Been cleaning cabriolets with a soft drill brush for years with great results, but that’s using a cordless drill on low power not a mains drill and it’s clear to see the speed was too high which resulted in the bristles of the brush being over worked and not performing correctly.
Dave another whopper of a video and this was a great video about cleaning a convertible top and using the soft brissel brushes. There are a lot of "youtube" detailers who swear by them and use them on every part of the car. They are very soft and they really don't clean a hole lot of hard surfaces. I use scrub ninja pads on all parts of the car they are so helpful and useful. There are a lot of different ways to clean a top and you are showing us what is effective and safe. Thanks for the video and for making myself a better and a more effective detailer.
Thanks mate, the good thing with these old cars is we can test all types of methods. I want to try a few more next week when we begin our 2 day detail of the mini as we nearly have the bits all back on
For my customers, I normally clean them dry like this with a stiff short brush, a toothbrush for the edges, then wash the full car and gently rinse the roof. Once the body is dried, I then wet vac the roof to dry it 90% of the way, then either use Fabsil Gold or Dodo Juice Fabricadabra to add some protection.
Looking forward to this full detail. This should look 10x better after a good clay and polish. Top tip - Maybe try ceramic soap on the fabric roof after you have cleaned it fully, it really gets into all the nooks and crannies to protect where you otherwise would struggle to apply protection.
I use to a ds3 convertible , I used Auto Glym soft top cleaner and protector , cleaned really well , but ensuring product was washed out throughly and dried was bit of a pain
Very watchable. Great presenter. Glad you put on gloves in the end. Not just chemical on your hands, just take into account your working on bacteria/fungal growth. Any small cut on your hand and you'll get a nasty infection. That's from experience! I agree with your hand brush scenario, you can work the grain of the fibre better than a rotating drill. But you'll never truly get the roof clean without extraction.
i am newbie hear myself. left my stang in the municipal garage and got hit with bird drippings. I don't know what to do lol. NJ her. he is in UK. any thoughts?
On my wife’s convertible I have a wooden soft boar hair brush and it comes up amazing. I gave it a coating of fabric protection but as it’s not driven much it’s not worth spending the money and time on doing it every year.
I love your videos. I bought a fantastic Ava pressure washer with their 10 year warranty and are so much better than any Karcher. My question is I have a 2011 Smart 451 cabriolet. The soft top has developed lichen which I cannot remove. The green algae comes off in the way you show but the algae will not budge. Do you have any suggestions?
I’ve used infinity wax citrus pre wash and brushed over and over on an old Mercedes soft top but it it’s still very green, what next steps can I take to try to remove this?
I am dealing with a 2013 golf soft top with algae spots and frankly other than your pre wash I have carried out all the scrubbing options you have covered plus various detergents, shampoos, toothbrushes and dedicated soft top cleaners and nothing moves green algae spots. Yes, you will get green foamy soap suds etc and light algae over the field areas can be lifted and improved but I have yet to find anything that moves spotting? If your mini roof still looks good when its 100% dry that citrus pre wash is either awesome stuff or your algae isn't engrained? Please feel free to add anything that you think might help I hear Miltons sterilizing fluid can help but thats basically a bleach. Other than that I may experience with steam cleaning??
Slightly off topic, but does a product exist that I can just spray on my carpets without the need to scrub or do anything to them after? They're brand new carpets, and I hover them twice a week so they aren't filthy, something that'll maybe extra clean them, or bring out the colour or make them smell good.
i think I bought my BMW z4 just to clean a rag top roof. I've not deep cleaned it yet, still got a vacuum seal leak somewhere in the M54 engine, but I;m slowly working though it (weather permitting). I did some research, and a tampico brush is very good for upholstery and canvas roofs. the bristles are cactus hair and hydoscopic? They actually get a bit softer when absorbing water and the bristles are fairly long. Also a toothbrush for round the seals and joins, cheap and easily replaceable. I;m sure your aware that renovo and protex should be good at restoring the look of the roof. Porsche still only recommend using raggtop cleaner on their mohair roofs. I;m planning on using TW fabric cleaner and protector on the Z4 when its a bit sunnier in Scotland, but your video of that does not fill me with confidence.
