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Convertible top care


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I need some advice from those who have verts. What do you do, if anything to care for your convertible top? Washing, conditioning, protection...

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I use Raggtopp products by Haartz to clean and waterproof the cloth roof on my 03 vert. It works great.

http://www.haartz.com/index.asp?ID=19&LC=EN

Was your top on your 03 vert a cloth or vinyl top? I have not treated my cloth top yet. I wash it every time I wash my car with the meguires wash I use on my car, then I rinse good and dry. I always store my car with the top up. Even in our garage it still gets dirty due to pollen. We have had the worst pollen I can ever remember this year. Having a black car I am sure makes me notice it more though.

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Was your top on your 03 vert a cloth or vinyl top? I have not treated my cloth top yet. I wash it every time I wash my car with the meguires wash I use on my car, then I rinse good and dry. I always store my car with the top up. Even in our garage it still gets dirty due to pollen. We have had the worst pollen I can ever remember this year. Having a black car I am sure makes me notice it more though.

 

 

I'm with you there - I have not yet done anything special to my top because of lack of knowledge. I took it in today to the dealer and had it detailed so the thing looks silly good despite dodging rain drops for the last 200 yards home. I'll try to pull out and get pics if the weather clears up but the forcast is ugly for a while (not that it means much). I'll ask the guys that detailed it what they use when I can.

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Although Raggtopp does have a specific cleaner for Vinyl tops, Protectant 303 is probably the best product for protecting Vinyl. As far as cloth tops are concerned, I recommend and use Raggtopp's cloth top kit which consists of the cleaner and protectant. The protectant is necessary because the cleaner will remove some of the waterproofing from the top and the protectant replaces it. It's a two step process that takes about an hour or so, in order to provide time to the protectant to soak back into the fabric.

 

303 can be purchased at almost every auto supply or marine equipment store. I have only found Raggtopp products at California Car Cover Company.

 

For quick wheel cleaning, try PS21. Spray it on then hose it off and the brake dust and road grime just wash away.

 

Hope this helps.

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Although Raggtopp does have a specific cleaner for Vinyl tops, Protectant 303 is probably the best product for protecting Vinyl. As far as cloth tops are concerned, I recommend and use Raggtopp's cloth top kit which consists of the cleaner and protectant. The protectant is necessary because the cleaner will remove some of the waterproofing from the top and the protectant replaces it. It's a two step process that takes about an hour or so, in order to provide time to the protectant to soak back into the fabric.

 

303 can be purchased at almost every auto supply or marine equipment store. I have only found Raggtopp products at California Car Cover Company.

 

For quick wheel cleaning, try PS21. Spray it on then hose it off and the brake dust and road grime just wash away.

 

Hope this helps.

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Although Raggtopp does have a specific cleaner for Vinyl tops, Protectant 303 is probably the best product for protecting Vinyl. As far as cloth tops are concerned, I recommend and use Raggtopp's cloth top kit which consists of the cleaner and protectant. The protectant is necessary because the cleaner will remove some of the waterproofing from the top and the protectant replaces it. It's a two step process that takes about an hour or so, in order to provide time to the protectant to soak back into the fabric.

 

303 can be purchased at almost every auto supply or marine equipment store. I have only found Raggtopp products at California Car Cover Company.

 

For quick wheel cleaning, try PS21. Spray it on then hose it off and the brake dust and road grime just wash away.

 

Hope this helps.

 

303 also has a protectant that restores the waterproofing. In addition to their vinyl line, they also have a cloth line. They are the recommended cleaner/protectant by Sunbrella fabics. Good enough for me.

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303 also has a protectant that restores the waterproofing. In addition to their vinyl line, they also have a cloth line. They are the recommended cleaner/protectant by Sunbrella fabics. Good enough for me.

 

Great help

thanks a ton

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I own an upholstery and customizing shop. 1st never pressure wash a cloth top or a vinyl one for that matter. 2nd the best possible thing you do is keep it CLEAN ,and don't let anything stay on it to long. 3rd scotchgaurd or some type of teflon product works well. The sunlight is really a tops' worst enemy!! They also make a product to seal the seams where the threads are.

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I just hose off my 07 and towel dry it than keep it covered in the garage with a 4x6 blue tarp. I also keep the lint off of it with one of those sticky lint rollers.

Lint roller good. Microfiber towel better! Try it, it works great!

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Lint roller good. Microfiber towel better! Try it, it works great!

 

I have a BMW that has a cloth top like the Shelby. I treat it every 6 months with the waterproofing liquid from the dealer. When using this, rinse the car off before it dries on the paint as it can leave very hard to remove streaks. I try not to wash my top any more than necessary and use a vaccuum cleaner with the brush attachment to remove lint, pollen etc. It's very easy on the top and looks clean when finished.

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Was your top on your 03 vert a cloth or vinyl top? I have not treated my cloth top yet. I wash it every time I wash my car with the meguires wash I use on my car, then I rinse good and dry. I always store my car with the top up. Even in our garage it still gets dirty due to pollen. We have had the worst pollen I can ever remember this year. Having a black car I am sure makes me notice it more though.

My 03 is a cloth top. I NEVER use soap or detergent of any kind on it. Only plain water, then lint-free microfiber towel to dry. Every four to six months I use the Raggtopp stuff to clean and then retreat it with the waterproofing Raggtopp spray.

 

My car is now 4 years old with 47,000 miles on it, the top looks brand new and water beads up on it rather than soaking in to the fabric. The Raggtopp stuff is awesome. Never heard of the 303 stuff others are mentioning.

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