How to make the soft top bright n clean??

DaleZ · Postby **DaleZ** » Fri May 09, 2008 1:16 am

after hours of cleaning, polishing and waxing my 5.... pretty happy with the end result.... nice and shiny....

however, now that the car is pretty shiny.... the soft top looked a bit odd... wondering if any of u can give some good advices on how to make the soft top cleaner, nicer and brighter.... also, what did u use?

thanks in advance...

green_comet · Postby **green_comet** » Fri May 09, 2008 1:24 am

is the top vinyl? if so, 303 aerospace protectant is very good stuff...you can pick some up at any autobarn.

ducktape69 · Postby **ducktape69** » Fri May 09, 2008 10:50 am

shoe polish for me...any shoe polish with a lot of waxes works wonders and lasts 6 months+ without streaking onto the windshield...

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Fri May 09, 2008 11:29 am

I don't think there is any magic product- many will probably improve the appearance. One thing that is recommended is to really make sure it is clean and free of dirt and a suitable brush and soap is step one. Boot polish is a very old technique for finishing- might be worth a go. I tend to use a little armorall but not excessive amounts - cannot say it the best- just another option.

MINX · Postby **MINX** » Fri May 09, 2008 11:38 am

303 is good stuff.
After a few days it doesnt leave any real shine or nasty finish like armaalllll.
Really waterproofs well. Rain just flies off for months.
http://www.waxit.com.au/proddetail.asp?prod=PL0003&cat=9

Hammer · Postby **Hammer** » Fri May 09, 2008 3:40 pm

Be carefull what you use on your soft top (ST). As, as soon as it rains, whatever is on your soft top will wash away and will drip onto your paintjob - no matter how waterproof it's suppose to be.

During the Meguiar's Tech Talk night, they showed a product that cleaned the vinyl ST and brought out its natural shine. I can't remember the product for the life of me. It was either the \"Natural Shine\" or \"Cloth & Trim Cleaner\". I forgot to buy one whilst I was there.

Apart from bringing out the natural shine, the vinyl ST when touched didn't leave any greasy/oily residue on your fingers (which is something that can't be said for Armor All).

They also claim is has UV protection properties, and if it does wash away from constant rain exposure, since it does not contain any solvents, it will not harm your paint or leave any marks.

fastfreddygassit · Postby **fastfreddygassit** » Fri May 09, 2008 3:41 pm

Mr Morlock wrote:I don't think there is any magic product- many will probably improve the appearance.

Umm...I think that was what the question was dude...

DaleZ wrote:wondering if any of u can give some good advices on how to make the soft top cleaner, nicer and brighter.... also, what did u use?

I am a big fan or the Aerospace 303 Fabric Guard (as opposed to the protectant)
Spray it every six months and the (vinyl) soft-top gleams and looks soooo black.
You'll know when it needs a reapplication as water will not bead readily.
Just make sure that you don't get any on the clear plastic window, if fitted as it may stain.

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Fri May 09, 2008 10:31 pm

Hammer wrote:During the Meguiar's Tech Talk night, they showed a product that cleaned the vinyl ST and brought out its natural shine. I can't remember the product for the life of me. It was either the "Natural Shine" or "Cloth & Trim Cleaner". I forgot to buy one whilst I was there.

The two products used were (in order):
- Meguiar's Cloth & Trim Cleaner
- Meguiar's Natural Shine

That was the only thing that got demonstrated that I don't yet have access to, so I bought them. It really did help bring out the soft top, although of course that was inside under nice shiny lights and we don't know how it'll look a week down the track.

I'm looking forward to trying out those two products tomorrow

DaleZ · Postby **DaleZ** » Fri May 09, 2008 11:33 pm

Thanks all for your advices.... will take a look at autobarn tomorrow...

actually i've got the Meguiar's Cloth & Trim Cleaner.... but don't have the Natural Shine yet....

marcusus, please tell us the result after trying...

thanks again.....

TieNN89 · Postby **TieNN89** » Sat May 10, 2008 1:38 am

fastfreddygassit wrote:I am a big fan or the Aerospace 303 Fabric Guard (as opposed to the protectant)

are you using this on a cloth roof or a vinyl roof?

fastfreddygassit · Postby **fastfreddygassit** » Sat May 10, 2008 3:22 pm

AZNTieN wrote:
fastfreddygassit wrote:I am a big fan or the Aerospace 303 Fabric Guard (as opposed to the protectant)

are you using this on a cloth roof or a vinyl roof?

