New convertible coming, a couple of questions..

V

VegasShawn

New member
Hey all,

My wife's new (1996) Eclipse is going to be delivered soon and I was wondering what I can do about some white "fold marks" in the convertible top. Is there anything that is going to be able to get these marks out? Also, I assume the paint is going to need some polishing. Does anyone have any tips for polishing mid-90's Mits. paint? I have a plan I want to go with when it's get here, regardless of the paint condition.



I was going to at least hit it with some FP II, followed by some 1Z MP. Maybe topping it with some ClearKote CM. I am prepared to use some 1Z PP if it needs it, but I hope not. The color is Barcelona Red Pearl.



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OT: The car is a 1996 Eclipse GS-T Spyder with on 56,000 miles. Do you know how hard it is to find one of these that has NOT been riced out beyond recognition? My wife had a '96 non-convertible in the same color and she actually cried when we got rid rid of it to savesome money back in '98.
 
I need to know more about what type of top it is and what the white marks actually are.



I have an S2000 and the top is vinyl. I generally just use the same soap as I wash the rest of the car with. If the top is especially dirty I'll use 303 convertible top cleaner.



After washing the top and it is thouroughly dry, I treat the top with Wolfsteins Raggtopp. I spray it on a sponge, spread it evenly over the top, let it sit for 15 - 20 minutes and wipe off the excess with a clean towel (microfiber or cotton will do). A lot of owners I know use 303 or vinylex (I have too) on the top but I experience less run-off on the car after a rain with Raggtopp.



Regardless of which product you use, this will darken the top back up.





Now if your top is cloth, there will be different products to use.
 
The Eclipse has a cloth top ( I have a client with a red Eclipse cabrio).



I use Scottwax's woolite and water solution with a soft brush to clean the top of any cloth convertible (why do you think it's called a ragtop? :p )



If the white fold marks don't come out with washing, you might try using a permanent cloth dye to cover the fold marks.



Treat the paint as you would any other basecoat/clearcoat system.
 
yeah, I'd agree, those fold marks are semi-permanent on a 1996 car. I see them developing on our '02 car. :(



The fabric dye might be a good solution for that...it shouldn't be a big deal to get it looking new.
 
Cool. I will give the woolite a try! The car won't be driven around much with the top up anyways...But I would still like it to look good.
 
I've found the Raggtopp products work the best on my vert.....After using the cleaner I vaccuum the top before using the protectant and the top always looks new.
 
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