BMW Indoor Car Cover for E46 M3 Coupe

[Chas3n]

That's a stupid take. Cars are washed and clean before the covers go on and the covers stay on for 6 months.

That’s an ignorant take. Dust particles easily find their way in-between the covers and paint. Perfect, un-marred clear probably doesn’t matter, so isn’t noticeable to most, but it sure is to me.

It wild be far more useful to either ceramic coat (professional grade) the vehicle or use a long lasting sealant and do a thorough wash when ready to use the vehicle again.

[bmw]

That’s an ignorant take. Dust particles easily find their way in-between the covers and paint. Perfect, un-marred clear probably doesn’t matter, so isn’t noticeable to most, but it sure is to me.

It wild be far more useful to either ceramic coat (professional grade) the vehicle or use a long lasting sealant and do a thorough wash when ready to use the vehicle again.

Well, thanks eagle eyes for your valuable feedback and contributions to the topic at hand. I'm aware of the tradeoffs of cover usage. What do you think happens to a car covered with six months of dust during its thorough wash, even with the three bucket method? Some marring occurs with any paint contact. A clean indoor cover only applied to a clean car does less damage, protects against inadvertent contact in the garage over the season, and there's the psychological factor - when the weather turns nice, the car is in perfect shape and ready to drive.

To say "all you see" is marring, like with someone using a dirty outdoor cover, outside in the wind, over a dirty car - is stupid, and unhelpful.

[Chas3n]

Three bucket method?


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[bmw]

Three bucket method?


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Two bucket method + another bucket for wheels only.

[Chas3n]

Two bucket method + another bucket for wheels only.

I’ll add some helpful input here:

Get rid of this multi bucket method. 1 bucket. Fill it with warm distilled or filtered water, 2 caps of a Rinseless wash mixed with 3 caps of meguiars gold class (non wax version). Place 7-10 microfiber towels and let them soak for about 5 minutes.

After your foam canon step, take 1 micro out at a time and do 1 panel with it. Toss it after. This ensures zero dirt and grime are transferred from one panel to another.

Wheels can have a separate bucket, of course. Coating the wheels however will make it easy to power wash off and dry using a spray sealant such as bead maker. Much easier to clean/maintain and adds an extra shine.

What’s far better than a car cover is having the vehicles clear coat polished and professionally ceramic coated (ranges from $650-1250/stay away from ceramic pro installers) and is massively better for your cars clear coat and overall appearance. A ceramic coat will protect against dust better than a cover, as once at speed, most of the dust flys off.

Wash like a concours professional in the best of health and save your vehicles paint.

[jet_dogg]

Which youtuber did you learn this nonsense from?

[bmw]

I’ll add some helpful input here...

Oh look, an annoying internet forum know it all here to provide off topic and unwanted "input". You write like you're the first person to discover how to wash a car and maintain it. This thread was about indoor car covers for the E46 M3, not your personal soapbox for elementary wash tips. I know how to wash and detail my cars. I know the multi-microfiber method. My cars are coated. Again, this thread is about indoor car covers. I choose to use indoor car covers for winter storage in addition to proper washing and coating. Leaving them uncovered for months is not "massively better", that is dumb. If you disagree, kindly start your own thread to educate everyone on how to wash a car and/or to debate the merits of car covers.

[lvm3sm46]

I appreciate the indoor car cover reviews. I have been looking for a OEM one for some time now but I see there are other options. Thank you

[maw1124]

That went down a rabbit hole really quickly. Nice covers, all of them actually. With any washing and waxing routine, covering the cars while they sit in the off season is money well spent to me, even if you cover them with old sheets. The rest is just style points. I like my covers, except they are dusty when I take them off instead of the cars…allergies.

Cheers,

maw

[Chas3n]

Which youtuber did you learn this nonsense from?

Just everyday being one of the elite detailers in the country? Have a few accreditation’s on the wall that say I know paint, and failure physics, but that’s another story.

Accusing an expert of being a know it all instead of stepping back and thinking about the answer given, is such a low q move.

Best of luck and health


Edit: buy a bubble, not a cover, and if budget allows, put an air filter fan next to the car.

[jet_dogg]

Sick burn yo, you sure showed me. I see micro-marring in that pic you posted in your defense. Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth a wise man once said.

Pick up a polisher yourself, refine the surface perfectly and then follow your own advice. Examine paint and then come back to post your findings.

Anyway back to the topic in case you didn't see the below.

Oh look, an annoying internet forum know it all here to provide off topic and unwanted "input". You write like you're the first person to discover how to wash a car and maintain it. This thread was about indoor car covers for the E46 M3, not your personal soapbox for elementary wash tips. I know how to wash and detail my cars. I know the multi-microfiber method. My cars are coated. Again, this thread is about indoor car covers. I choose to use indoor car covers for winter storage in addition to proper washing and coating. Leaving them uncovered for months is not "massively better", that is dumb. If you disagree, kindly start your own thread to educate everyone on how to wash a car and/or to debate the merits of car covers.

[Chas3n]

Sick burn yo, you sure showed me. I see micro-marring in that pic you posted in your defense. Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth a wise man once said.

Pick up a polisher yourself, refine the surface perfectly and then follow your own advice. Examine paint and then come back to post your findings.

Anyway back to the topic in case you didn't see the below.

Sounds like low q here. Carry on with your marred paint. At least you’ll fit in with the super market meet cars.

[IamFODI]

Few posts in here that are a little out of hand, but I don't feel like dropping the hammer or going in with a scalpel on people's posts. Don't want to lock the thread either because it's mostly good info.

Would it be too much to ask everyone here to take a good look at their own posts and edit out any confrontational stuff? Please don't make me do it.

[usdmej]

and there's the psychological factor

this is actually the reason why i don't use an indoor car cover

i like to peak in the garage (more frequently than what's considered helathy) just to take a look at my cars. also, if there was incidental contact/damage done you wouldn't know about it until whenever you decided to take your cover off

[usdmej]

After your foam canon step, take 1 micro out at a time and do 1 panel with it. Toss it after. This ensures zero dirt and grime are transferred from one panel to another.

this seems very wasteful but also very effective/convenient