Meguiars plastix

C

Cybercowboy

New member
Damn! Now that my wife's car sits outside (usually covered) it decides to hail - twice this month. First time was no biggie. This morning the car wasn't covered because she figured it would be raining and she didn't want to take it off in the rain (she leaves pretty early nowdays and Cybercowboy is snoozing.) Oh, it was raining alright. Hail the size of small golf balls. Ding city. Hundreds. Oh well, I probably won't even bother getting it fixed. Crap. Just have liability on her car because it's only worth 3 or 4k. I don't think having the cover on would have helped much anyway - this was some big stuff.



What's up with hail in October??? I've lived here for a long time and can't remember ever having it this late in the year. And it usually is much smaller even in the middle of tornado season. Sheez. I'll post a picture of the roof later if anybody cares to stomach it.
 
Oh, man, cyber! I know the feeling. Back in '95 a serious hail storm wallupped us in central PA. Fortunately my new Tahoe was still on the assembly line. I was on a dealer lot shortly after the episode and looked over all the different cars to see how they fared. Some observations:



Big-bodied trucks didn't look too bad. Some light damage that was easy to repair by the 'dentless' methods.



A Miata was a total disaster. The metal was so thin that even the lightest hailstones left their impact. I think one new Miata needed every single body panel replaced.



There was a Vette, too. And wasn't that cool. It all bounced off the fiberglass! No damage whatsoever. I was sold right there.



I have this recurrent nightmare that my new Bullitt will be in the wrong place when the next hail storm comes through. We have 'em at least once a year. From my office, I have all the protected safe-zones mapped out so I can run and hide out in a jam. Banks, the local supermarket, some gas stations, and a couple deserted barns are on the list.



Today I was cruising through the backroads enjoying the fall colors and my just-completed wax job and WHAM!!!!- some squirrel must have dropped an acorn from about 60' up! It sounded like a gunshot and resonated across my whole roof. I must admit that I couldn't get settled until I reached my destination, some 20 miles away, and got an opportunity to assess my next damage control project. Somehow, through some grace, all that I could observe was a slight area of shell dust. Man, was I relieved.
 
off the plastic Corvette. I think. But I'm not going to do the experiment with my car.



My wife is telling me now "Great. I can't ever have a nice car now because I have no place to freakin' park it." I'm debating on building a detached garage but really don't have a good place for it. Also I have neighborhood restrictions to deal with so any garage I build would cost some major bucks. Maybe I can build a "bat cave"...
 
Before the days of my Sanctuary, I parked cars outside all the time. If a hail producing storm approached I would get about two dozen plastic cups (like the ones you get free at sporting events) and set them upright between the car and the car cover. It looked pretty bizzarre but the airspace created between the car and cover acted as a defense shield against all the hail. It worked through at least a dozen storms over the years.
 
Just buy a big tent for the outside and park the car in there. :) It has been warmer in the northern states longer this year. We are still near 70 up here in Michigan. Usually we are below 50 by now, so somehow it must be messing with the jetstream, which goes right through Missouri, causing the hail so late in the year.
 
We had a bad hail storm here in Cincy a few years back. The Explorer only had about 5,000 miles, and it got nailed :mad:. It has hail dings all over the roof and hood. I picked up of some of the hail and put in the freezer, it was a little bigger than the size of a golf ball.



Hail storms are a total disaster for car people like us.
 
We would of had to paid a $100 deductable to get her car fixed. The really depressing part is that there was a few other dings that looked just like hail damage that would have been fixed also. But when we got the vette we decided to change her car to just liability and save several hundred dollars a year. Oops.
 
Check out this site
http://www.cover-it-inc.com/

hs350.jpg
 
Waxman,



Yeah, most do. Mine did anyway. If you have comprehensive (sp?) coverage it should cover it. I think it falls under the "act of god" portion of the policy.
 
Waxman,



That cover looks like an interesting idea. And what do you know, a Lincoln underneath it!:) I wonder how sturdy it is? If some heavy snow and ice got on top, I wonder if it would collapse onto the car? :confused:
 
Yeah, they sell stuff like those all around here. Most are all aluminum. They are strictly forbidden in my neighborhood. No non-permanent structures allowed. Any permanent structures must match your house in height, building materials, and roof line. Yadda yadda yadda... And my neighborhood is pretty lax compared to many around here. Some even specify what type of grass seed you have to use and you can't leave your garage door open for more than 5 minutes.



I like Brad's trick of putting cups between the car and cover. I was thinking of maybe that foam mattress stuff that looked like egg cartons may work also. But a bit bulky and hard to store I guess. You could put it on the car "egg-carton-side-down." :D



Also, unless that baby was tied down with some serious anchors I would have found it in my neighbors back yard. We had 60 mph winds yesterday morning. I thought the hail was going to bust windows in our house it was hitting so hard. Hail was even bouncing 5 feet off concrete patio and hitting the windows. Scary. :eek:
 
Well I guess you have only one alternative.....buy your wife a new plastic body Vette to ward off hail!!! She deserves it. After all she puts up wity YOU doesn't she :D



H
 
Then the Expedition would have to sit outside!



I need to do something, though. Maybe a Saturn? Nah, I don't think so. Maybe a hummer. It would take bowling-ball sized hail to dent that I bet.
 
Cybercowboy,



I guess you could build a detached garage. But it sounds like it might be a major PITA to get the proper permits etc in you neighborhood. A simple 2 car detached garage is probably pretty expensive. I am no contractor, but I would guess that it would cost at least $10,000 and probably more. Contact Brad, maybe he can give you a better idea about what they cost to build.
 
I don't have room for a detached two-car garage. My house sits right in the center of my lot, and where their is room to the north there is an easment because of a storm sewer that runs underground. Nothing permanent there. So, the best I could do would be a one-car garage thing next to my driveway and it wouldn't look too great there, IMO. The back yard is elevated about 6' above the driveway (ever seen my retaining wall in the background in some of my pictures?) So the back yard is out.



When I was having the house built a few years ago I asked the builder to modify the plans to make my garage larger - I wanted a 3-1/2 car garage. He said "No problem." Then he framed the house without making the change. When I confronted him with this he said "Sorry, couldn't do it - too much change to the roofline. I made it 4 feet longer instead. You only have two cars anyway - what's the big deal?" I regret to this day that I didn't make them change it somehow - even it I had to get an architect to make the changes. I was building from plans I bought.
 
I ordered a bottle of this a couple weeks ago, I have to say this is a great product ! I have an old pickup that has had a hazy scratched stained speedometer-tach face since I have owned it.
I have never used a plastic product before so I just went for it by the directions.I applied it with a foam pad in a circular motion , and wiped it off...amazing, this product rocks ! just thought I would post it. :biggrin:

http://classic-motoring.stores.yahoo.net/meplplclpo.html
 
Luster said:
Definitely an excellent product! You can use it on headlights and taillights, any hard plastic surface.:biggrin:
Click to expand...

Bill ,
I wish I had taken a pic before using it on my 93 Lightning....I am just thrilled ! I have owned the truck for fourteen years with a bad face on the dash. I just had the interior completely redone , this really finishes it off !

:clap: :biggrin:

off topic:
Bill, I saw your Sprayway glass cleaner yesterday in a store....grabbed it ! tried it when I got home , that is good stuff buddy !!! :biggrin:
 
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