TomD77

I've got a pretty good bike rack, a Saris Bones, and transport my bike so much that I leave the rack on the car all the time. Problem being that the pad contact areas are damaging the paint on my car. Short of rigging the rack 4+ times a week or changing the whole mess out for a hitch and hitch mount rack, solutions?

How about a drawstring cloth bag over the 3 contact points that could be removed and cleaned every week or so? The rubber pads that are at the contact points are large and soft but at least some grit gets trapped under them.

Retro Grouch 

We get a lot of requests for information about car racks on BF. I warn people of that issue with any strap on rack.

Are the feet on your Bones rack removable? It's probably been 10 years or so, but I THINK that I remember a Saris rep telling us the feet could be put in the dishwasher. I've also seen folks put a towel under their rack's feet. I assume they washed the towell regularly. I don't have any experience in how well either idea works.

Timtruro

I have also seen people using terry cloth towels a lot. You can't leave a rack on indefinitely as you have discovered. Removing and cleaning on a regular basis would help. I used to leave my Allen rack on for weeks at a time. But would tighten it down and check for dirt/damage fairly frequently.

berner

People here have posted about clear vinyl tape to protect parts of the bike such as chain stays. Something like this would protect a car's paint also.

Altamont

go to a car shop and get some of the clear adhesive protectant film. if aint cheap but it is used to keep rock chips etc off of high end cars, usually on the front of the hood etc. a step up from tape. or get it on-line at invisiblemask.com. some of is made by 3M, some by Scotchguard. lots of folks use t under the feet of their roof racks pads,.

TomD77

I think I use the same product in another of my hobbies, long range rifle shooting. It's a clear PVC tape that you install like a decal, over soapy water and squeegee it down. We call it stock tape and I can get a 8" x 8" piece for about $5. It's quite tough and won't damage very expensive paint jobs on carbon fiber stocks (or cars). Great idea!

My wife came up with what I think is a good idea, socks over the rubber feet on the rack and changed weekly but the clear tape is ever better.

Artkansas 

I used to have a Mitsubishi Mirage and you couldn't put a bike rack on it. The metal of the body was so thin that when you tried to tighten the rack straps, you could see the trunk bending.

qcpmsame 

Tom,
You can get even larger sheets of the clear vinyl at Kmart or Wally World. I used it on aluminum motorcycle tanks to protect the paint.

Bill

Bikey Mikey

Personally, I would never put cloth between a pressured force, like rack legs/arms, and paint. The small movements from bumps and whatnot and over time the socks would cause paint damage.

Altamont

I use shoes.

fietsbob

Sounds like a thought.. the road grit will be an abrasive,
so anything that will reduce the accumulation of grit is good..

washing the feet of the rack seems a step ..

woodway

If you are transporting your bike that often, I would either invest in a hitch mount rack or accept that you are going to damage the paint on your car.

Garfield Cat

Helicopter tape. Try going to a local airport and ask a mechanic if he's got helicopter tape. Buy a sheet off of him.

maddmaxx 

I know I made this choice way back after investigating all sorts of racks. I've always been happy with the hitch rack. I leave it on the car all season long in case I make a spur of the moment decision to go somewhere and ride.

oldster

the most important thing is a big note on the dash board so you dont drive into the garage with the bike on....(dont ask how I came up with that.......
Bud

freedomrider1

How did you come up with that Oldster?

Retro Grouch 

Putting the garage door opener in the glove box is a good reminder.

B. Carfree

Threads like this one really make me feel fortunate that I have always been able to find a place to live where I don't have to drive someplace to have a nice bike ride. That would drive me insane.

TomD77

What department, what do they call it? All I need are 3 pieces at around 4" square

chet31

I also have a Saris Bones. I can't open my trunk with it installed, so I put it on/take it off each time I use it. This takes less than 60 seconds, so not that big a deal. It's the dust/dirt on the car that causes most of the problems. I use a spray bottle w/ Optima No Rinse/water solution and a microfiber cloth and I wash the contact points on the car each time I install the rack. I won't say I have no micro-scratches, but they are minimal and easy to buff out once/year or so. They are noticeable only if I am really looking and they are not in a particularly visible place.

My concern w/ the tape is that you are affixing to your paint, leaving it there for weeks at a time, with significant weight on it, in hot weather. Maybe it's designed for that, but most protective tapes I have seen are not jammed into the paint with weight. Also, whenever I have seen tapes applied to paint for long periods of time, when you peel it off, the paint has aged differently underneath the tape, and some buffing is required to even it out anyway.

Interested to see what your ultimate solution is.

qcpmsame 

Tom,
I found the clear vinyl with adhesive backing in the household department, paints, wallpaper and such at Wall Mart and at K Mart both. Hardware stores have it too sometimes. Try the Home Depot or Lowes on Hwy 90, in Pea Ridge, they probably have it.

Bill

Timtruro

Afriend keeps his garage opener in the gloves compartment, not sure why.

Garfield Cat

The Helicopter tape has the type of adhesive that doesn't stick on forever. It can be removed by just peeling it off. So its ok for nice paint surfaces. Helicopter tape is expensive. The stuff at Wal-Mart may not be the better thing.

crazyb

^This