cleaning vinyl roof?

[spenaroo]

on the weekend i decided since it was nice weather to take my r6 for a ride.
so as with normal preparations i looked over the bike and lubed the chain....

well half way through applying the spray a wasp decided to apear out of nowhere and hover a few centrmeters from my hand,
needless to say i jumped up, and the spray went in a nice arc... all over my mx5's roof

now the problem is i use a product called Belray Blu-tac on my chain,
its a high quality product that is designed to be water resistant and extremely tacky so it doesn't fling off the chain at speed
(now you see my problem, great on a chain.... horrible to get off when on anything else)

now the obvious solution is to use kerosene to break down the oil...
however i am worried that it will eat into or discolor the roof.

and for those who may suggest wait for it to weather off....
well it took almost 12 months for the last time i over-sprayed to wear off my driveway.
and it leaves really visible marks on the roof, (imagine dots of water) and when wet.. it displaces the water so its also visible

[hks_kansei]

First step I'd guess would be to blot away as much as possible with a cloth.


I would give a bit of dishwashing soap a try, it's designed to remove grease etc from dishes and works relatively well at doing that on other things.

BUT, I'd spot test it first, since I've never used it on a softtop so don't know the effect.

[MrRevhead]

In the rare instance I actually have the soft top up (only for a clean as I have my hardtop on 95% of the time), I have had great success in using Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner.

It is about $4.50 for 1L at Bunnings. It is made from non-toxic/biodegradable products and cleans the top really well, especially when scrubbed on.

Although I have never tried to remove chain lube as in your case, it does seem to remove the majority of the marks on my soft top prior to applying a protectant.

As HKS recommends, even though I did not have a problem with my top, I would also recommend doing a spot test prior to attacking the whole roof.

[tktlouie]

Maybe give RENOVO SoftTop products a try. I restored my averaging looking top to like new.

http://www.mx5mania.com.au/product1745.htm

http://renovoaustralia.com.au/

[spenaroo]

the dish-washing liquid didn't work,
no difference at all.

so the next step is to find a heavy duty car (most likely truck actually) wash, and try that.
(and ill try simple green, may make up a small spray bottle to keep in the boot, for bird poo etc..)
and while im at it give the paint megiurs paint restoration kit. as well as a soft top restoration kit... it is looking a bit dry/dull anyway

[MrRevhead]

There are many professional car detailers at http://www.detailparadise.com.au/forum.php.

It might be worth starting up a thread there as well to get some input based on experience.

[spenaroo]

thanks for the link,

unfortunetly it seems the problem isnt the roof...
that was where i was worried as it was the most visible,
when i was washing the roof with the dishwashing liquid i decided to wash the boot as well as it sprayed there too. but wasn't too concerned with the lube there, as it wasn't obvious, and i just waxed the car last week...

never have i been so wrong:(
under the cloudiness (assumed it was just the residual oil spreading over the wax with rain) ive now got crows feat where the drops were. (about the size and shape of a 5c coin) i have no idea how waterproof oil/wax managed to penetrate clear coat, but it has.

not what you want to do to a car you have only owned a month
the paint was rough and full of scratches/chips to begin with... but im not taking much comfort in that

[manga_blue]

Oh dear! If you do eventually get the roof clean then give it a coat of 303 aerospace protectant afterwards. It softens the vinyl and gives it a healthy black gloss which holds for about 6 months. Buy it at Repco, Supercheap, Autobarn, etc

[ralt]

Hi.
Use a mild detergent and very hot water- use gloves should get it off. Same technique as removing tree sap.

[ralt]

Hi again.
Forgot to mention wipe the mix on and immediately hose it off.

[spenaroo]

Oh dear! If you do eventually get the roof clean then give it a coat of 303 aerospace protectant afterwards. It softens the vinyl and gives it a healthy black gloss which holds for about 6 months. Buy it at Repco, Supercheap, Autobarn, etc

cheers,
tommorow will be a day of TLC goodness.

today I bought the 303 vinyl roof cleaning kit. ive tried it tonight between showers, and it doesnt seem to remove the lube.
however it does restore the shine and make it less noticeable. (apparently it makes a great interior cleaner too,

i also bought a megiuars paint restoration kit.
all credit to the previous owner, (i believe he was miatalim) the performance is impeccable, and mechanically its been well maintained.
with everything how i would have done it. i cant speak highly enough of the previous owner for this

but the paint/interior seems to have been overlooked and in desperate in need of TLC. ideally it needs a respray (pretty straight and no peeling etc... but plenty of deep scratches and chips to primer) but as i cant afford a respray ill do what i can to improve its current condition.

hopefully i can turn it from a 10m car to a 5m car....

will post progress pics