off white fast. Use a clay bar to return it to white, but a cover could prevent a lot of the problem.
