Convertible Tops? How to clean and protect?

[Prestigious]

Haartz - Convertible Tops? How to clean and protect?

What's the best way to clean a convertible top, is there a certain method and are there certain products to place on it to protect it?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Vert. tops

Originally posted by Prestigious
What's the best way to clean a convertible top, is there a certain method and is there a certain product to place on it to protect it?

First, it what you use to clean and protect a convertible top depends upon what type of material your convertible top is made out of. If it's vinyl, then Meguiar's offers product for cleaning, conditioning and protecting. If it's a fabric top, then currently we don't offer any products for this type of material.

[Prestigious]

Thanks Mike, most of the tops that I've detailed have been fabric. I thought that maybe there was a product that could be used to protect them. Like a scotch guard type product.

[Murr1525]

What is your top made of?

[Prestigious]

Originally posted by Murr1525
What is your top made of?

It's a client of mine and it's a fabric top.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Prestigious
Thanks Mike, most of the tops that I've detailed have been fabric. I thought that maybe there was a product that could be used to protect them. Like a scotch guard type product.

Scotchguard is one option, there are a few other company's that also cater to this market.

[the other pc]

"Canvas" tops are mostly made of acrylic materials these days.

Haartz, the biggest manufacturer of OEM topping materials, recommends RaggTopp products for fabric top care.


PC.

[Mike Phillips]

Wow, thanks for posting the link to the Haartz website, this is a treasure trove of information on what convertible tops and even the material used for boat tops are made out of.

For example I took this screen-shot of the material used to make the convertible tops used on the Chevrolet Corvette,



I know it's common to think of a fabric convertible top to be made out of canvas which I think in the old days used cotton as the raw material but as you can see from the photo the material used to make Corvette convertible tops is

"100% acrylic twill weave outer fabric, anelastomeric inner layer and a polyester/cotton dobby weave lining fabric homogeneously dyed."

Interesting.

Again, thanks for posting the link to our forum, it's members like you and your posts that make Meguiar's Online such a great resource for solid information.

[Newport Viper]

The car in the picture is a Viper.

[CELL]

So if a soft top is 100% acrylic twill weave outer fabric...does that mean its vinyl or fabric? Isnt acrylic a type of plastic (vinyl)?

[the other pc]

Originally posted by CELL
So if a soft top is 100% acrylic twill weave outer fabric...does that mean its vinyl or fabric? Isnt acrylic a type of plastic (vinyl)?

Fabric, cloth, woven from acrylic fibers.

Vinyl tops are made with an outer layer of textured polyvinyl chloride plastic sheet that’s continuous, not woven.


PC.

[4Rings]

What about D101 All Purpose Cleaner from the Detailer range. This is intended for fabrics. Perhaps at 10:1 dilution?

Believe it or not, I know a guy that uses Coke (the soft drink) to clean these tops. Says it works. And he runs an upmarket detailer. Wont take my car there though......

[Mikeyc]

I HIGHLY recommend you give the Ragg Top products a try. I've used both their vinyl & fabric products and they are both outstading.

My only complaint is that the fabric protectant comes in an aerosol can. So, you need to cover up the rest of the car to avoid overspray.

[sneek]

Originally posted by Newport Viper
The car in the picture is a Viper.

it looks like the SRT 10 too

[Mike Phillips]

For cleaning and protecting fabric tops, Meguiar's offers these two new products in our Marine Line.




You can get more information on these products here,

Fabric Top Care