Cleaning Convertible Top

Just bought a used (10k miles) Z4 with a light tan rag top. Any suggestions
on what to use to clean it and possibly water proof it? BMW has its own
line of course but they are some other brand with their logo stamped on it
so the price can triple.

"grinder" <seagle (AT) earthlink (DOT) invalid> wrote

Just bought a used (10k miles) Z4 with a light tan rag top. Any
suggestions on what to use to clean it and possibly water proof it? BMW
has its own line of course but they are some other brand with their logo
stamped on it so the price can triple.

RaggTopp.

I use regular car washing soap and the Raggtopp fabric protectant - but you
may wish to get the Raggtopp cleaner as well. The protectant is simply
sprayed on and works extremely well.

http://www.autogeek.net/rafaca.html?...FU5xFQodtGZ-og

Tom K.

On Sat, 25 Nov 2006 15:36:42 GMT, "grinder" <seagle (AT) earthlink (DOT) invalid>
wrote:

Just bought a used (10k miles) Z4 with a light tan rag top. Any suggestions
on what to use to clean it and possibly water proof it? BMW has its own
line of course but they are some other brand with their logo stamped on it
so the price can triple.

Ditto on RaggTopp, heard many good reviews. BMW's brand is good, too.
You can get two sessions from the BMW bottle of protectant, as it is
mixed with water. I clean our top in the Spring and Fall, but Z4 is
garage-kept. The BNW cleaner works, only use it sparingly.

Bill
Chesapeake, VA

"grinder" <seagle (AT) earthlink (DOT) invalid> wrote

Just bought a used (10k miles) Z4 with a light tan rag top. Any
suggestions on what to use to clean it and possibly water proof it? BMW
has its own line of course but they are some other brand with their logo
stamped on it so the price can triple.

I just use a scrub brush and soapy water to clean the top on my other
convertible. Nothing too rough or too soft, I just need the bristles to get
into the grain of the top material, and into the stitching without damaging
anything.

"Carl McIver" <cmciver (AT) mindspring (DOT) com> wrote

"grinder" <seagle (AT) earthlink (DOT) invalid> wrote in message
news:eqZ9h.3089$sf5.3052 (AT) newsread4 (DOT) news.pas.earthlink.net...
Just bought a used (10k miles) Z4 with a light tan rag top. Any
suggestions on what to use to clean it and possibly water proof it?
BMW
has its own line of course but they are some other brand with their logo
stamped on it so the price can triple.

I just use a scrub brush and soapy water to clean the top on my other
convertible. Nothing too rough or too soft, I just need the bristles to
get
into the grain of the top material, and into the stitching without
damaging
anything.

I've used Autoglym's Cabriolet Hood Cleaner for our soft tops with great
results.
It cleans and then re-proofs the hood and protects it from staining. It's
not cheap - so others
might know of cheaper/better products.
HTH
Steve

"Tom K." <tkorth1 (AT) spamspamcomcast (DOT) net> wrote

"grinder" <seagle (AT) earthlink (DOT) invalid> wrote in message
news:eqZ9h.3089$sf5.3052 (AT) newsread4 (DOT) news.pas.earthlink.net...
Just bought a used (10k miles) Z4 with a light tan rag top. Any
suggestions on what to use to clean it and possibly water proof it? BMW
has its own line of course but they are some other brand with their logo
stamped on it so the price can triple.


RaggTopp.

I use regular car washing soap and the Raggtopp fabric protectant - but
you may wish to get the Raggtopp cleaner as well. The protectant is
simply sprayed on and works extremely well.

http://www.autogeek.net/rafaca.html?...FU5xFQodtGZ-og

Tom K.

Thanks. Amazon has it for sale at a better price. One review said it
worked great after trial and error while the other review REALLY panned it.

The power washer at my local car wash does a pretty good job of
cleaning my top - '98 M3. I just let it air dry. But it sounds like I
should be using something after washing.....

grinder wrote:

"Tom K." <tkorth1 (AT) spamspamcomcast (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:FcmdnSXz0NiXF_XYnZ2dnUVZ_uqdnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...

