How much does sunlight damage exterior and interior?
 

My car has been sitting out in the sun all day at this auto body shop for a couple weeks, and I'm worried that UV rays are going to damage my exterior paint and interior...Should I be concerned? How much does a car have to sit outside before it gets damaged significantly?

Years. Years and years.

Not hours, days weeks.


You're good

Keep in mind that a large percentage of people dont have garages lol. Paint is built to handle all types of weather, including sun. Paint will fade over time but it takes years or decades for UV to do that

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The only thing is the dash might lift up from the vents area- which was a concern on earlier frs/BRZ.

I have a dashmat to help with that

My car is a 2013 and has never been garaged. I live in Queensland Australia. The sun is BRUTAL! No damage to interior or exterior yet...

(Waxing is important)


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The OEM windshield and windows has UV cutting so your interior will also be fine.

If it is sitting at an body shop I think sunlight is the least of your worries!

I would somewhat worry about the interior if you are super anal. If the interior of your car is hitting 120+ degrees, all of the plastics and glues will be expanding and contracting. Things that were tight might suddenly be loose. Although the build quality of these cars being what they are, I'm not sure that it matters - nothing is screwed together all that well.

As for the exterior, I can't find the article right now but it talked about how paints are developed and tested against the sun so the paint doesn't fade. If I recall correctly, this company has car panels that sit out in the sun for decades to show that modern paints are not affected by UV rays or heat enough that you would notice.

What gets people is pollutants embedded in the clearcoat and oxidation making the paint look hazy or discolored. So it's the clearcoat that is the issue, not the paint.

A good buff and polish usually fixes that right up. If you have taken care of your paint, a few weeks isn't going to hurt anything. If you have a layer of wax, then a normal wash should clean it up just fine.

yeah, but it's still going to take a number of years for that to occur.

and at that point, you're going to have much more significant problems considering that a car you're paying insurance, registration, and someone to work on it isn't being worked on!

even in the worst conditions, i don't expect that there should be any noticeable damage for at least 5 years.

Damn, I would like to read that article if you could find it...Wouldn't mind some kind of real scientific/data backed evidence.

OP get a sunshade and stop worrying about it. Covercraft has a good one for like 50 bucks. Custom fit.

I apply 303 Protectant every once in a while too to the dash and other plastics.

I too recommend getting a sunshade to protect your dash.
You can also find some on Amazon for even cheaper.

Didn't have one for the first year or 2. Once I started to notice the dash lifting a bit near the vents, as stated by others, I got one asap.
It also would help protect your other interior trims such as the top of your steering wheel.

Never felt the need for one. Both the days we get sun in the summer I just park under a tree.

Oh and my FRS dash lifted in the middle of winter. It was a manufacturing or design issue as much as a heat or sun one.

It is not 1955 and the paints haven't been a straight gloss enamel for at least 40 years. They are fine in the sun and weather. They are designed to be in the sun and weather. They take a far far worse beating from simply driving them than they do sitting outside.