Your process for detailing a convertible car?

B

bcgreen

New member
When you approach a convert. auto what is your detailing process? Because you are dealing with a fabric top there are steps you need to follow first vs dealing with paint. Do you wash the entire car, detail the top and then, do you cover the top before attacking the paint? You can drop the top or leave it up?
And then going forward on a weekly maintenance program, namely a rinseless wash, what do you do to the top to maintain, you can`t use the rinseless was on the top, or can you?
 
I usually tackle the top separate from the paint. I clean and protect it, then cover it with plastic to keep polishing dust off of it.
 
bcgreen said:
When you approach a convert. auto what is your detailing process? Because you are dealing with a fabric top there are steps you need to follow first vs dealing with paint. Do you wash the entire car, detail the top and then, do you cover the top before attacking the paint? You can drop the top or leave it up?
And then going forward on a weekly maintenance program, namely a rinseless wash, what do you do to the top to maintain, you can`t use the rinseless was on the top, or can you?
Click to expand...

I have Detailed hundreds of convertibles in the Pacific Northwest that for some reason has more convertibles than a lot of places where the sun shines all the time.. They were mostly all German vehicles, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Mini Cooper, and a few Jaguars, etc..

I will wash the car, starting with the convertible top using Ragg Top Convertible Top Cleaner soap and a soft brush, being very careful to not damage it if it is old and weak... Be very careful if the back window is clear plastic and do not scrub it with anything except a very soft cloth and lots of water and soap, so you do not accidently scratch it.. Same for the inside of it, be very careful cleaning it..
A lot of back windows are also glass, so that is always much easier to deal with..

Then, I wash the entire rest of the vehicle, the engine, compartment, etc., wheels, tires..
Then I come back to the top, rinse it all over again really good, and take out my Mytee HP60 Extractor and inject and remove all the water carefully off the entire top and the sides, etc., being really careful..
This process makes the top fabric stand up a little and of course, gets everything out of it, and it always looks even, and just beautiful.

I let it dry outside or if not possible, inside overnight, and the next morning, carefully spray RaggTop Conditioner over it using a long not too wide strip of cardboard to hold on all the edges of the top/glass, so none of the spray gets on these places... Use common sense, spray like you are Painting it...

When, dry, you might put another coat on it if you want, it always helps..

Up there in the rainy/snowing for 300+ days a year, PNW, these tops all weather it great, bead water like heck and are always easier to Detail the next time I see the vehicle..

I never need to cover the top with plastic when paint correcting the vehicle, because I use slower speeds to spread out the product, and do NOT let any product I`m using DRY to the point of Dusting... Just dont do it.. :)
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
I have Detailed hundreds of convertibles in the Pacific Northwest that for some reason has more convertibles than a lot of places where the sun shines all the time..
Dan F
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Off topic but as someone who has lived in both the Pacific Northwest and Florida, and owned multiple convertibles, I think I can shed some light on this for you (pun fully intended). B)

UV rays are brutal on convertible tops. While everyone here would of course be Autopian about applying the protectant, there`s only so much you can do and in these year round sunny places (especially if it is a daily driver or you don`t have a garage), if you keep the car long enough odds are you`ll end up having to replace the top at some point.

Get a quote for a good quality replacement top installed by a professional with a good reputation, and you can quickly see how a convertible may be tons of fun in the sun, but maybe not the most budget friendly choice later on. ;)
 
This is going to be an AZ. car. So when I am doing a dusting of the car, what would you use for the top. I use rinseless for the paint.
 
bcgreen said:
This is going to be an AZ. car. So when I am doing a dusting of the car, what would you use for the top. I use rinseless for the paint.
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I would just use the same product you are using on the car.. The Ragg Top product will make it bead water for a long time...
It is really easy to clean up, and a bonus, you don`t have to paint correct it.. :)

I like what Liz posted above - since you said this will be an AZ car, of course anything you can do to keep it out of the sun will always help it last longer...
Dan F
 
Liz@Autopia said:
Off topic but as someone who has lived in both the Pacific Northwest and Florida, and owned multiple convertibles, I think I can shed some light on this for you (pun fully intended). B)

UV rays are brutal on convertible tops. While everyone here would of course be Autopian about applying the protectant, there`s only so much you can do and in these year round sunny places (especially if it is a daily driver or you don`t have a garage), if you keep the car long enough odds are you`ll end up having to replace the top at some point.

