Roof care tips.

[asps91]

Hey guys, I will just give a few tips for those with soft tops on how to keep good care of them in the Harsh Australian Sun.

-Remove Bird shit as soon as it hits the roof, trust me. Once it dries its a bitch. A good way to get rid of dried bird shit that wont come out is too scrub it with an old toothbrush with warm soapy water. If it still stands out in the pores of the vinyl, see if the wife, girlfriend, mother or Grandmother has Big Kev's goo remover. I dont think you can buy this stuff anymore so i hope the first option works for you.

-Use a sponge with extra soapy water to clean the roof during washing process, give it a good scrub as you would not beleive how mutch soot and road grime collects on them. I have found that a firmer sponge works well for the soft top

-I leave my top to dry in the sun when i quickly chamoise the body.

-Now for the magical product i have discovered. Once the top is completely dry its time to protect the top from UV rays, water ect...

I use a product called Autoglym Vynil and Rubber Care. It comes in a spray bottle. Its is great as it brings back that new wet look to your top, protects it, quick and easy to apply and lasts a few rains and washes.

The best way to apply it to the top i have found is use a cotton rag (shirt like consictency not like a towel). Do not spray it directly on the roof as it is better applied when you spray in on the rag. It also leaves grasy dots on your car paint from overspray. Once the whole roof is generusly covered it takes a few minuets to dry and set into the vynil. If your rood is very dull you can hit it again and bring up even more shine.

Dont know if anyone else uses this stuff but its great. It costs about $20 a bottle from repco. I will get some pictures up of the roof with product applied ASAP.

Here is a picture of bottle for reference.

http://www.shopaway.co.uk/catalog/auto/AutoglymVinylRubber.jpg

[asps91]

Oh yea and you can use it on interior and exterior trims, car tyres and Dash aswell.

[DvS-]

interesting.
would u have a before and after pic?

[keeff]

i have used other auto glym stuff and its good so ill get some of this too thanks

[aaronng]

I use 303 protectant for external vinyl and external + internal trim. It is probably very similar to the Autoglym stuff.

[revolution]

303 vinyl cleaner and protectant is the mostly used along with raggtop.

Just remember that the S2K top is vinyl and not fabric, so don't buy any wrong products.

[STAiN MASTER]

is there a product that will give you back that orginal black look for the roof?

[aaronng]

is there a product that will give you back that orginal black look for the roof?

Usually difficult if the roof was left without vinyl protectant and as a result is already bleached by the UV

[9000RPM]

using 303 here as well, the cleaner and the protectant, good shit. another good product is mother's plastic polish for those with plastic rear windows :)

[9000RPM]

is there a product that will give you back that orginal black look for the roof?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FOREVER-BLACK-Vinyl-Soft-Top-Gel-Dye-Convertible-Bimini-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2ea873d639QQitemZ20039 4659385QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries

The link is to "Forever Black" which is a black vinyl dye. Was keen on getting this stuff myself as my roof was very slightly faded, but using 303 protectant already darkened my roof as it restored some of the lost "moisture" to the vinyl.

My only worry would be that the dye leaks from rain etc =/

[JamieP]

does anybody know of any good products to use on the after market stay fast cloth tops? mine is constantly getting dirty. especially with cat hair as my cat thinks its a hammock and keeps jumping ontop of it and all the hair is a bitch to get off the fabric lol

[doosra]

following on from this, can anyone suggest a product to clean the plastic rear window?

[asps91]

is there a product that will give you back that orginal black look for the roof?

If your in sydney your more than welcome to come to my house and i will see if i can blacken it up free of charge of course. But you must allow me to take before and after shots so i can post them up here.

[asps91]

following on from this, can anyone suggest a product to clean the plastic rear window?

Try Mother's Plastic Polish, give the plastic window a good wipe over with metho to remove all contaminates then use a wet polishing sponge to work in the polish. Let me know how you go mate.

[DvS-]

If your in sydney your more than welcome to come to my house and i will see if i can blacken it up free of charge of course. But you must allow me to take before and after shots so i can post them up here.

what do u use to blacken up the roof?

[DC5TYPER]

Is there anything to soften up the plastic rear window to get the folds out?

I use 303 for the roof. And autoglym for everything else. :)

[asps91]

what do u use to blacken up the roof?

Multiple applications of auto glum vynil and rubber protectant.

[asps91]

Is there anything to soften up the plastic rear window to get the folds out?

