Quick Question on storing a vehicle

7

78_Caprice

New member
Hey guys!



I finally had a chance this weekend to clean up my 02 Trans Am WS6.



I cleaned the under carriage, waxed all jams, cleaned interior... and did 2 coats of NXT on exterior.



Today I just finished storing my car for winter but something bad happened , on the way to the storage place it started to spit rain , now the roads wern't wet at all but my car was all spotted up with little rain specs. also there is a long gravel road going to the storage place which I went very slowly on.



When I stored it I was soo mad and didn't want to touch the paint at all because it was FLAWLESS before I left and didn't want to risk putting swirls or scratches cleaning it up a bit before putting the covers on.



Now my question:P,



Is it alright for the paint to be really dusty and speckled with rain drops and little tiny specs of gravel? or dust around the wheel wells for 6 months? like will it screw up the paint? I'm really worried as the car is in showroom condition and only has 3900 miles on it. I put the covers on with my dad very carefully not to drag on the car just a straight drop on type a deal.



Will I be okay? it's got 2 coats of NXT on there
 
It should have been cleaned before the covers went on, IMO. You might consider something like QEW.
 
we put the covers on VERY gentley like draping them over the car not spreading them over it:S



will it be all scratched/swirly/water spotted come spring time and will it be damaged for good?
 
It oughta be fine, I'd have washed it first but I doubt that it's going to do any damage in your case. In the future, consider bringing Spray + Wipe and a set of *good* MF towels with you to the storage place, if I was going to put a car away I'd want it 100% perfect just so I could pull the cover off and drive it home with pride :).
 
You will probably be ok, as others have said.I would fight the 'urge' to go back,uncover it and wipe it down,you only wan't to take the cover off once,when you bring it out off storage,so 'I' would leave it be to reduce the possibility of any maring.But i have to agree with ZaneO,never cover a dusty/dirty car if you can help it,i would seriously consider getting some ONR for the future,that way you can take care of any dust/dirt safely the next time.
 
Noting that I've stored a *lot* of cars over the years (heh heh, consider that my '85 Jag has ~17K on it, the '84 RX-7 has 24K, etc. etc.) I agree with ZaneO.



a) I'll be pleasantly surprised if it's not marred from putting the cover on

b) leaving the combination of rain and (presumably limestone) dust on it over the winter could IMO cause damage to the paint



Consider that the whole reason to put it away is to keep it nice; why take chances?



Oh, remember to do something about the battery (trickle charger, remove it, something) and something to prevent flatspotting the tires (I often just inflate them to ~55psi, usually works well).
 
I don't think you have to worry too much about the tires. I don't think the newer tires have that problem anymore. Mine sits from at least November to April and had no problems. And I drive it on the highway to work in the summer, so I would know if the tires were bad.
 
Grimm said:
I don't think you have to worry too much about the tires. I don't think the newer tires have that problem anymore..
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Depends on the tires and the vehicle. My Jag's (original) tires have never had a problem but my S8's tires get slightly flatspotted when it sits for a few weeks (they're OK after a few miles of driving but really bad at first and I wouldn't want to let it sit for *too* long without overinflating); one of the car magazines had to replace the tires on a long-term Benz, maybe an E55, over this...it still happens so overinflating is a simple precautionary measure ;) The lower the profile the more susceptible to flatspotting, as best I can tell.
 
Grimm said:
I don't think you have to worry too much about the tires. I don't think the newer tires have that problem anymore. Mine sits from at least November to April and had no problems. And I drive it on the highway to work in the summer, so I would know if the tires were bad.
Click to expand...



I think the soft performance tires on his trans am will get flat spots very quick!



1.) I think if you ask this type of question YOU KNOW it's not ok!



2.) what good is a cover if now it has dirt and moisture on the inside of it?



how long it this storage for ?

did you change the oil?

what are you doing about the battery ,
 
Not disagreeing with anyone, but tire flat-spotting has to do with the reinforcement material. Tires with nylon belt caps are notorious for flat-spotting when they sit.
 
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