UV Protection and Blocking UV Damage
Summary: Damage from the sun is as bad for your car as it is for your skin. There are a few ways to prevent it.
Special thanks to our contributors:
Discord: Jeyy. Additions by Ryan of RS Detailing
We’ve all seen what the results of UV damage look like. Paint goes chalky, interiors look pale, and rubber dries out to the point of cracking.
What blocks UV rays?
To properly block UV rays, you need something that’s either very thick, non-transparent, or both. None of those attributes are what you’d want for something like an interior dressing.
Do interior dressings block UV rays?
Probably a little, yes, otherwise it’d be false advertising. Do they block UV to any meaningful degree when used outside the lab, and in such a way that doesn’t mean slathering your car in the stuff? Doubtful.
What’s the best option to protect from UV damage?
Outside of shade or a garage, the best method of blocking UV is window tints. Automotive windscreens often have a UV absorbing layer in them from the factory, but this varies from car to car and some cheap replacement windscreens may lack this layer. If you’re in a sunny climate, it’s absolutely worth having your windows tinted to save your interior, but keep it to the legal limit.
