Nakabayashi Kogyo’s Body Cover

Recently, we had Nakabayashi Kogyo, a body cover manufacturer, make a body cover for the Panamera, and about a week later, the cover arrived at my home. When I opened the box, it was neatly packed like this. (By the way, this photo is from when I ordered a 911 body cover. I forgot to take a picture when the Panamera cover arrived.)

Instead of just throwing this cover over the car, some simple prep work is needed first. If you follow the instructions included inside, it’s doable, but first, secure enough space to spread out the body cover and lay it out with the outer side facing up. (You’ll need more space than you might expect.) At this stage, it’s best to clean the floor thoroughly to avoid dust sticking to the cover.

Next, fold the cover from both edges toward the center,

then fold it once or twice more to create a long, narrow shape like this.

At this point, it might be hard to tell which end is front or back, but Nakabayashi Kogyo’s cover has a yellow marker at the front tip,

so you won’t get confused. Then, roll it up from the rear, and the prep work is done.

After that, place this on the car’s hood and spread it out left and right like fluffing an omelet over rice (see image below),

*Image source: blog-imgs-11.fc2.com

and you can fit it onto the car. But… can a woman really put on and take off a giant Panamera body cover that’s about 2 meters wide and over 5 meters long all by herself? According to President Nakagawa of Nakabayashi Kogyo, “Once you get used to it, I think a woman can do it alone in about 3 minutes.” So I decided to put that to the test. By the way, here is the instruction manual for putting it on and taking it off.

Let’s Try Putting It On!

Before covering the car, first carefully brush off any dirt from the car. If you skip this step and just put the cover on, dust and dirt on the car can rub against the cover and actually scratch the paint, so be careful.

Then place the rolled-up body cover on the hood and start unrolling it toward the rear.

The Panamera is big, but I could manage to unroll it by stretching a bit.

Heave-ho, heave-ho.

This is what it looks like at this stage.

Next, spread it out left and right like fluffing an omelet over rice.

Adjust to make sure the mirrors and lower edges are properly covered,

and finally, tighten the string on the right rear (this is an option),

and the cover fits snugly like this.

Since I was taking photos and it was my first time, it took me about 4 to 5 minutes with some trial and error, but I think once you get used to it, you can put it on in under 2 minutes.

Now Let’s Take It Off!

Next up is taking the cover off. This seems harder, but it’s basically just the reverse process… (laughs) First, loosen all the tied strings,

then start unfolding the cover from the bottom edges.

Next, fold the cover from both sides toward the center of the car, usually folding it up to the middle of the car at first.

Then fold it once or twice more.

Once one side is done, fold the other side the same way…

Heave-ho, heave-ho.

After folding diligently, it looks like this.

Then just roll it up tightly…

Done! Folding it this way keeps dust and dirt off the cover, so it stays clean for the next time you use it. Finally, put it into the body cover bag made from the same material, and it fits compactly.

This time it took me about 5 minutes to take it off, but once you get used to it, a woman can probably do it in under 3 minutes alone. Also, having the cover on keeps the Panamera sparkling clean, and it even feels like the cover “wiped away the dirt” because the car looked cleaner than before I put the cover on.

Nakabayashi Kogyo’s body covers are easy enough for a woman to put on and take off alone, and they keep your beloved car looking pristine, so I highly recommend them.