I use 303 for the roof. And autoglym for everything else. :)

Not sure you can fix that, why are you getting creases anyways. Post up a pick and maybe someone else can help you out. Cheers

[euromandeluxe]

Not sure you can fix that, why are you getting creases anyways. Post up a pick and maybe someone else can help you out. Cheers

i get creases too - it's weird because my window seems to fold properly.

[STAiN MASTER]

If your in sydney your more than welcome to come to my house and i will see if i can blacken it up free of charge of course. But you must allow me to take before and after shots so i can post them up here.

I am in syd, your willing to clean my roof for free? mmm tempting lol

[Engin09]

Really good thread, im going repco to buy this shit hahaha, thx heaps :) And also to add, Meguiars Quick Detailer, is heaps good to use with a micro fibre cloth after you shamy your car and its dry, adds that nice shine :) you can really tell the difference. ( this is for the lazy person that can't be bothered waxing all the time.. it takes 2 minutes :) ) $20 or so at repco or super cheap
http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/stores/auto/detail-page/B000OWTI2K-A3316.jpg

[sambalam]

I use meguiars plastX on the window, it worked pretty well for me, also cleaned off some gunk from one of the headlights,

I also use the autuglym vinyl / rubber care stuff, it's good stuff just very easy to overspray if u apply directly, so it's good to avoid

[asps91]

I am in syd, your willing to clean my roof for free? mmm tempting lol

Haha... Like I said' only if you allow pics of before and after. :)

[asps91]

Really good thread, im going repco to buy this shit hahaha, thx heaps :) And also to add, Meguiars Quick Detailer, is heaps good to use with a micro fibre cloth after you shamy your car and its dry, adds that nice shine :) you can really tell the difference. ( this is for the lazy person that can't be bothered waxing all the time.. it takes 2 minutes :) ) $20 or so at repco or super cheap
http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/stores/auto/detail-page/B000OWTI2K-A3316.jpg

+1 for quick detailer, I used to use it on my supra religiously.

[asps91]

On a quick note, you red S2k guys, what do you use to take out swirls in paint. And do any of you use a dual action polisher, finish better than hand application??? Thanks

[rokkuchan]

On a quick note, you red S2k guys, what do you use to take out swirls in paint. And do any of you use a dual action polisher, finish better than hand application??? Thanks

1. thoroughly wash ur car with meguires gold class
2. use 3M clay your car with using Johnson's baby shampoo mix with water for lubrication
3. use PRIMA Amigo paint cleaner
4. use PRIMA SWIRL with random Orbital sander machine with ORANGE PAD - medium to heavy cut 90%
5. use DRIVEN autopolish to seal with random Orbital sander machine with BLACK PAD

98% all swirls gone on my car. 100% swirl gone on my bonnet. Total hours spent = 20-30hours accumulated? and this is not even the best and thorough approach...

Dual action polisher would make it faster for above steps if you can afford 300buks + another 300 buks of those compounds + pads. Hand polish is ok depending how deep ur swirls are but expect to take days to complete and if you have the patience...

[sambalam]

On a quick note, you red S2k guys, what do you use to take out swirls in paint. And do any of you use a dual action polisher, finish better than hand application??? Thanks

tried swirl x, scratch x 2.0 so far, and both had no effect other than wearing the Sh*t out of my arm,

keen to try rokkuchans approach though, its all i can see when i look at the paint it gets to me so bad, ive been trying to avoid the Orbital but it seems inevitable that its necessary for this task

[rokkuchan]

tried swirl x, scratch x 2.0 so far, and both had no effect other than wearing the Sh*t out of my arm,

keen to try rokkuchans approach though, its all i can see when i look at the paint it gets to me so bad, ive been trying to avoid the Orbital but it seems inevitable that its necessary for this task

Yeah the above product sucks... I took some car detailing lessons to get my car looking like showroom condition. Definately need a lot of patience to do all this. PRIMA products are excellent and especially the Driven autopolish is my favourite!! makes ur car have a silky smooth touch for ages! Providing all steps are done above that is....

Just on that note, DONT BUY WATERLESS WASH SPRAYS.... Make your own by using Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Put a few caps in another spray bottle and mix with water. Johnson's baby shampoo has a ph neutral solution, non acidic, which will naturally lift dirt off your car without harming the paint work!!

Now u can have a shower with your car.

If you have fine scratches, can be removed by 2000 Grit sandpaper (hand applied with water) then use PRIMA Cut & Polish with random orbital and scratch all gone!


Sorry major hijack...

[aaronng]

Just on that note, DONT BUY WATERLESS WASH SPRAYS.... Make your own by using Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Put a few caps in another spray bottle and mix with water. Johnson's baby shampoo has a ph neutral solution, non acidic, which will naturally lift dirt off your car without harming the paint work!!

