During the summer season, many people look forward to vacations, road trips, beach parties and long afternoons. Summer also brings hotter temperatures and more exposure to ultraviolet rays that can damage your vehicle’s exterior paint as well as its interior upholstery.
Testing done by insurance companies such as State Farm found that interior air temperatures can reach in excess of 145-degrees F, and surface temperatures of 195 degrees F are reached on vehicle surfaces exposed to direct sunlight. Over time, these temperatures and exposure to ultraviolet light rays begin to fade and ultimately deteriorate interior upholstery and plastic, as well as exterior clear coat and plastic components.
There are various products, however, that can help protect both the interior and exterior of your vehicle. The first level of defense is to keep the vehicle’s exterior clean and covered with a high-quality wax that protects the paint from the effects of ultraviolet rays. According to vehicle detailing experts, this can do wonders to save the clear coat finish on most factory paint, but it's recommended that it be done at least twice per month.
For those vehicle owners who just don’t have the time to be constantly washing and adding wax to their vehicle, a custom fitted car cover is a much better and easier alternative. Car cover manufacturers like Coverking, offer a wide variety of car covers that not only protect the vehicle’s exterior from the harmful effects of UV rays, they also keep the interior air temperatures cooler to minimize the effects of high temperatures inside the vehicle.
Coverking’s Triguard™ car cover offers three layers of fabric that offer good UV protection, along with protection against minor scratches and bird droppings. The cover is also breathable allowing it to keep your vehicle dry under light rain conditions. Manufacturers like Coverking offers higher levels of protection with four (Coverbond4) and five layers (Mosom Plus) car covers that provide improved water resistance and ding protection, depending on your budget.
Interior Protection
For those occasions where adding a car cover is inconvenient, there are additional ways to protect your vehicle’s interior 24/7, by using a set of custom seat covers, sunshade, and a dash cover. With a variety of styles, colors, and fabrics, manufacturers such as Coverking offer a multitude of custom seat covers that range from inexpensive Polycotton Drill to full leather.
Depending on the color combinations, feel, appearance, and level of protection you desire, these seat covers are all easy to install and are custom-fitted to each individual vehicle make and model, so that the seat covers fit perfectly to the contours of the factory seat. In addition to providing excellent UV protection, seat covers also provide resistance to moisture and mildew, as well as abrasion resistance from constant entering and exiting the vehicle.
Much like your vehicle’s exterior, the interior dash is almost always exposed to the sun. A sunshade offers quick interior protection that not only blocks the sun from the dash and steering wheel from its harmful UV rays, it also keeps your interior cooler and is easy to install and remove.
Dash covers offer another layer of protection to prevent fading and deterioration of plastic, vinyl or leather covered dashes. Covers available from manufacturers such as Coverking are designed to mimic the exact contours of the dash. They’re made from a high-quality polyester carpet that is molded to a thermoformable backing that won’t shrink, warp or curl over time. Interior matching colors also allow the dash covers to blend in with the vehicle’s interior while it protects your vehicle’s dash.
Utilizing these products and techniques can definitely extend the life of your vehicles exterior and interior, keeping them looking great for many years. According to insurance experts, vehicles that have been protected with the use of car covers, seat covers and dash covers, also have higher resale values which can ultimately lead to more money in your pocket.
For more information on these and other Coverking products that help protect your vehicle from the effects of summer, visit www.coverking.com.