Update on the TW fabric cleaner. Used most of a bottle for a Z4 got 2 runs at it. Dirt and grease remove, tick, heavy stained spots, fail, mould and algae removal, failed. Not worth it for me as the roof is dirt free, but still green and orange :(
My nun has a fiat 500 car like that so I always wash it my self when not out car cleaning other people's. Noboady I do has one like this but its my nanna's car is so thanks for the this video.
@@epicautomotivedetailing Will you be doing a deeper clean of the roof when you come to do the deep clean? Would be great to see the use of a steamer and a bit of extraction on the soft top to see the results. Cheers mate
A llil' off topic perhaps: Why are you not using chemicals that are biodegradable, organic and "soft" on nature instead then? If you're not already 😄😉 The car care industry really has a big achilles heel when it comes to using green(er) solutions. Why do "we" never think about where the left-over product will end up or accumulate?
I have yet to come across a soft top roof but if and when i have now some idea on what to do , i have been asked to clean coke stains of a roof liner ! Wonder if any of these tips will help
Been cleaning cabriolets with a soft drill brush for years with great results, but that’s using a cordless drill on low power not a mains drill and it’s clear to see the speed was too high which resulted in the bristles of the brush being over worked and not performing correctly.
My new favourite car cleaning channel. Authentic, honest, nicely presented, valuable informations. Love it.
Thank you
Dave another whopper of a video and this was a great video about cleaning a convertible top and using the soft brissel brushes. There are a lot of "youtube" detailers who swear by them and use them on every part of the car. They are very soft and they really don't clean a hole lot of hard surfaces. I use scrub ninja pads on all parts of the car they are so helpful and useful. There are a lot of different ways to clean a top and you are showing us what is effective and safe.
Thanks for the video and for making myself a better and a more effective detailer.
Thanks mate, the good thing with these old cars is we can test all types of methods. I want to try a few more next week when we begin our 2 day detail of the mini as we nearly have the bits all back on
I'm so glad I had a hard top convertible rather than a soft top. Still had to be careful on the rubber seals when pressure washing. Great vid xx
Thank you 🙏
Soft top is more beautiful
For my customers, I normally clean them dry like this with a stiff short brush, a toothbrush for the edges, then wash the full car and gently rinse the roof. Once the body is dried, I then wet vac the roof to dry it 90% of the way, then either use Fabsil Gold or Dodo Juice Fabricadabra to add some protection.
At the moment i domt have a wet vac, would that still be an issue when trying to dry it?
@@rs8817 not really, just use a towel and sunshine to dry it. Just means you can work quicker.
Glad to see you're still going mate. Well done.
Hiya mate yeah still going thankfully but it's getting tougher out there
I used all of these... thanks! I used water alone as a cleaning "solution" worked great!
Looking forward to this full detail. This should look 10x better after a good clay and polish. Top tip - Maybe try ceramic soap on the fabric roof after you have cleaned it fully, it really gets into all the nooks and crannies to protect where you otherwise would struggle to apply protection.
I use to a ds3 convertible , I used Auto Glym soft top cleaner and protector , cleaned really well , but ensuring product was washed out throughly and dried was bit of a pain
Very watchable. Great presenter. Glad you put on gloves in the end. Not just chemical on your hands, just take into account your working on bacteria/fungal growth. Any small cut on your hand and you'll get a nasty infection. That's from experience! I agree with your hand brush scenario, you can work the grain of the fibre better than a rotating drill. But you'll never truly get the roof clean without extraction.
Thank you I have no idea why I wasn't gloved up throughout
I have just acquired myself a soft top, which is all new to me, before i attempt the clean i wanted to look up tools and tips, thank you for the video
Can you please elaborate on the products you used? What kind of pre wash is in the bottle and where did you get the brush?
i am newbie hear myself. left my stang in the municipal garage and got hit with bird drippings. I don't know what to do lol. NJ her. he is in UK. any thoughts?
Great video Dave. Lots of useful tips and tricks. 👍
On my wife’s convertible I have a wooden soft boar hair brush and it comes up amazing. I gave it a coating of fabric protection but as it’s not driven much it’s not worth spending the money and time on doing it every year.
Once again another fantastic and informative video Dave
And don't tell Matt you scratch it blame it on Leo lol
Lol thank you mate
I love your videos. I bought a fantastic Ava pressure washer with their 10 year warranty and are so much better than any Karcher. My question is I have a 2011 Smart 451 cabriolet. The soft top has developed lichen which I cannot remove. The green algae comes off in the way you show but the algae will not budge. Do you have any suggestions?