Vinyl.
I have not tried either of the following though: Meguiar's Cloth & Trim Cleaner or Meguiar's Natural Shine.

CJ5 · Postby **CJ5** » Sat May 10, 2008 6:39 pm

black shoe polish does wonders for a slightly faded sofft top

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Sat May 10, 2008 6:54 pm

OK, reports about the two Meguiar's products I mentioned previously.

Firstly, the cloth & trim cleaner. I don't remember it foaming up when it was being used at the Meguiar's workshop on Tuesday, but it definitely did it on my car. I may have gone a little overboard when they said \"apply liberally\" though.

Anyway, first wipe down of the stuff and it basically frothed up a little bit (aka just turned white). I went and rinsed out the cloth and wiped it again, and had it still turn a bit whiteish. Rinsed and repeated, but didn't wipe nearly as hard. A lot less white showed up. I wiped off the white in the seams of the top and let it settle for a little bit. Rinsed the cloth again whilst I was waiting.

When I returned from rinsing the cloth, the top was noticeably blacker. However, the sun had set in the process of me doing this, so it may have been to do with the blackness of no light, rather than the blackness of the top.

Next, I applied the shiner. Used the same method as the cloth & trim cleaner, but being careful to not get it on paint or windows, as per the instructions. This went on without any dramas at all. Wiped all over the top, and it seemed to bring out the checker pattern on the roof a lot more. Of course, by this stage, it was too dark to really see the fruits of my labour, but even in the darkness it looked like it was better.

I'll give another report tomorrow at some stage when I've seen the top in the sun. However, so far so good.

I've always been a bit apprehensive about the shoe polish method, because it's not really cleaning the top. Just covering over the dirty bits. I hope this Meguiar's stuff will do all the tricky stuff that I want.

TieNN89 · Postby **TieNN89** » Sat May 10, 2008 8:19 pm

fastfreddygassit wrote:
AZNTieN wrote:
fastfreddygassit wrote:I am a big fan or the Aerospace 303 Fabric Guard (as opposed to the protectant)

are you using this on a cloth roof or a vinyl roof?

Vinyl.
I have not tried either of the following though: Meguiar's Cloth & Trim Cleaner or Meguiar's Natural Shine.

shouldn't you be using the protectant and not the fabric guard

I bought the convertible 303 kit for vinyl roof and it had the protectant one where was the cloth roof kit had the fabric guard

Hammer · Postby **Hammer** » Sun May 11, 2008 2:44 pm

marcusus wrote:OK, reports about the two Meguiar's products I mentioned previously.

Firstly, the cloth & trim cleaner. I don't remember it foaming up when it was being used at the Meguiar's workshop on Tuesday, but it definitely did it on my car. I may have gone a little overboard when they said "apply liberally" though.

Anyway, first wipe down of the stuff and it basically frothed up a little bit (aka just turned white). I went and rinsed out the cloth and wiped it again, and had it still turn a bit whiteish. Rinsed and repeated, but didn't wipe nearly as hard. A lot less white showed up. I wiped off the white in the seams of the top and let it settle for a little bit. Rinsed the cloth again whilst I was waiting.

When I returned from rinsing the cloth, the top was noticeably blacker. However, the sun had set in the process of me doing this, so it may have been to do with the blackness of no light, rather than the blackness of the top.

Next, I applied the shiner. Used the same method as the cloth & trim cleaner, but being careful to not get it on paint or windows, as per the instructions. This went on without any dramas at all. Wiped all over the top, and it seemed to bring out the checker pattern on the roof a lot more. Of course, by this stage, it was too dark to really see the fruits of my labour, but even in the darkness it looked like it was better.

I'll give another report tomorrow at some stage when I've seen the top in the sun. However, so far so good.

I've always been a bit apprehensive about the shoe polish method, because it's not really cleaning the top. Just covering over the dirty bits. I hope this Meguiar's stuff will do all the tricky stuff that I want.

I can only remember them using the one product on the roof, and I think it was the "Natural Shine".