Car Bubbles

Water. It's the most incredible thing. Next time you turn your kitchen tap on, have a look at what comes out. You can get lost in what makes water work. Brilliant.

Looking a little dusty....

Not so brilliant for us guardians of historic soul machines when it's in a suspended state floating around the garage. You won't be able to sese it but it's there and it's amazing how quickly bare metal rusts when left out in the open in all but the latest state-of-the-art set-ups.

And it's for this reason that the car bubble was invented, to keep things dry. Car bubble? Quite simply a self-inflating cocoon into which you place your car or bike. The constant gentle circulation of air driven by a low-power fan, ensures moisture can't build.

What do we think? I don't love them. They are frustrating to live with as much as a godsend.

Here's a list of pros and cons:

Pros • Low maintenance • Easy to repair - yup... • Relatively cheap to run • Easy to install • Simple to operate • They work • Should add to resale value

Cons • They take up space • Can scuff paintwork lightly if not handled properly • Distract from the look of your car if you like to show it off to friends • Noisy • Expensive to buy • Act as a barrier between you and taking the car out for a quick blast I've learned to live with them over the years. My biggest frustration is the process of unwrapping then without stuffing the paint - the folds in the heavy plastic can mark the paint. If I could afford it, I'd swap mine out for the framed versions which you drive into once they're up; or I'd fix the garage so it was dry and dehumidified. That way the cars would be out in all their glory and all round, things would be much better. I'm going to play around with a few ideas for how to roll back the plastic safely before giving the cars a quick anti-scuff polish-up to get them back to how they should be. Will share anything useful.

Getting the car in and out though is simple. The clear bubble plastic is held to the base via a hefty plastic zip. The zipping along process is simple unless you're tight on space - once these things are inflated they bulge out quite a bit to the side of the car. Inflating the bubble happens once you've zipped it up. It's worth keeping a close eye on the fan until the inflation has lifted it away from the floor, but otherwise it's a quick and easy process. As is deflation - you turn the power off and unzip.