Get a quote for a good quality replacement top installed by a professional with a good reputation, and you can quickly see how a convertible may be tons of fun in the sun, but maybe not the most budget friendly choice later on. ;)
Click to expand...

Liz ! I hope you guys are all safe and well from this C19 thing !
Thank you so much for your post and a first hand view on how well those beautiful convertible tops last in places that are NOT EVEN the Pacific Northwest..

All of the people who had their "Verts` up there in the Seattle area and just south and west where I lived, would get out there on ANY Sunny Day regardless of the temps, take that top down, bundle up for even freezing, sunny, days however brief they were, and drive down past my house, top down, heater going full blast as hot as it can go, heated seats same way...:)

I know this - it took me about 5-years to get fully used to cloudy, dark, days by the hundreds; but after those first 5-years, I was really ok with it..

And for sure, any Convertible up there even if left outside for years, would probably suffer more from water damage eventually than anything else.. Well, then perhaps all that tree sap from those massive 100 foot plus tall trees everywhere.... :)
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
Liz ! I hope you guys are all safe and well from this C19 thing !
Thank you so much for your post and a first hand view on how well those beautiful convertible tops last in places that are NOT EVEN the Pacific Northwest..

All of the people who had their "Verts` up there in the Seattle area and just south and west where I lived, would get out there on ANY Sunny Day regardless of the temps, take that top down, bundle up for even freezing, sunny, days however brief they were, and drive down past my house, top down, heater going full blast as hot as it can go, heated seats same way...:)

I know this - it took me about 5-years to get fully used to cloudy, dark, days by the hundreds; but after those first 5-years, I was really ok with it..

And for sure, any Convertible up there even if left outside for years, would probably suffer more from water damage eventually than anything else.. Well, then perhaps all that tree sap from those massive 100 foot plus tall trees everywhere.... :)
Dan F
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I live south of seattle and drive a vert i think has more to do with appreciation of those days of sunshine. When i’m in some sunny states i would be floored by the people whi did not have their tops down.

Also we have our tops down during summer... to hot in AZ, NV, CA and such. Plus if you have sunshine all ghe time becomes the norm


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When polishing i just have top down.... no worries. I coat the top (of all i tried Gtechniq Fabric has been best for me).

I’ll put top down and then lay over the top a king size mattress bag i cut open over the top if open roof covering windshieild side glass and such. Close the roof back up )all the way but not locked down. Apply the Gtechniq fabric. Once dry second coat.

I do this first just in case plastic might mar paint. Next day or week put top down and polish.

I use waterless to clean bird drop and other noticeable things but i dont like to waterless the tops as no way to remove all cleaning agents.

I like to wash with griot, raggtop or meguiars convertible cleaner once every couple of momths with raggtop brush, this thing is great

86f7de6d914e278f0d5e565ddc20723c.jpg



Basically spray top with water, Spray convertible cleaner.... lightly agitate with brush. Rinse and let dry.

I have a write up in how i coated top just look up “onvertible” on autogeek. Wish i could fix it. Won’t show up if you look up convertible.


https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...-clean-coated-my-onvertible-top-gtechnic.html


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Coatings=crack said:
I live south of seattle and drive a vert i think has more to do with appreciation of those days of sunshine. When i’m in some sunny states i would be floored by the people whi did not have their tops down.

Also we have our tops down during summer... to hot in AZ, NV, CA and such. Plus if you have sunshine all ghe time becomes the norm


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Click to expand...

Mi Amigo ! Thanks for your great post !

I lived in Bellevue, (Newport Shores) for 10 years.. It was just a lovely place to live, since it was all what used to be more of that enormous Ocean called Lake Washington.. So it was perhaps the only Flat neighborhood in all of that part of Northeastern Washington.. :)
As you know, everywhere else was all hilly, and some so much that if it froze, you were not going to get home by trying to drive up the street, so you left your vehicle down at the bottom somewhere, and hiked up and back...
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
Mi Amigo ! Thanks for your great post !

I lived in Bellevue, (Newport Shores) for 10 years.. It was just a lovely place to live, since it was all what used to be more of that enormous Ocean called Lake Washington.. So it was perhaps the only Flat neighborhood in all of that part of Northeastern Washington.. :)
As you know, everywhere else was all hilly, and some so much that if it froze, you were not going to get home by trying to drive up the street, so you left your vehicle down at the bottom somewhere, and hiked up and back...
Dan F
Click to expand...

