my car was garaged 30 days a month, not needing a cover. when outdoors for the night, i cover it. now i've moved to a place with no garage and it isn't reasonable to keep it in the enclosed trailer i transport it with. so, to add to it's somewhat resistance to water, i decided to get 2 eleven oz bottles of never wet fabric spray. it recommends for heavy fabric (i'd say the car cover fits that category) 20 sq feet of coverage per bottle. well, i decided to make 2 bottles cover the whole cover. i did as the instructions said, elevated the cover so air could flow under and over it and let it set for a day in my enclosed trailer with the back open and the top air vent open.

so that night, it was expected to rain. so i put the cover on the car. after the rain started, i went out only to find the cover saturated with water, worse than before i had treated it. grrrrrrrr. so today, i got on rustoleum's website to see what sizes they offer their fabric product in other than 11 ounce. at this point, i think it's going to take at least 8 bottles to do a car cover. at $15 a pop, the gallon size is starting to sound good. cuz, you know, bulk amounts are typically cheaper.

so i contact a retailer from the locator on the rustoleum site. they had to call rustoleum because they didn't stock gallon sizing. she calls back saying the rep says they don't make gallons. i give her a part number straight from their website and she calls them back. (website says they make 1 gallon and 55 gallon sizes too) she calls me back saying that they only ship a minimum of 2 gallons and the cost is $180 per gallon. so, $360 per 2 gallon pack. i was floored, wondering if she misheard the rustoleum rep, because $90 a gallon is a bit more realistic. at this rate, buying a gallon's worth in the 11 oz sprayers is almost cheaper! yeah, 12 bottles costs 180.

so, before i go and buy 8+ bottles of this stuff, i wanted to hear what you all have used and your opinions on it. hell, i was considering never wetting the soft top too! i have nikwax (sp?) wash in and spray on water proofing in a storage unit back in va, but i am not going back until 10 days soonest.

experienced opinions?

 

They make covers that are waterproof

 

yeah, mine was. but after washing it to get the dust out of it when it was in california for almost a year, it's waterproof capability is lacking. it's an oem cover that fits great. if i can waterproof it for a hundred bucks or less, that would be way better than buying another.

 

I am not sure how well another product is going to work out on something else that has been applied. Spending as much as you are saying for a product that does not work well is shaky.

An effective product I have used for many years on everything from suede to coats to down sleeping bags to boots, is from good old Wal Mart. It is a silicone Water Guard spray with a day glo orange top. Inexpensive and works great. After it dries (at least a day or two) it does not darken the material its sprayed on.

 

Don't waste your money on Neverwet. It's not a very durable product. It might work okay for the first day but all bets are off the next day.

 

i appreciate the input! any other suggestions are appreciated.

 

Put a waterproof tarp over the cover.
Levi

 

wouldn't work. waaay too windy here in ky and it doesn't let moisture out from under it. trying to keep a 15 year old/29k mile car that looks brand new, looking brand new. i'd build a garage before resorting to tarp. unfortunately, i'm looking at moving in spring and unwilling to build a garage on someone else's property.

 

As unsightly as they are, a make shift car port / tent would work well...

 

I recently bought a Covercraft Weathershield XP cover and its been the best 300 I've spent in keeping my S2000 clean. As long as you keep the car relatively clean inbetween drives, and roll the cover up without getting the inside of the cover from mixing with the outside, I've had no scratches in the clear coat. It fits the S2000 perfectly, and barely moves around; even in heavy wind. While its not 100% waterproof - I've found a little bit of water pooled by the side mirrors - its significantly better than any other cover I've used in the past. Now that I've had some practice, I can pull off the cover in about 2 minutes, and fold it correctly, and put it into its bag in the trunk.

Here's a link to where I bought it on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and a shot of how it looks on the driveway - excuse the mess.