Thule/Yakima Roof Box Protection

[Route246]

Any ideas what type of protection to use on a Thule/Yakima roof box? The material is ABS plastic. I'd like to get it protected, mostly from UV. It won't be on the car that much but I've seen some roof boxes that were pretty abused from too much UV and I just want to keep ours in good shape. We haven't bought it yet so I'm not sure if it will be smooth or pebbled finish.

[Rsurfer]

Dlux would be my choice, but because of cost, I would go with 303 or Perl.

[Themikerobe]

303 would be perfect for that!

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[Route246]

Thanks. I'll try 303.

[pilotpip]

303 would probably be good.

Those racks hold up very well. Under normal use, you shouldn't see any wear for a long time. The ones that you see faded and in rough shape have probably lived on the roof of a car for close to a decade.

[Ebg18t]

We have the Yakima skybox LoPro Titanium. I coated it with CQUK. Holding up great 2.5yrs later


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[ntwillie1]

I use carpro hydro on mine. It’s been on for about 6 mo out of the year for 4 years and still looks great. Easy peasy.

[minirips2]

Don't worry about the cargo box....worry about the car's paint under the pads where the box sits on your car. I put a Yakima rack on my 1992 GTI, and it scarred the paint almost immediately. I returned it. If you must use a roof rack, look for one that doesn't use big rubber feet like the Yakima has. The Thule rack rested in the rain sills on my VW, and never touched the paint. If you do put the type of rack on that touches the paint, you might try putting Xpel or some other paint protection film on the paint where the pads sit. If you don't, you'll wish you had, no matter how careful you are.

[Themikerobe]

Don't worry about the cargo box....worry about the car's paint under the pads where the box sits on your car. I put a Yakima rack on my 1992 GTI, and it scarred the paint almost immediately. I returned it. If you must use a roof rack, look for one that doesn't use big rubber feet like the Yakima has. The Thule rack rested in the rain sills on my VW, and never touched the paint. If you do put the type of rack on that touches the paint, you might try putting Xpel or some other paint protection film on the paint where the pads sit. If you don't, you'll wish you had, no matter how careful you are.

Xpel is a great idea! They sell kits with small amount of the film.

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[rlmccarty2000]

I don’t like 303 for exterior purposes. It will sometimes streak. Not really that durable in rain. DLux would be my suggestion for something that lasts a good while and looks good.