A velvet stretch indoor cover will protect your paint for years if you use it right, and can scratch it in one careless pull if you do not. This guide covers correct fitting, washing and the mistakes we see most often. It applies to every cover in our indoor car cover range.
How to fit the cover without scratching paint
The rule is simple: the cover must never drag across the panels. Dust sitting on paint acts like fine sandpaper the moment fabric slides over it. Fit in this order.
1. Start at the roof centre. Unfold the cover on the roof, not on the ground where it picks up grit.
2. Drape front and rear. Let the fabric fall over the windscreen and rear glass, then pull down over the nose and tail. Lift and place, never slide.
3. Seat the mirror pockets. Our covers are patterned per chassis, so the mirror pockets tell you the cover is aligned. If the pockets do not sit naturally, the cover is rotated, lift and recentre it.
4. Work the hem under the bumpers last. The stretch knit hugs the body once the hem is seated. No straps or clips needed indoors.
Removal is the reverse: fold it back onto the roof in sections, then lift the folded bundle off. Fold it panel to panel, so the dusty outer face never touches the clean inner face.
Can I cover a car that was just driven?
Wait until the exhaust and brakes are cool to the touch, usually 30 to 45 minutes. Heat itself will not melt the knit at normal temperatures, but covering a hot car traps evaporating moisture from the exhaust system and warm brakes against your paint. Breathable fabric handles ambient humidity well, it should not be asked to handle steam.
Can I cover a wet or freshly washed car?
Dry first, always. The knit breathes, so trapped moisture will eventually escape, but water sitting between fabric and paint for hours is how you get water spotting on dark cars. After a wash, a full towel dry plus a short air dry is enough.
How often should the cover be washed?
For a garaged car, two to three times a year is plenty. Wash sooner if the inner face looks dusty, because that dust is what touches your paint. Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle, mild detergent, no fabric softener and no bleach. Softener coats the fibres and kills the breathability that makes the fabric safe. Air dry only, a hot dryer will attack the elastic in the knit.
How should the cover be stored off the car?
In the storage bag it shipped in, clean side folded inward. Never leave it on the garage floor between uses, that is where it picks up the grit that ends up on your paint.
The three mistakes that damage paint
First, sliding the cover on or off instead of lifting it. Second, covering a dirty car, a cover is not a substitute for washing, it protects clean paint. Third, using an indoor cover outdoors. Our covers are breathable dust covers for garaged cars. Rain, UV and wind flap are outdoor cover problems, and a wet breathable cover pressed against paint by wind does more harm than good.
Getting the right cover matters more than any care tip
Every rule above works because the cover fits. A loose universal cover slides on its own every time you brush past it, which defeats careful fitting entirely. New to covers? Start with the buying guide, then browse the full collection. Dispatched from Australia, shipped worldwide.
