UV damage can show in various ways on your vehicle. From fading the paint color to causing the clear coat to crack and peel off. Overtime UV rays weaken the clear coat causing damage that can only be repaired by re-coating or re-painting the vehicle.
If your paint fades you might be able to restore it with a full detail. But you will be thinning out your clear coat every time you do this. If it gets to the point where your clear coat starts cracking then the only way to repair it would be to re-clear the panel.
Preventing UV Damage
Sure you can put a car cover on. But those are cumbersome and often end up scratching your paint. The better options are applying either a ceramic coating and/or paint protection film as they require little maintenance and are easily maintained.
Both offer an invisible covering that will help prevent the fading of color and the cracking of a clear coat and eventually the paint. Paint protection film is generally a one-time installation and is maintained the same way you would the vehicle paint. The top brands offer a 10-year warranty on the film against fading and yellowing.
Ceramic coatings will require a bit more work over the years. Typically they will last 3-4 years depending on how you maintain the vehicle. The point of ceramic coatings is that it offers an additional hard layer of clear coat, taking the beating of the elements. They can be reapplied every few years as they thin to maintain keeping the paint looking new and glossy. And if the car needs paint correction or to be polished then you are doing it to the ceramic coating and not your clear coat.
Can Vinyl Wraps Be Damaged by UV Rays?
Yes. Vinyl wraps do not usually come with any kind of top-coat or over-laminate. Leaving it completely exposed to UV rays. You will often see it fade or become very brittle. When badly damaged the vinyl wrap becomes very difficult to remove.
A couple of ways to keep the wrap looking good are to have paint protection film installed over top of it. Or have a ceramic coating, one made specifically for wrap materials, applied over top. Those will offer the best protection for a vinyl wrap.
If you don’t want to go either of those routes you will want to keep the vinyl wrap clean and waxed. And avoid letting it sit in direct sunlight for long periods of time.