Dallas

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jcoates1
[B]Ragg Topp is a fluorochemical product.

jcoates1

I use 303 (not the fabric guard) on occassion. It does help with the water beading and gives it a blacker look. In all honestly it probably provides little uv protection.
I make fabric for convertible tops. Haartz is one of our customers and I visit them a few times a year. They like the Ragg Topp product and the 303 products, but even they will tell you that putting these products on a vinyl top does little, if any, good.
But, neither of these products will do harm so if you like them by all means keep using them.

Dallas

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jcoates1
[B]I use 303 (not the fabric guard) on occassion.

AnDy_PaNdY

If you can get hold of Autoglymn products, their 'bumper care' stuff is amazing.
Apply with a small sponge, keeps the top looking good and beads water nicely.

jcoates1

I asked their R&D folks about protection for my top. They don't really recommend using anything on vinyl. They have a cleaner but it's not a vinyl specific product. Kinda just a general purpose type thing. They don't even spend time analyzing protectants because they don't see a benefit on vinyl tops.

2kturkey

Guys, I honestly have to say - why bother about special cleaners for your vinyl roof?

My S2K is now 2 years old. I have never washed the roof, not even once!!

When I wash the car I deliberately try not to wet the vinyl, I never use soap on it , and if it gets wet then i just use a chamois to dry it.

2 years old and it still looks like new

MarkS2K

2kturkey,

I'm in the same boat as you, but I still use the vinyl cleaner and conditioners. You'd be surprised at how new the top can look after using one of these products.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 2kturkey
[B]Guys, I honestly have to say - why bother about special cleaners for your vinyl roof?

Dallas

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 2kturkey
[B]Guys, I honestly have to say - why bother about special cleaners for your vinyl roof?

heli

vacuum cleaner works very well, you can see the black deepen with only one pass

Dallas

I'm sure that a vac must do a more thorough job than a California Duster. But, I still think that they need to be washed once in a while. I mean, Mother Nature doesn't know or care that our car has a convertible top. When the top is up, it is going to presumably collect as much or more (because of the textured surface) dirt than the top of a hardtop car. I don't know about you, but when I wash a hardtop car, I always wash the top. Never even considered not washing it, any more than I would think about not washing the hood or trunk deck. I'm not sure why a convertible top would need washed any less than a hardtop. The difference may be only that some dirt is less visible on a convertible top. It is my understanding that, over time, imbedded dust is harmful to the fabric of a convertible top. Perhaps that is only true of canvas tops, I'm not sure. Anyhow, I do believe that you can see the difference in the "deepness" of the black after using the cleaner and protectant. If you haven't done so, you owe it to yourself to try it before you decide that it doesn't make any difference. And I'm not pushing Ragg Topp. I like it, but there are others (e.g., Porche) that may be just as good or better. And as has been stated, 303 and similar products may be just as good as far as the cleaner part goes.