Good one dave a few different options there I suppose it depends on how bad the roof is aswell ,
Pretty interesting to use something else than a APC. Did you dilute the citrus prewash solution?
Great vid ! what is the citrus pre-wash is there a manufacturer?
Thank you it's infinity wax, I've featured it in many other videos
Where can I find the Apple Car play video you did?
I’ve used infinity wax citrus pre wash and brushed over and over on an old Mercedes soft top but it it’s still very green, what next steps can I take to try to remove this?
What is the citrus pre wash
Another good video son, with plenty of sound advice. Dad👍🍺
Cheers Dad
I am dealing with a 2013 golf soft top with algae spots and frankly other than your pre wash I have carried out all the scrubbing options you have covered plus various detergents, shampoos, toothbrushes and dedicated soft top cleaners and nothing moves green algae spots. Yes, you will get green foamy soap suds etc and light algae over the field areas can be lifted and improved but I have yet to find anything that moves spotting? If your mini roof still looks good when its 100% dry that citrus pre wash is either awesome stuff or your algae isn't engrained?
Please feel free to add anything that you think might help
I hear Miltons sterilizing fluid can help but thats basically a bleach. Other than that I may experience with steam cleaning??
Was the pre wash diluted
How important is the Citrus Prewash? Can I expect good results just using my Car Shampoo, or do I need to go shopping?
Pre wash is stronger at breaking down the dirt. Shampoo doesn't have much cleaning power really unfortunately
What is citrus prewash ..?
Slightly off topic, but does a product exist that I can just spray on my carpets without the need to scrub or do anything to them after? They're brand new carpets, and I hover them twice a week so they aren't filthy, something that'll maybe extra clean them, or bring out the colour or make them smell good.
Try cats piss 🤣
Big bomboclaat, spliff a buss inna mi head
@@bestcrazyboy8487 Dors it have to be a cat specifically ?
i think I bought my BMW z4 just to clean a rag top roof. I've not deep cleaned it yet, still got a vacuum seal leak somewhere in the M54 engine, but I;m slowly working though it (weather permitting). I did some research, and a tampico brush is very good for upholstery and canvas roofs. the bristles are cactus hair and hydoscopic? They actually get a bit softer when absorbing water and the bristles are fairly long. Also a toothbrush for round the seals and joins, cheap and easily replaceable. I;m sure your aware that renovo and protex should be good at restoring the look of the roof. Porsche still only recommend using raggtop cleaner on their mohair roofs. I;m planning on using TW fabric cleaner and protector on the Z4 when its a bit sunnier in Scotland, but your video of that does not fill me with confidence.
Update on the TW fabric cleaner. Used most of a bottle for a Z4 got 2 runs at it. Dirt and grease remove, tick, heavy stained spots, fail, mould and algae removal, failed. Not worth it for me as the roof is dirt free, but still green and orange :(
What spray did you used?
How does this differ for vinyl convertible tops?
Very good question thank you. I will get hold of a vinyl roof and explore some possibilities
Thanks for sharing, the Vikan nail brushes are ideal for this type of thing too, what's your thoughts on using the Tornador with water to rinse?
Spoiler alert we will find out next week 😉
@@epicautomotivedetailing aha! 👍
My nun has a fiat 500 car like that so I always wash it my self when not out car cleaning other people's. Noboady I do has one like this but its my nanna's car is so thanks for the this video.
Is this prewash you use the same stuff as TFR/truck wash?
Tfr is caustic so more aggressive on paint
This need a new top😊👍
😀
🙏
@@epicautomotivedetailing Will you be doing a deeper clean of the roof when you come to do the deep clean? Would be great to see the use of a steamer and a bit of extraction on the soft top to see the results. Cheers mate
A llil' off topic perhaps: Why are you not using chemicals that are biodegradable, organic and "soft" on nature instead then? If you're not already 😄😉 The car care industry really has a big achilles heel when it comes to using green(er) solutions. Why do "we" never think about where the left-over product will end up or accumulate?
Maybe because the natural ones don't do the same job
I have yet to come across a soft top roof but if and when i have now some idea on what to do , i have been asked to clean coke stains of a roof liner ! Wonder if any of these tips will help
Yes 100%. If it's just the odd patch try scrub pad first