Keeping a car outdoors

CRW41 · 10-24-2010, 09:49 AM

Here in Ohio - the car will be gararged during the winter months (December through February). After that it will stay outside (as my really high end cars come out of storage and back into the gararge).

Best ways to perserve the cosmetics of the BMW:

- most durable wax?
- car cover yes/no ( when it rains moisture can be trapped underneath)?

Will335i · 10-24-2010, 10:20 AM

Build a bigger garage....

jopa489 · 10-24-2010, 11:24 AM

My E90 is the DD and lives outside. Just keep up on your sealant/wax applications, there's not much more you can do. Also avoid parking under a tree (sap, bird poop, etc) if possible. I assume you drive the E46 at least occasionally in the summer, so the car cover will probably be more trouble than it's worth. Unless the car and cover are perfectly clean, you risk damaging the paint each time you put it on or take it off the car.

vasillalov · 10-24-2010, 04:20 PM

Same as a above. My E90 is also a DD and here in Chicago things can get brutal in the winter. The amount of salt they put on the streets, combined with air pollution and railroad dust makes it really tough to keep the paint clean.

Just as others have suggested, always keep up with your sealant and wax application schedule. Also, I highly recommend applying Aerospace 303 protectant to all exposed rubber and plastic pieces once every 2-3 months. It will protect against sun damage.

I just finished winter prepping my E90. Pretty much I did 3 layers of JetSeal 109 and 1 layer of 1Z Einzsett Hartglanz after an exhaustive claybar and polishing session with my PC 7424XP.

The results are amazing and I am hoping that this setup will keep the paint safe over the winter.

TOGWT · 10-25-2010, 06:11 AM

This is how I stored my cars outside while the garage was being modified-

. Two-cover system:

During high winds the use of this system will avoid paint surface marring from the cover being buffered by high force winds

a) Dustop™ - 4 layer cover with maximum dust protection and its soft inner layer protects paint.

b) Weathersheild™ HD- primarily for intense sun environments and long-term storage provides optimum protection from a multi-layer breathable (heavyweight) fabric.

10-24-2010, 09:49 AM	#1
CRW41 New Member 4 Rep 14 Posts Drives: BMW E46 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Ohio iTrader: (0)	Keeping a car outdoors - suggestions Here in Ohio - the car will be gararged during the winter months (December through February). After that it will stay outside (as my really high end cars come out of storage and back into the gararge). Best ways to perserve the cosmetics of the BMW: - most durable wax? - car cover yes/no ( when it rains moisture can be trapped underneath)?
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10-24-2010, 10:20 AM	#2
Will335i The Engineer 26 Rep 329 Posts Drives: AW 07' 335i Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis MO iTrader: (2) Garage List 2007 335i e92 [1.00]	Build a bigger garage....
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10-24-2010, 11:24 AM	#3
jopa489 Major General 122 Rep 6,594 Posts Drives: Anything with Wheels Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: USA iTrader: (9)	My E90 is the DD and lives outside. Just keep up on your sealant/wax applications, there's not much more you can do. Also avoid parking under a tree (sap, bird poop, etc) if possible. I assume you drive the E46 at least occasionally in the summer, so the car cover will probably be more trouble than it's worth. Unless the car and cover are perfectly clean, you risk damaging the paint each time you put it on or take it off the car. __________________ X7 LCI // Incoming C7 ZR1 ZTK // Sebring + TRX // Hydro + Raptor Gen1 Roush // Tuxedo
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10-24-2010, 04:20 PM	#4
vasillalov Mad Linux Guru On The Loose 1121 Rep 5,396 Posts Drives: 2008 335i Sedan, 2023 M3 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chicago, IL iTrader: (5) Garage List 2023 BMW M3 [0.00] 2008 335i E90 [8.00]	Same as a above. My E90 is also a DD and here in Chicago things can get brutal in the winter. The amount of salt they put on the streets, combined with air pollution and railroad dust makes it really tough to keep the paint clean. Just as others have suggested, always keep up with your sealant and wax application schedule. Also, I highly recommend applying Aerospace 303 protectant to all exposed rubber and plastic pieces once every 2-3 months. It will protect against sun damage. I just finished winter prepping my E90. Pretty much I did 3 layers of JetSeal 109 and 1 layer of 1Z Einzsett Hartglanz after an exhaustive claybar and polishing session with my PC 7424XP. The results are amazing and I am hoping that this setup will keep the paint safe over the winter. __________________ 6MT \| COBB \| AR \| AE \| Forge DV \| HPF \| P3 Gauge \| Hybrid Intake \| O.S.Giken TCD \| All M3 bits \| TCKLine \| StopTech \| UUC \| ER \| SPEC
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10-25-2010, 06:11 AM	#5
TOGWT Captain 11 Rep 770 Posts Drives: 630i Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Ponte Vedra Beach, FL / London, UK iTrader: (0)	This is how I stored my cars outside while the garage was being modified- . Two-cover system: During high winds the use of this system will avoid paint surface marring from the cover being buffered by high force winds a) Dustop™ - 4 layer cover with maximum dust protection and its soft inner layer protects paint. b) Weathersheild™ HD- primarily for intense sun environments and long-term storage provides optimum protection from a multi-layer breathable (heavyweight) fabric.
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