Soft top care

[tanuie]

Hi

Have put down a deposit on a CLK280 Convertible 08. Will post pictures when car is on the drive.

Looking into buying care products for the soft top, having used Autoglym in the past which I was quite impressed with, but have heard that Renovo is better. Can anyone comment on this, the link below is what I am looking at.

Renovo"BLACK"Reviver Kit, Soft top Canvas Cleaner, Reviver, Ultra Proofer 500ml | eBay

Many thanks

 

[Delayed Steve]

I used this once on a Triumph Stag and it looked like I'd painted it with tar!

 

[400ixl]

Does it need colouring? If its just protecting then I wouldn't go near Renovo.

For mine the routine is:

Clear any mildew with diluted Miltons (used for cleaning baby bottles)
Shampoo the roof with Johnsons baby shampoo (the blue bottle, not yellow)
Let dry for 24 hours
Coat of Fabsil waterproofer
Leave for 24 hours
2nd coat of Fabsil waterproofer

Repeat at 6 months.

Done this with all convertibles I have had and always worked well. Cheaper than paying for so called specialist products too.

 

[w124nut]

I would endorse fabsil water proofer product although I am not too sure if I would use Milton or any bleach on my soft-top.

 

[400ixl]

The Milton has to be diluted and you only use it to kill off the mildew, Works very well.

 

[Chrishazle]

Seen the OP's question quite a few times on this and other forums, replies normally split 50/50 between Autoglym and Renovo if full clean, recolour and proof required, with Fabsil if just reproofing. I've had my cab 5 1/2 years now, used all 3 Renovo products when I first got her (bkue hood), only thing I've done since is used up a 1/2 can of Fabsil I found in the shed September last year, hood is still waterproof but TBH could do with recolouring again. Not bad after 5 years!

Be aware that the colourant is thinner than water and gets everywhere, is easy to remove from paintwork when wet but a PITA when dry (guess how I know!!), so mask off well - watch for things like the drainage channels round the boot lid! Also, as it says in the instructions, do NOT put the hood down for at least 24 hours after colouring, or you'll get light coloured fold marks (again, guess how I know!!).

 

[Pablosammy]

Having tried both Renovo and Autoglym proofers (not colourant), the Autoglym one knocked spots off the Renovo stuff. It shed water like nothing I've seen - it just pooled on top of the roof and stayed there until I swept it off.

 

[fabes]

Does it need colouring? If its just protecting then I wouldn't go near Renovo.

For mine the routine is:

Clear any mildew with diluted Miltons (used for cleaning baby bottles)
Shampoo the roof with Johnsons baby shampoo (the blue bottle, not yellow)
Let dry for 24 hours
Coat of Fabsil waterproofer
Leave for 24 hours
2nd coat of Fabsil waterproofer

Repeat at 6 months.

Done this with all convertibles I have had and always worked well. Cheaper than paying for so called specialist products too.

This ^^
though I don't wait 24 hours - dry is dry to me
And I have only ever applied 1 coat of Fabsil - carefully applied with a 2 inch brush it goes on well enough

I did paint my Saab roof due to marks with Renovo just before I sold it. It didn't look good tbh.....

 

[400ixl]

I haven't ever needed to colour a roof by doing the regular maintenance.

 

[merc85]

I used Renovo stuff and it worked really well on the wifes c70.

 

[Lotiman]

I've used Renovo on a few of my convertibles now, always with good results.

 

[tanuie]

Thanks for all the replies, i think i will use Autoglym as i have used it before with good results, just wondered what other people thought.

 

[Oxonmb]

Autoglym always worked well for me.

 

[Hamble Flyer]

I used Renovo proofer about 2 weeks ago after reading Renovo vs Autoglym posts on this and other forums.
Applied 2 coats with 2" brush 24 hours apart. Results were not too good IMHO. Little sign of water "pooling". Maybe it is best applied during the warmer months ??
We live right next to many large trees and after owning the car for only 4 weeks a slight green mould "haze" has appeared despite the car being covered with a good quality Hamilton top cover. I will be cleaning it with Renovo cleaner next week in an attempt to remove the mould followed by some more Renovo proofer I have left over
Read somewhere that it is vital to remove any sign of mould before it reaches a "critical mass" and becomes very difficult to shift with any cleaning agent???