Removing mould / algae from soft top

[Marlon]

Been putting off this job - spots of green mould/algae that have appeared over the last 6 months needed cleaning.
I asked how to treat this on the forum ages ago and the following was the method recommended by most, so had a go this afternoon:

These were the areas that needed looking at - the roof wasn't covered with spores just localised as shown:

Bought a box of these from Boots £1.35

Used 2 tablets in half a bucket of cold water - left them to dissolve for 15 minutes then gave it a good stir

Used a dish brush to go over the whole area and a toot brush to concentrate on the spots:

Half opened the roof to get inside the folds and below the car body:

End result:

Will probably repeat again as a couple of stubborn spores are still very faintly showing, but overall I'd call it a success

 

[MT94]

This is a job I will be doing in the next few weeks might have to try this way on my car as yours has come up l just need a dry weekend which is probably asking a bit much , good job on your car nice to see before and after.
Matt.

 

[flybobbie]

Reason why I wouldn't have another soft top.
I have used bathroom mould killer on a caravan awning, not sure if that would be any good on soft tops.

 

[Gaffa22]

I've used this and it works ok
Admittedly it was on a Honda but i suspect BMW soft top material might be nearly as good

https://www.autoglym.com/convertible-soft-top-clean-protect-complete-kit

 

[Russ59]

I need to give this a go, I gave mine a good scrub on Saturday with soapy water but it's still got faint green marks when you look at certain angles.
Will the strerilising solution stop the green mould coming back or is a short fix?

 

[Gaffa22]

Will the strerilising solution stop the green mould coming back or is a short fix?

With the Autoglym kit the final proofing solution seems to do the trick
mine has not gone green since I cleaned and treated it 3 years ago.
It makes the water bead off like a wax so the algae does not get a chance to grow,
plus it makes it so much easier to keep clean.

 

[Russ59]

Will the strerilising solution stop the green mould coming back or is a short fix?

With the Autoglym kit the final proofing solution seems to do the trick
mine has not gone green since I cleaned and treated it 3 years ago.
It makes the water bead off like a wax so the algae does not get a chance to grow,
plus it makes it so much easier to keep clean.

I've got the Autoglym kit to put on so hopefully that will cure it.
I've also got some black liquid shoe polish to add to it, which I read from a post quite a while ago, says will bring the colour back.

 

[Marlon]

It is worth mentioning that the outer layer is not supposed to be waterproof - it's designed to be porous so the material can fully dry without moisture being trapped.
The second 'butyl' membrane layer takes care of the water-proofing. Many people swear by water-proofers on the outer layer that form beading when it rains but that is not how the Z4 rag tops were designed to work.

 

[jock156]

My job first thing tomorrow morning!

Quick question, retract the roof half way back first or do the roof fully folded then retract?

 

[Marlon]

My job first thing tomorrow morning!

Quick question, retract the roof half way back first or do the roof fully folded then retract?

full roof, then retract and do the folds

 

[jock156]

 

[jock156]

Well that didn’t take too long! To be fair I’m not that impressed. Maybe my expectations were set too high.

Yes it is cleaner but I think I will need to do it again.

 

[Marlon]

Takes a couple of goes and even then there are faint spots left deep in the fabric if you look closely

 

[Eddy Matthews]

Just spent the last few hours giving my roof a clean - Started with Milton fluid and a pan cleaning brush to work it well into the fabric, let it dry and then gave it a good rinse..... The amount of dirty water that came off it was amazing! So much that the whole car now needs a good wash and wax!

I've now just given it a good going over with car shampoo (again using the pan brush to work it into the fabric), and then another good rinse - Even more dirty water all over the car!

So I'll see what it looks like when its dry....

The roof is slightly faded in places anyway, so as long as it looks like all the mould is gone, I'll be giving it a good going over with liquid shoe polish to hopefully restore it to a more even colour - I have to get the old girl looking good for the summer

Regards
Eddy

 

[Eddy Matthews]

The milton fluid etc seems to have done the trick, no sign of any mould/algae now. I was hard work, but well worth the effort.

Just need to get some liquid shoe polish now to finish the job.

Regards
Eddy

 

[noz85]

Just wondering if this milton fluid method (or the autoglym kit) might also be good for removing the green/algea that can build up on the black rubber/felt window trim which is located above the gap in the door where the side windows slide down into..

 

[colb]

Milton soloution gets rid of the green help it along with a small nail brush then rinse with clean water.

 

[jenniferlouise]

Renovo. It’s what all the classic car buffs use. I used it to recolour and seal the roof of an E46 M3. You do need to treat the mould first. Renovo is brilliant stuff though. Then get a sheet to cover the car if it’s outside in the winter.

 

[jenniferlouise]

Renovo. It’s what all the classic car buffs use. I used it to recolour and seal the roof of an E46 M3. You do need to treat the mould first. Renovo is brilliant stuff though. Then get a sheet to cover the car if it’s outside in the winter.

 

[jenniferlouise]

Did I just post that twice??!!?? No idea what I’m doing most of the time! Sorry