Does it extract oils though? Most detergents/shampoos are very good at removing oils from our hair/skin, but for a car's paint removing the oils will eventually cause it to turn flakey. Just have to make sure that someone who uses Johnson's baby shampoo to add in a glaze step to replenish those oils.

[aaronng]

tried swirl x, scratch x 2.0 so far, and both had no effect other than wearing the Sh*t out of my arm,

I found the random orbital took too long to remove swirls, so doing it by hand won't have any effect. When I was detailing a few years ago, I even had to step up to a rotary to speed up the swirl removal. Rotaries are of course not as safe, so a good middle point is the dual action polisher with forced rotation.

[Engin09]

Now u can have a shower with your car.
lol... save water ;)


i just bought the autoglym vinal and rubber care bottle today, also got the meguiars plastic thing for the plastic window :D lets see how it goes lol.. ill try take before and afters

[asps91]

tried swirl x, scratch x 2.0 so far, and both had no effect other than wearing the Sh*t out of my arm,

keen to try rokkuchans approach though, its all i can see when i look at the paint it gets to me so bad, ive been trying to avoid the Orbital but it seems inevitable that its necessary for this task

Hahahaha, i tried swirl x too. I agree, i couldnt use my arm for days and had no effect.

Meguires, youve let me down once again.

[asps91]

lol... save water ;)


i just bought the autoglym vinal and rubber care bottle today, also got the meguiars plastic thing for the plastic window :D lets see how it goes lol.. ill try take before and afters

Please do..... We need pics

[rokkuchan]

Does it extract oils though? Most detergents/shampoos are very good at removing oils from our hair/skin, but for a car's paint removing the oils will eventually cause it to turn flakey. Just have to make sure that someone who uses Johnson's baby shampoo to add in a glaze step to replenish those oils.

That's why baby shampoo is used for babies in the first place so it doesn't extract the oils that protects the baby skin/scalp. (what i believe anyway). Try it on urself. lol. If u use normal shampoo like panteine or whatever, ur scalp can go dry but then people would use conditioner after? If u don't, u may get flaky scalp - dandruff. haha... but using baby shampoo, it has no bubbles/ no acid to remove oils, so after washed, ur hair should be clean but ur scalp may be still oily. my experience anyway. Try get baby shampoo in ur eye also, it doesnt burn! haha...

ALSO, most professional tinting guys also use baby shampoo on windows coz it gets rid of all dirt before applying the tinting films.

[asps91]

I found the random orbital took too long to remove swirls, so doing it by hand won't have any effect. When I was detailing a few years ago, I even had to step up to a rotary to speed up the swirl removal. Rotaries are of course not as safe, so a good middle point is the dual action polisher with forced rotation.


Where do i buy a dual action and what are they worth?

Has anyone ever had a quotation done to remove swirls?

[sambalam]

Where do i buy a dual action and what are they worth?

Has anyone ever had a quotation done to remove swirls?

X2
Definetly interested in this

[rokkuchan]

X2
Definetly interested in this

Meguires Dual action polisher

http://www.meguiars.com.au/product_2006.php?search=yes

Shop here?
http://www.motoractive.com.au/shopping10/cart_view.php

or just ebay the product

[Engin09]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Meguiars-Dual-Action-Polisher-MEGG110V2-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem519289168dQQitemZ35035 0808717QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools
found the meguieres dual action polisher..

$200 hefty price tag=(

[asps91]

There has got to be a just as efficent, cheap china knockoff. Let the searching begin. Somone should buy the machine and rent it out :) Buisness venture anybody?

[Engin09]

i used it :D. you cant tell the difference with the camera.. you neeed to see it, really does work nicely :D thx i took photos ill upload them soon maybe on the pc itll show

[Engin09]

OHHH and the meguiars plastic cleaner is soo good for tailights and plastic window! love it.

[sambalam]

OHHH and the meguiars plastic cleaner is soo good for tailights and plastic window! love it.

Yea it's not bad is it, clears up all that hid gunk on the headlights nicely

[asps91]

i used it :D. you cant tell the difference with the camera.. you neeed to see it, really does work nicely :D thx i took photos ill upload them soon maybe on the pc itll show

Told you so.... :)

The best part is that its not just beutifing it in its current state, but also protecting it from future sun damage.

[STAiN MASTER]

I saw asps91's roof in person today, came out really well looks brand new :)

[asps91]

Thanks mate, whats the guys name you said to speak to from hanny's. cheers

[STAiN MASTER]

you have pm.