Well, it’s summer and you know what that means – headliners will fall, leather will crack and upholstery will fade. And, invariably, customers will ask, ” Why?”
Auto upholsterers, of course, already know the answer to that question. It’s the sun. Explaining that to customers, however, can prove quite difficult. Thankfully, The Financial Express does a great job of explaining how the sun ruins auto upholstery and what owners can do to avoid the negative effects of sun exposure.
The Financial Express explains:
If your car is parked exposed to the sun, the steering wheel can become impossible to touch and the seats difficult to sit on. The metal of the seatbelt can also turn hot to the touch. Keeping your car cool protects the interior from the searing heat and helps the upholstery last longer, without it fading. There are other benefits too like the air-conditioner being more efficient and not having to work as hard to cool the car’s cabin.
Therefore, park your car in a shaded area such as under a parking deck or a tree. Avoid direct sunlight whenever you can. If no shade is available, park your car in a manner such that the sun’s rays are on the rear windshield instead of the front. This will keep the dashboard and the steering wheel cooler.
Keep the car windows open by about half an inch to allow the heat to escape. The interior temperatures can exceed the outside temperature by five to eight degrees. A good aid is to put a sunshade inside the front windshield of your car. This will help protect the dash from turning too hot and cracking in the long run. If possible, buy a car with lighter-colored seats like beige. Dark surfaces like grey and black absorb more heat than light surfaces, so a darker seat will be hotter than a lighter seat. Apply the same principle when hunting for seat covers. Also remember that cotton is cooler than polyester or leather. So cotton fabric for seat covers breathes better and absorbs less heat than the others. Another inexpensive method of keeping the cabin cool is covering seats with a towel. When you’re out of the car, the towel will shield the seat from sunlight. When you’re in the car, it protects you from the hot seat. [more]
If you’re looking for an easy way to explain to customers how the sun can cause damage to their cars, consider printing this article and making it available for them to read – either on your website, Facebook page or waiting room.
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