The sun is an intense source of heat and light. This isn’t a newsflash; we all know this. But, how does it affect the interior of your car? Car interiors are not all alike. Do different materials make a difference as to how the sun’s rays affect it? Let’s look at this topic a little closer.
Your dashboard is made of a few substances. According to the Polymer Science Learning Center, the inside your dashboard is made up of a glass-fiber reinforced thermoplastic, followed by a layer of polyurethane foam which gives padding as an added safety feature. The outer layer of dashboards in older cars is PVC. PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride. PVC is used to make a variety of things from shower curtains to pipes! Newer cars have dashboards with an outer layer made of PVC blended with ABS. ABS stands for acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene. Yes, ABS is definitely easier to pronounce! ABS doesn’t evaporate, which helps with the longevity and durability of the dashboard.
Invest in Dashboard Covers
Regardless of its composition, your dashboard definitely takes a direct hit from the sun. There are a couple of things you can do to help protect your dashboard from cracking. There are dashboard covers that you can buy specific to the make and model of your car so they fit perfectly. These will definitely help protect your dashboard, but not everyone likes the look of these covers.
Get a Sunshade
A sunshade is definitely something you need to purchase. Put your sunshade up anytime your car is parked outside, even if you are just running into the store for a couple of minutes. If you neglect to put it up over and over, then over time your dashboard will very likely get sun damage.
Park in a covered area
The other way to really help protect your car’s dashboard is by parking your car in the garage or a covered carport, if possible. The Florida lifestyle doesn’t always make this easy, though. Garages are often full of bikes, skateboards, surfboards, paddleboards, and boogie boards, along with various other accessories for outdoor fun in the sun. Add to that the necessities like tools and storage, and your garage very quickly can run out of space for a car. In that case, you MUST use a sunshade, if nothing else.
Purchase rubber floor mats
Leather or vinyl seats can take more of a beating from the sun as far as cracking goes, but cloth seats can fade. So, regardless of the fabric your seats are made of, they need protecting. If you have carpet on the floor of your car, we suggest purchasing rubber floor mats. They make it easy to clean up spills and dirt, as well as protecting the carpet from fading due to the sun.
As you can see, no matter how you look at it, the sun’s UV rays (particularly here in Florida with our high UV index) can easily damage your car’s interior, so it is imperative to protect it in any way you can. An outstanding way to add protection to your car’s interior is by having your windows professionally tinted by us, Solar Solutions, located in Vero Beach. We also serve our surrounding areas such as Sebastian and Fort Pierce with home and vehicle tinting. Our high-quality window tint blocks out approximately 99% of UV rays, greatly helping to protect your car’s interior. It is a great, cost-effective way to add longevity to your car’s interior, so give us a call today!