Importance of Garaging & Ceramic Coating Inquiry

[ssj335]

My guess is that folks here will say the first commandment of classic vehicle care is using a garage to store your car.

I wanted to start up a conversation to see where people stand on this topic and if my prediction is correct. As someone inexperienced I want to know how important it is to have your car in a garage year round. Importance level 10 out of 10? And what about an extreme duty car cover? Not going to cut it? Does this depend on the time of year/weather in your area?

And as a side note: anyone ever done ceramic coating? Thoughts?

Just thought this would be an interesting topic of discussion.

[jopizz]

In the Northeast a garage is a must for storing classic cars. No car cover will be able to provide enough protection from the elements. Most cars rust from the bottom up, not the top down. There's no sure way to prevent moisture from getting in underneath.

John

[OX1]

In the Northeast a garage is a must for storing classic cars. No car cover will be able to provide enough protection from the elements. Most cars rust from the bottom up, not the top down. There's no sure way to prevent moisture from getting in underneath.

John

Taken a step further, if you detailed the engine compartment and like the car show thing, don't ever drive in the rain again.
Water gets baked into the paints on engine compartment items and it is almost impossible to make them look like they did after fresh paint again. That and exposed bolt threads rust, unless you painted them all after assembly.

Agree on above about garage. But not just garaged, garaged with low humidity. High humidity garage, can be even worse than outside. I spent thousands on a liner (looks/feels almost like a super heavy duty pool liner) that went under my concrete floor. Concrete does breath moisture through it, and I have none. I have bare metal spots on the body of a Classic Bronco I am doing that have been that way for a year and half. Not even a hint of surface rust.

http://luxjo.supermotors.net/POLE%20BARN/CONCRETE%20FLOOR/LINER/2013-04-23_17-59-18_75.jpg

http://luxjo.supermotors.net/POLE%20BARN/CONCRETE%20FLOOR/LINER/2013-04-23_17-59-04_204.jpg

That said, if you cannot do a garage, get a metal canopy and use a highly breathable cover. Put concrete under it if you can, at a decent angle so it dries fast. Leave at least one end completely open so humidity does not build up. Something like this.

http://luxjo.supermotors.net/CANOPY/dcp05620.jpg

[Penelope]

There are also very good and can come with a trickle feed for your battery. They aren't that expensive and I think they would be a good investment especially for high end resto's.

https://www.carcoon.com.au/

[Dan Leavens]

My guess is that folks here will say the first commandment of classic vehicle care is using a garage to store your car.

Definitely garaged

[Woobie]

Yes, that is a very important consideration concerning the high humidity garage.

As our home was already built it was too late to put a liner under the concrete garage floor to prevent the moisture issue migrating through the concrete. We did, however, lay down three layers of 1/2 inch sheetrock where the car was to be parked in an effort to mitigate this moisture issue.