Blue tarp warning

[Rich Kallenberger]

A recent post mentioned using a blue plastic tarp for a car cover. When the PO of my TDR trailered the car to me he thoughtfuly covered it with an old blue tarp. The result was fine scratches wherever the tarp touched the car. As those tarps age they become suprisingly rough and a few hours of flapping in the wind was all it took. I suspect that even a stationary car might suffer the same fate after a few months outdoors.
😡

[Royal]

Kall, You “suspect” accurately.  I once stored a TR6 for the winter under a “blue tarp”.  It went through several windstorms etc.  Ruined the paint job. 

[Paul Mossberg]

A dirty fabric cover can do the same.

For the first few years of her life, my Duchess lived outside during the driving season. I had an Evolution3 car cover; at the time, probably the best all-weather cover on the market. It got dirty. Nothing you could see, but it magically transformed into sandpaper. Thankfully, no harm to the gel coat at all. But the cover wore the chrome off off the top-most surfaces of the grill shell and headlamp buckets.

I call it patina now. 😎

As far as the trailer incident, you should never cover a vehicle while it is being trailered.

As happened to Kall, the constant buffeting (and I don’t mean Jimmy!) has a high likelihood of damaging the finish.

In addition, no matter how well you secure it, you run the risk of having the cover blow off, and on to someone’s windshield. That would not be a good thing.

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[newkitman]

I believe I was the one who mentioned that. But I put the blue tarp over the fabric car cover. It worked fine and now Moneypenny is safe and dry inside a greenhouse. But I agree…trailering a vehicle, any vehicle, under a tarp adds a chance to seriously scratch a paint job.

Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

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