Second thoughts about car covers

[Silver Coupe]

A week a go I did a full detail including clay, DA compound, Polish and wax. After that I went over every inch of my car to verify all the scratches and swirls were removed. The end result was pretty darn good for a non professional. Anyways, I drove to work late at night and the car sat in a far off corner under my Noah Block it for three days. After I got back home I saw these scratches and can only a attribute them to the car cover. They are a little hard to see with pictures but in person they jump out at you. The car stays in a garage at home and I only drive twice a week to the airport and back. I know all about the "do's and dont's" when it come to covers, most importantly I always very gently place the cover on the top of the car and systematically unfold it making sure it doesn't slide all over the place. The cover itself fits right and I use gust straps as well. So, even with a ocd like me, as you can see even perfect usage may damage your car. For the future I'm leaning towards a really good coat of wax and a sun screen for the windshield.

[Mless5]

I wish I had a picture of the trunk lip of the Mercedes I've got to detail a few years back. It sat outside under the car cover all winter and the cover rubbed that edge to the point of 0 gloss. I should also mention that MB finish it very though to work with. So yes, pros and cons - just like everything else out there.

[jlb85]

It could be scratches left over that your detailing session did not fully correct. Look at the angle they are drawn at. What direction would the cover have to be moving (with force) to cause such a scratch. They do not look like the light stuff you get from contaminated covers/towels with no pressure applied, IMO.
That said, covers can be an issue when left on outside where wind forces and fatigues the paint at the pressure points, or if they are poorly kept or poorly put on/taken off.

[kevinmcf]

best way to cover a car is called; the car capsule, you drive car onto pad zip it around (leave windows open about an inch. and plug it in. your car is now safely wrapped in plastic bubble, no mildew if covered for months, if a bike leans against it no scratches. handle to the rake falls against it no issues you can even drop a hammer on it just bounces off! I have an outdoor one silver in color (cannot see through), in winter i put a small heater under car inside capsule, if you get heavy snow I plug in heater during the storm, heats the air inside so bubble will not collapse. works great if you need to store a car outside or in garage with kids bikes etc...

[Silver Coupe]

I possibly did mess up the detail or missed those marks. (I did use a DA orbital) Aftewards I went over the car with a good light at angles hunting for scratches. The one that stood out was the scratch near the hood emblem can't believe I missed it? Anyways, I fixed the scratches that were noted and I'll be very extra careful putting the cover on and off. Any more and I'll report back.

[Silver Coupe]

Update.....It was my drying method. I was using a waffle type "drying towel" and dragging it across the car. Ended up scratching it again! Now I'm using a blower to remove the water after washing it.

[jlb85]

Silver, if your drying method with mf is causing issue, then you can also assume the wash mitt could also be causing issues. This is typical and will always happen. On some cars and colors it is not as noticeable. The softer the paint and the darker the color generally the worse the wash induced marring. Rest assured these are normal and just touch them up once a year with a light polish.
To minimize the marring make sure you are wiping wth very clean mf (mitts, drying towels, quick detailer towels, wax apply/removal towels). There are various types of microfiber, and more plush or higher thread count / higher density does not necessarily mean the towel is softer, but it is the probably the only number you will be able to get off most towels. Generally the more expensive the towel the higher quality, although some resellers are price jackers.
But one improper wash will render any towel unusable, so proper towel care is more important than towel price imo.