Cleaning Roadster Roof
- Thread starter Jimmy Gee
- Start date
Same here. I'm certainly going to protect it with something and am erring towards advice/recommended products from Detailing World, but that will result in beading. My roof's been covered in the AutoGlym stuff for the past 2 years and doesn't appear to have any ill effects...benlumley said:
...............thats the way BMW designed it so sealing it is a questionable objective
Here's what I posted 18 months ago after some research when someone recommended sealing their roof with Fabsil and others have talked about the great beading they achieve with diffeent sealers.
Might help here:
So the science (lifted from Z4 authors that know a bit about it):
The BMW roof is a multiple layer structure (I refer to the power roof as the manual is thinner and different structure) The outer is 3 layers of polyacrylonitrile fibers, polythene fibers and underneath a butyl rubber layer. Below this polyurethane film and then inside polyethersulfone. In simple terms the outer fibres (the bit you see) reduces noise and cosmetic, the middle is waterproof and inner insulation and soundproof.
Bottom line is that the outer layer is not supposed to be waterproof!!! - it's a permeable layer and you've just defeated one of the key features of how it all works.
Might look good for now but IMHO not a good thing to do to a roof that will cost £1000+ to replace, has to last 10 years + must be flexible and stay good looking.
BMW make a perfect roof protector, as do Ragtopp. These are the top products and the latter is endorsed by pretty much every softtop company and neither of them cause beading of any sort (I know as mine is well treated with it). Tent waterproofers are designed for that - waterproofing a tent, designed to last for a season and usually to stop leaking caused by touching the inside of the canvas (I'm a keen camper and use this stuff on my tents...)
All I can say is stick to the correct stuff and not spray £5 tent protectors on it when the correct stuff is not much more expensive and proven.
Might help here:
So the science (lifted from Z4 authors that know a bit about it):
The BMW roof is a multiple layer structure (I refer to the power roof as the manual is thinner and different structure) The outer is 3 layers of polyacrylonitrile fibers, polythene fibers and underneath a butyl rubber layer. Below this polyurethane film and then inside polyethersulfone. In simple terms the outer fibres (the bit you see) reduces noise and cosmetic, the middle is waterproof and inner insulation and soundproof.
Bottom line is that the outer layer is not supposed to be waterproof!!! - it's a permeable layer and you've just defeated one of the key features of how it all works.
Might look good for now but IMHO not a good thing to do to a roof that will cost £1000+ to replace, has to last 10 years + must be flexible and stay good looking.
BMW make a perfect roof protector, as do Ragtopp. These are the top products and the latter is endorsed by pretty much every softtop company and neither of them cause beading of any sort (I know as mine is well treated with it). Tent waterproofers are designed for that - waterproofing a tent, designed to last for a season and usually to stop leaking caused by touching the inside of the canvas (I'm a keen camper and use this stuff on my tents...)
All I can say is stick to the correct stuff and not spray £5 tent protectors on it when the correct stuff is not much more expensive and proven.
cj10jeeper said:
I've treated my roof with Autoglym which causes beading but from cj10jeeper's post (and others) that would appear to be a wrong move! Has anyone any idea how to remove the Autoglym protector (could I use the AG cleaner that comes in the kit?) - and what 'conditioner' would be best to apply after the AG protector is removed?
What's pissed you off so much? It's only a bit of discussion :roll:wegras said:Oh that " they " will believe you
Cheers cj10jeeper, that's precisely the info I was looking to hear. I know you'd previously said similar when this topic's come up in the past, but I'd never heard the reasoning behind it. Raggtop's what I'm going with but I'm first looking for a good cleaner to remove any lingering AG stuff and generally clean the fabric.
It was worth this discussion because the general view on the "experts" forum (DW) are that the beading ones are the best option. But the Z4 roof is certainly different to most fabric roof designs in the outer layer being designed to be permeable...
I cleaned mine with the BMW cleaner at it has removed all the AG kit protection as my roof no longer beads at all but i still have mildew to shift 
which will not budge the heavy marks seem to shift with the cleaner but light spots you can hardly see are still there so for the mo my roof has no conditioner on it will just keep cleaning every so often with BMW cleaner till i can get it sorted then apply BMW Protection.
which will not budge the heavy marks seem to shift with the cleaner but light spots you can hardly see are still there so for the mo my roof has no conditioner on it will just keep cleaning every so often with BMW cleaner till i can get it sorted then apply BMW Protection.aIIy - yes - it's a very different structure to many roofs and as such shouldn't be treated in the generic manner of other roof types on the market. For my part I simply stick to what the manufacturers recommend of either BMW own or one of the top 2 part cleaner and treatments such as Ragtopp.
Others are welcome to keep all other sealers, fabsils, jet washers, shampoos and scrubbing brushes.
Andmas - I certainly would not try to remove anything on the roof, just leave it and start using different things next time. I'm sure the old stuff will wear off in a few months anyway
Benlumley - I use the convertible cleaner in the hand pump bottle and then the aerosol fabric protector. Came as a kit for mine, but I see them on a few sites as separates.
Others are welcome to keep all other sealers, fabsils, jet washers, shampoos and scrubbing brushes.
Andmas - I certainly would not try to remove anything on the roof, just leave it and start using different things next time. I'm sure the old stuff will wear off in a few months anyway
Benlumley - I use the convertible cleaner in the hand pump bottle and then the aerosol fabric protector. Came as a kit for mine, but I see them on a few sites as separates.
cj10jeeper, yep I think that distinction isn't known on Detailing World - but I suppose unless you owned (or intended detailing) a Z4 you'd not need to know about it. Raggtop it'll be for me sometime soon.
One further query for anyone:
There's a small mark on my roof, almost looks a bit shiny where the fabric's slightly worn looking. It's not drastically bad looking and is only there if you know to look for it, but I've wondered if some sort of fabric reviver such as Renovo Fabric Roof Reviver would help in this case? Obviously followed by a protector such as Raggtop.
Anyone used a fabric reviver before?
One further query for anyone:
There's a small mark on my roof, almost looks a bit shiny where the fabric's slightly worn looking. It's not drastically bad looking and is only there if you know to look for it, but I've wondered if some sort of fabric reviver such as Renovo Fabric Roof Reviver would help in this case? Obviously followed by a protector such as Raggtop.
Anyone used a fabric reviver before?
a11y said:
a11y - I've never used a renovator, so can't say if it's a good or bad idea. A few sentences in the link such as 'consult the mnufacturer' and don't use on 'vinyl impregnated fabric'. Guess it's just a black dye, so am sure it woudl make it look blacker.
Personally I just clean it and use a soft brush on any flattened areas and they look good enough again. I suppose it's all about degrees of problem. If the roof is near new avoid, If it's old and tired then less to worry about.
Has anybody tried the Renovo restorer for the fold marks on their roof?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01_0a1tQY9k[/youtube]
The car they're restoring in the video is a POS!
I'm thinking of dying mine, will probably try to give it a blue tint while I'm at it. 8)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01_0a1tQY9k[/youtube]
The car they're restoring in the video is a POS!
I'm thinking of dying mine, will probably try to give it a blue tint while I'm at it. 8)
I had some fold marks and other weathering marks and the AG upholstery cleaner brought it back like new.