Thats a nice area.... great views on some of the houses


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Stokdgs said:
Liz ! I hope you guys are all safe and well from this C19 thing !
Thank you so much for your post and a first hand view on how well those beautiful convertible tops last in places that are NOT EVEN the Pacific Northwest..

All of the people who had their "Verts` up there in the Seattle area and just south and west where I lived, would get out there on ANY Sunny Day regardless of the temps, take that top down, bundle up for even freezing, sunny, days however brief they were, and drive down past my house, top down, heater going full blast as hot as it can go, heated seats same way...:)

I know this - it took me about 5-years to get fully used to cloudy, dark, days by the hundreds; but after those first 5-years, I was really ok with it..

And for sure, any Convertible up there even if left outside for years, would probably suffer more from water damage eventually than anything else.. Well, then perhaps all that tree sap from those massive 100 foot plus tall trees everywhere.... :)
Dan F
Click to expand...


Thanks Dan,
We`re hanging in down here. Hope you and yours are doing well too!

Funny you mention about driving with the top down and the heat blasting.....we do the same down here with the A/C in the summer.

Maybe I`m an odd ball, but when I had a convertible here, if it was above 60 degrees and not raining, the top was down. I`ll just blame it on trying to catch up on my share of the sunshine after spending the first 19 years of my life in the PAC NW. B)

I`ve had both an `88 Mustang and a `94 Miata and had to replace tops on both. The newer retractable hard tops are pretty slick, but I would imagine all those moving parts could get even more expensive to replace than a good old fashioned rag top.

For my money, I`d just use 303 or Raggtopp products religiously, drop the top as often as possible and enjoy the heck out of it....while also setting a few pennies aside for the inevitable day that nature wins. ;)
 
bcgreen said:
Because you are dealing with a fabric top there are steps you need to follow first vs dealing with paint.
Click to expand...

Forgot to mention, as far as detailing a convertible, first step would be to determine if it is a fabric or vinyl top.

While most of the convertible top cleaners can be used on either material, the protection products are usually formulated for one or the other and you are going to get best results using the right product for that specific material.

This is especially true where tops may be replaced, sometimes even more than once, over the lifetime of the car. My Miata had a vinyl top when I bought it, but when it came time to replace it, I went with a fabric top.

If you aren`t sure which it is, you can do a quick test with water.

[h=3]FABRIC OR VINYL CONVERTIBLE TOP TEST[/h]
  • Pour about 1/8 teaspoon of water and put it on your convertible top.
  • Rub the water in to the material.
  • If it soaks in, it is more than likely fabric, if it sits on the top and just smears around and does not soak in, it is more than likely vinyl.
 
Liz@Autopia said:
Thanks Dan,
We`re hanging in down here. Hope you and yours are doing well too!

Funny you mention about driving with the top down and the heat blasting.....we do the same down here with the A/C in the summer.

Maybe I`m an odd ball, but when I had a convertible here, if it was above 60 degrees and not raining, the top was down. I`ll just blame it on trying to catch up on my share of the sunshine after spending the first 19 years of my life in the PAC NW. B)

I`ve had both an `88 Mustang and a `94 Miata and had to replace tops on both. The newer retractable hard tops are pretty slick, but I would imagine all those moving parts could get even more expensive to replace than a good old fashioned rag top.

For my money, I`d just use 303 or Raggtopp products religiously, drop the top as often as possible and enjoy the heck out of it....while also setting a few pennies aside for the inevitable day that nature wins. ;)
Click to expand...

Liz, I totally understand.. Fans of Convertibles LOVE THEM for that Reason ....
Nothing can ever compare to driving anywhere especially at night, with the top down, breathing in all those real earthy aromas, etc., yeah, I really get it..
And yes, if I ever had one, I would also drive it sans top...:)

Wow, Liz !! 19 years in the PNW!!!!
I was heading for that number but unfortunately, the other half had different plans.. :)

Yes, I am safe from the virus up here in the NorCal Farmlands, just hoping the fires all around it are getting better control on them..

We have had no rain for many months, but hopefully, we will get some someday, and that will really help clean up all the smoke and ash in the sky that falls continually... At least, it is not so bad as it was earlier when the smoke completely blocked the sun for weeks...
Dan F
 
Coatings=crack said:
Thats a nice area.... great views on some of the houses


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Click to expand...

