Having been an advocate for Meguiar’s soft top cleaner, which I do still rate as a ‘off the shelf’ solution (much better than Autoglym) I’ve come across an even more effective and low cost option.
Stage 1, brush the hood and hoover any loose debris out (same as any other process)
Stage 2, soak the top (in sections) in a solution of water and Milton sterilising tablets, leave for 5 mins and then agitate with a brush and rinse thoroughly with clean water (sufficiently firm to work out stains/mould without damaging the material - a soft/medium toothbrush works well) - this will kill mould spores and remove mould stains. Work your way around the whole hood and put it down slightly to enable access to parts of the hood hidden when the roof is fully up!
Stage 3, wash the hood with Johnson’s Baby bath (the blue bottle) - this is very gentle but works brilliantly on soft top hoods after the Milton Steriliser stage, again rinse thoroughly and allow to dry.
(You may need to repeat stage 2 & 3 depending on how bad the hood is to start with)
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Soft top cleaning - low cost and effective
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- Lifer
- Posts: 3223
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2019 2:10 pm
- Location: Bristol/Bath
Soft top cleaning - low cost and effective
Alpina Roadster S Lux no. 204 (1 of 15 uk cars in Alpina Blue)
Previous Z4’s :E89 30i, E89 20i, E85 3.0Si (X4) E85 3.0i, E86 3.0 Si, E85 2.5si, E85 2.5i
Previous Z4’s :E89 30i, E89 20i, E85 3.0Si (X4) E85 3.0i, E86 3.0 Si, E85 2.5si, E85 2.5i
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- Senior Member
- Posts: 2653
- Joined: Sat Apr 15, 2017 5:41 pm
- Location: Lincoln
Soft top cleaning - low cost and effective
Useful info. I am planning to do mine soon so might try this.
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- Lifer
- Posts: 3223
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2019 2:10 pm
- Location: Bristol/Bath
Soft top cleaning - low cost and effective
It’ll cost you a few quid and it worked brilliantly for me. Used this process on the TTS I owned for a bit earlier this year
Alpina Roadster S Lux no. 204 (1 of 15 uk cars in Alpina Blue)
Previous Z4’s :E89 30i, E89 20i, E85 3.0Si (X4) E85 3.0i, E86 3.0 Si, E85 2.5si, E85 2.5i
Previous Z4’s :E89 30i, E89 20i, E85 3.0Si (X4) E85 3.0i, E86 3.0 Si, E85 2.5si, E85 2.5i
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- Senior Member
- Posts: 2653
- Joined: Sat Apr 15, 2017 5:41 pm
- Location: Lincoln
Soft top cleaning - low cost and effective
As soon as we get some decent weather I am going to give mine a clean. We have some soft nail brushes so I’ll pair one of them with a tooth brush.
Cheers
Ian
- Ewazix
- Lifer
- Posts: 4721
- Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Somerset
Soft top cleaning - low cost and effective
The best tip I picked-up from the forum was using a Vax style wet vacuum to remove excess water and lifts an amazing amount of mucky water even after washing carefully
2003 2.5 SE, low miles, Sterling Grey, 108's & Eagles, no stubby here! Unmolested.
2018 Cooper S Countryman
Fiesta Ecoboost
2018 Cooper S Countryman
Fiesta Ecoboost
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- Member
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- Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2022 5:40 pm
Soft top cleaning - low cost and effective
Thanks for the tip! I will definitely give this a try. Have screenshot it just to make sure I can find it again haha