"grinder" <seagle (AT) earthlink (DOT) invalid> wrote in message
news:eqZ9h.3089$sf5.3052 (AT) newsread4 (DOT) news.pas.earthlink.net...
Just bought a used (10k miles) Z4 with a light tan rag top. Any
suggestions on what to use to clean it and possibly water proof it? BMW
has its own line of course but they are some other brand with their logo
stamped on it so the price can triple.


RaggTopp.

I use regular car washing soap and the Raggtopp fabric protectant - but
you may wish to get the Raggtopp cleaner as well. The protectant is
simply sprayed on and works extremely well.

http://www.autogeek.net/rafaca.html?...FU5xFQodtGZ-og

Tom K.


Thanks. Amazon has it for sale at a better price. One review said it
worked great after trial and error while the other review REALLY panned it.

The power washer at my local car wash does a pretty good job of
cleaning my top - '98 M3. I just let it air dry. But it sounds like I
should be using something after washing.....

grinder wrote:

"Tom K." <tkorth1 (AT) spamspamcomcast (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:FcmdnSXz0NiXF_XYnZ2dnUVZ_uqdnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...

"grinder" <seagle (AT) earthlink (DOT) invalid> wrote in message
news:eqZ9h.3089$sf5.3052 (AT) newsread4 (DOT) news.pas.earthlink.net...
Just bought a used (10k miles) Z4 with a light tan rag top. Any
suggestions on what to use to clean it and possibly water proof it? BMW
has its own line of course but they are some other brand with their logo
stamped on it so the price can triple.


RaggTopp.

I use regular car washing soap and the Raggtopp fabric protectant - but
you may wish to get the Raggtopp cleaner as well. The protectant is
simply sprayed on and works extremely well.

http://www.autogeek.net/rafaca.html?...FU5xFQodtGZ-og

Tom K.


Thanks. Amazon has it for sale at a better price. One review said it
worked great after trial and error while the other review REALLY panned it.

"grinder" <seagle (AT) earthlink (DOT) invalid> wrote

"Tom K." <tkorth1 (AT) spamspamcomcast (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:FcmdnSXz0NiXF_XYnZ2dnUVZ_uqdnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com...

"grinder" <seagle (AT) earthlink (DOT) invalid> wrote in message
news:eqZ9h.3089$sf5.3052 (AT) newsread4 (DOT) news.pas.earthlink.net...
Just bought a used (10k miles) Z4 with a light tan rag top. Any
suggestions on what to use to clean it and possibly water proof it?
BMW has its own line of course but they are some other brand with their
logo stamped on it so the price can triple.


RaggTopp.

I use regular car washing soap and the Raggtopp fabric protectant - but
you may wish to get the Raggtopp cleaner as well. The protectant is
simply sprayed on and works extremely well.

http://www.autogeek.net/rafaca.html?...FU5xFQodtGZ-og

Tom K.


Thanks. Amazon has it for sale at a better price. One review said it
worked great after trial and error while the other review REALLY panned
it.

You are welcome. As I didn't mean to infer that Autogeek had the best

price, I'm glad you found the Amazon site. I read the review that panned it
and it seems that this guy might have used the vinyl protectant on his
boxster's cloth top - which is probably not a good idea. If not, then you
might want to try it out on a small section of your top to see if you have
the same discoloration issue he reported. As I've only used it on black
tops, I haven't had this problem.

Tom K.

On 28 Nov 2006 12:29:46 -0800, "mcquarrie" <00derek (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

The power washer at my local car wash does a pretty good job of
cleaning my top - '98 M3. I just let it air dry. But it sounds like I
should be using something after washing.....

You should be using something else to clean it, too. The idea
behind the top-specific cleaners is to prevent fade, both by using
gentle detergents and adding UV protectants. The second stage products
are to waterproof the top so that a really heavy rain won't soak it
through and cause leaks.
epbrown
--
"Everybody wants a normal life and a cool car;
most people will settle for the car." Chris Titus
2003 BMW 325i Black/Black, 2003 BMW Z4 Black/Black