How To Protect Your Classic Car From Sun Damage

To protect the value of their vintage vehicle, owners must be vigilant and proactive against the numerous factors that could degrade their car’s quality, including the sun. Learn how to protect your classic car from sun damage.

How the Sun Damages Vehicles

One of the most damaging forces to classic cars is something we have to deal with every day: the sun. While we love a gorgeous, sunny day to drive our cars, too much of a good thing can be harmful, especially to older cars with more fragile exteriors and interiors.

The sun and its UV rays can significantly damage a vehicle’s exterior and paint job. It can also harm a car’s interior, especially if it has leather upholstery.

How To Protect Your Vintage Vehicle’s Exterior From Sun Damage

It’s obviously in every owner’s best interest to protect their classic car from sun damage and preserve their vehicle’s exterior and interior. We’ve got some tips to keep your classic car’s exterior looking healthy and ward off the penetrating UV rays of the sun.

Park Wisely

The first step in exterior vehicle protection is knowing how to store and park your classic car. If you have a garage or secure storage facility, you only have to worry about when you take your vehicle into public.

When parking in lots or on the street, park in the shade if possible. A covered and protected parking garage is ideal for shading your vehicle from the sun and is safer from thieves or vandals, even if it costs more to park. And while trees can provide shade, be cautious—they’re also congregation spots for birds who won’t mind relieving themselves on your classic car!

Car Cover

If you can’t park in a garage or a shaded area, you should consider investing in a car cover. A car cover is one of the most effective ways to protect your vehicle’s exterior from damaging UV rays.

What’s great about car covers is they completely shield your vehicle and are relatively cheap compared to paying for covered parking or a rental storage unit. You can find cheap car covers online, but it’s best to invest in a custom cover so that it fits your vehicle like a glove.

Wash and Wax

You must also keep your vehicle clean and protected. When foreign substances and contaminants like dust, dirt, or bugs interact with sunlight on your car’s exterior, it can cause significant damage and corrosion.

Keep your vehicle’s paint job protected by cleaning it of dirt, dust, and bugs with thorough handwashing and drying every two weeks. And after the wash, don’t forget to wax the car to give it a protective layer against UV rays. You should wax your classic car at least twice a year.

Paint Protection Film

Another strategy for adding layers of protection to your vehicle is with a paint protection film (PPF). A PPF is a thick, transparent layer of urethane applied to your classic car’s exterior to protect its paint from UV and external damage like scratches.

PPFs are strong, flexible, and made of chemically stable materials that are exceptionally resistant to UV degradation, so it’s like a coat of armor for your vehicle. The cost of a PPF depends on numerous factors, but when you consider how much it protects your classic car’s value, it’s worth the investment!

Ceramic Coating

If you want to double down on exterior sun protection for your vehicle, add a ceramic coating on top of your classic car’s PPF. A ceramic coating is similar to a PPF, but it’s even more protective.

A ceramic coating is a liquid polymer with a composition that includes silicon dioxide to provide a dense but still liquid and flexible coating to your vehicle. A ceramic coating is the strongest protection against UV damage and scratches and is even stronger when combined with a PPF. Plus, ceramic coatings last a long time—you only need to change them every two to five years.

How To Protect Your Vintage Vehicle’s Interior From Sun Damage

We’ve discussed how to protect your vehicle’s exterior, but classic car owners shouldn’t forget that their interior is just as susceptible to sun damage. The dashboard and upholstery can fade and crack if exposed to the sun for too long, but we can help you prevent interior sun damage with a few tips.

Sun Visor

The simplest and cheapest way to protect your car’s interior is with a sun visor. The windshield is where most of the sun will filter inside your car, so a visor is a good place to start. A car sun visor will reflect the heat and UV rays from the sun, keeping it from damaging your car’s interior.

Car sun visors are cheap, easy to use, and have numerous designs, so you can find one that suits your classic car. Plus, they’re small and portable, so you can always keep it in your car and use it when needed.

Tinted Windows

A visor takes care of the windshield, but what about your car’s other windows? For the rest of your windows, you may consider investing in some window tints to prevent UV rays from entering the interior.

It may be blasphemous for some classic car owners to change their car’s aesthetic, but window tints block up to 99 percent of UV rays. However, there are legal limits to how much tint you can apply, so check with local laws and regulations before applying an exceptionally dark tint.

Seat Covers

Another worthwhile investment for your classic car is seat covers. Again, you may be changing your vintage vehicle’s original aesthetic, but it keeps the upholstery clean and durable.

Seat covers protect your interior from other damage and contaminants, like spills, scratches, and rips. And they allow you to customize your car’s interior without changing anything, so if you want to sell it, you still have the original upholstery intact.

Conclusion

We hope our guide keeps your car protected inside and out! If you want a new vintage vehicle for your collection, check out the custom classic cars for sale at Ideal Classic Cars. Browse our inventory or visit our showroom in Venice, Florida, today.