Any rinseless wash techniques for soft cloth tops?

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imported_Astral

New member
Hey folks,



I got a Miata with a cloth/fabric top. I will take this car for an occasional spurt on dry days in the winter, so the cloth top may get dirty, yet it will be too cold for an outside wash.



I know I can wash her paint with rinseless wash type of thing (QEW, DP 4-in-1), but what about the cloth top?



I am buying Raggtopp Cleaner & Fabric Top Protectant today, but the instructions for the Raggtopp Cleaner say to rinse it all out after cleaning--that's not gonna fly in my garage without a hose.



Any suggestions?



Thanks!
 
I drive my convertable all winter long(no worries about sun burn, uv exposure, getting hot in traffic) as long as the temps are above -15 and it's not snowing too badly. I use ONR on the top applied with a well wrung out MF towel, and quickly followed by a dry towel. For a cloth top you do not want to get it too wet, for vinyl tops, not a concern.



Before heading into the salty seaon, do protect your top fabric witha good protectant, and should the beading stop, clean well and reapply. ONR and waterless wash products are great at removing the stubborn winter salt accumulations on cars.



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Is it just dust, or real dirt?



I use a sticky lint roller on my top when it starts looking a little dusty, works great until I can wash the car again. I've never tried it with any real dirt though, just the dust that collect from sitting outside.
 
Although I've only done a few fabric tops with ONR, my method was saturating the canvas (a pre wash with a soaked towel in ONR regular dilution) and allow it to dwell a moment. I then followed up with another pass which consisted of a light back and forth agitation with a MF towel. It gave me good results.
 
reparebrise, is your 'Stang top cloth? Mine is and I think it looks a lot better than the vinyl, but it is harder take care of. Fortunately, we have a very limited salty season here in NC. I may have to try the ONR for winter cleanups though. Oh yeah, the lint roller is awesome on my black top; picks up stuff even after a good cleaning! It even puts a good dent in our spring pollen that turns my black roof yellow... I highly reommend using a lint roller.
 
This one is vinyl, previously I had a cloth topped car. I prefer the look of cloth, but the everyday ease of use of the vinyl. For me the Stang is a winter car, and I drive it more top down than up. With the cloth I had problems with fibre degredation due to ice forming in the wet fabric, and then when folding or unfolding it would micro tear the fabric. Where the top folded looked quite worn after only 1 winter. For this top it's the second winter and it still looks new(65,000 kms, 45,000 winter 20,000 summer).
 
Cool. Mine is a warm weather car mostly and under cover (no garage) anytime ice threatens... Not my daily driver so no where near the miles you rack up...
 
Thanks for the feedback folks! I did put two coats of Raggtop Fabric Top Protectant on it over the weekend (after doing a regular wash with a hose), so I'm hoping that will improve things significantly.



backwoods_lex said:
Although I've only done a few fabric tops with ONR, my method was saturating the canvas (a pre wash with a soaked towel in ONR regular dilution) and allow it to dwell a moment. I then followed up with another pass which consisted of a light back and forth agitation with a MF towel. It gave me good results.
Click to expand...



Are you concerned about the ONR drying out in the canvas? As in soap drying out in the canvas...
 
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