Yes ! We lived at 8 Cascade Key, almost at the beginning of it.. All the really rich people lived at the other end of it that backed up to Lake Washington... Now those houses - Wow !!!
I had the incredible pleasure of watching all my really rich neighbors drive down the street past me in their Aston Martins, Jaguars, Bentley`s, Ferrari, Lamborghini, All the German marques, and more, every day !!
When I eventually started Detailing out of my garage there, I had access to hundreds of those beauties all year long...It was like a dream.. :)
Some of those people really did cool things -- the Owner of Bartell Drugs was my next door neighbor.. The man that invented the microsoft mouse, lived down the street, the Owner of Fluke Meters, etc., owned 2 houses built into 1 huge house, down the street.. He had 8 different Lambo`s..
Many high level people from Boeing, the owners of Nordstrom`s, the man that WROTE Microsoft Excel, and on and on.. I got to Detail a couple of his Ferrari cars.. :)
My friend, the best Boat Detailer of all Seattle up there, wants me to move back up there and open up a boat/vehicle Detailing business... Hard to know what to do... :)
Dan F
 
Coatings=crack said:
Thank you Liz.

Also, where in PNW did you live?


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You`re welcome! Born and raised in Klamath Falls, Oregon. It`s called Oregon`s City of Sunshine, that part of Oregon doesn`t have the gloomy rainy weather of Portland or the coast. What they don`t say is....the sun may be shining, but that doesn`t necessarily mean it`s warm. B) I miss the mountains sometimes, but definitely don`t miss the snow.
 
Liz@Autopia said:
You`re welcome! Born and raised in Klamath Falls, Oregon. It`s called Oregon`s City of Sunshine, that part of Oregon doesn`t have the gloomy rainy weather of Portland or the coast. What they don`t say is....the sun may be shining, but that doesn`t necessarily mean it`s warm. B) I miss the mountains sometimes, but definitely don`t miss the snow.
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Hey, Liz !
I had to travel to Oregon often when I lived in Bellevue, WA, to work at some of our Retail Stores, for Verizon..

Oregon - Wow ! And I traveled up there on my way to Morton, WA., back in the 70`s even... Just so beautiful !!!

And going North to South, you have every type of weather there, including hot and dry for a bit..

All those mountain passes as you keep going south into Northern California always were a little dicey sometimes in Winter with chains.. :)

I have a friend in Baker City, where the Low temps for awhile now have been in the low 20`s and even going down to 16 degrees this week...

Everything along that Western Coast of the US is just incredible... Used to be really clean and blue water...Hopefully, it is still beautiful..

Hey, I heard (or was it a dream?) that they FINALLY let you pump your own gasoline in Oregon!!! Is this true??? I always hated that when I went through there.. You pull into a big Chevron, it is totally maxed out with cars, everyone waiting for the ONE man, to pump your gas for you... Sigh.... :)
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
Hey, Liz !
I had to travel to Oregon often when I lived in Bellevue, WA, to work at some of our Retail Stores, for Verizon..

Oregon - Wow ! And I traveled up there on my way to Morton, WA., back in the 70`s even... Just so beautiful !!!

And going North to South, you have every type of weather there, including hot and dry for a bit..

All those mountain passes as you keep going south into Northern California always were a little dicey sometimes in Winter with chains.. :)

I have a friend in Baker City, where the Low temps for awhile now have been in the low 20`s and even going down to 16 degrees this week...

Everything along that Western Coast of the US is just incredible... Used to be really clean and blue water...Hopefully, it is still beautiful..

Hey, I heard (or was it a dream?) that they FINALLY let you pump your own gasoline in Oregon!!! Is this true??? I always hated that when I went through there.. You pull into a big Chevron, it is totally maxed out with cars, everyone waiting for the ONE man, to pump your gas for you... Sigh.... :)
Dan F
Click to expand...

Oh boy, this is a bit embarrassing to admit, but my husband actually had to teach me how to pump my own gas when we moved here because I had never done it before. :o Now of course when I go back to visit I understand why all the out of staters always found it annoying.

What you heard is partly true - in some eastern Oregon areas they are allowing it now (and some along the coast allow it after business hours only), but a good chunk of the western half of the state it is still prohibited at all times. Crazy to have it vary across the state like that if you ask me, but they didn`t ask me.

When we left Oregon, we sold the snow tires because obviously they are worth more up there than down here. We had a Subaru station wagon pulling a U-Haul trailer, it was mid-February and we had to make it through the Siskiyou Pass in Northern CA. It was not the most fun part of the 3,000 mile road trip, but it definitely proved to me that if I am ever forced to live in the snow again, I`d get another Subaru in a heartbeat.
 
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