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Convertible top maintenance

TasGT

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Curious about actually cleaning the top when you wash your verts. I have recently treated mine with the 303 cleaner and spray. Prior to that, when I washed the car I use a shop-vac with a roof-dedicated brush attachment and vacuum the top. I'll spray water afterwards then use a Chemical Guys horse hair brush and gently clean with my car wash bucket before I use it on the rest of the car. I then rinse then proceed with the rest of the car. I pat dry the top with a clean micro fiber towel then proceed to dry the rest of the car. Note I have had the car 8 months and it's a garage kept weekend driver, so the washes are infrequent.

I did my first 303 treatment a month ago, and still vacuum and rinse, but the water beads so I do not use the car soap. So my question is this, will the 303 Cleaner remove the 303 Protectant or reduce its hydrophobicity if you use it as a cleaner?
Don’t bother with Chemical Guys... 303 and Raggtop, and I’m sure from the post above the Marine stuff are best. I used 303 on the MX5 and 4 years later looks brand new. Switched like an idiot and now I’m going back to 303.
Was just looking at the Chem guys stuff, it says it has a UV protectan, whereas the 303 stuff does not according to a web search it just sustains the fabrics original resistance to UV.
Why do you say don’t bother with the Chem guys stuff, did you find it hard to use or it does not work?
Cheers John
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warthog

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Was just looking at the Chem guys stuff, it says it has a UV protectan, whereas the 303 stuff does not according to a web search it just sustains the fabrics original resistance to UV.
Why do you say don’t bother with the Chem guys stuff, did you find it hard to use or it does not work?
Cheers John
It didn’t last at all. Followed the instructions and all. It was much easier to put on but w/in two weeks it wasn’t repelling the water at all. Didn’t even appear there wasn’t anything on it… probably some was. The 303 lasted me months and constantly repelled the water. Even after washing the car it was… where the CG just stopped very quickly. I love their cleaner though and use many of their products.
 

Reddirocket27

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It didn’t last at all. Followed the instructions and all. It was much easier to put on but w/in two weeks it wasn’t repelling the water at all. Didn’t even appear there wasn’t anything on it… probably some was. The 303 lasted me months and constantly repelled the water. Even after washing the car it was… where the CG just stopped very quickly. I love their cleaner though and use many of their products.
Agrees. 303 tonneau and convertible protectant is just that, a water repelling solution. They do have products with UV specific ingredients, however when properly applied, I find it lasts about 3 months, maybe 4 with little rain. I don't mind spending an hour every season to deep clean, then protect the fabric. The seems are most important.
 

TasGT

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Agrees. 303 tonneau and convertible protectant is just that, a water repelling solution. They do have products with UV specific ingredients, however when properly applied, I find it lasts about 3 months, maybe 4 with little rain. I don't mind spending an hour every season to deep clean, then protect the fabric. The seems are most important.
Cheers guys 303 it is then 👍🏻
 

Reddirocket27

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I'm thinking that the mfgs of the top fabric along with Ford requirements far exceeds the performance of an off the shelf coating that's not proven compatible with the top fabric chemical composition.....anyone have any thoughts on this?
... what
 

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Intrepid175

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I'm thinking that the mfgs of the top fabric along with Ford requirements far exceeds the performance of an off the shelf coating that's not proven compatible with the top fabric chemical composition.....anyone have any thoughts on this?
Care to be more specific about what you're talking about? 303, RaggTopp, and West Marine products have been around for a long time now and I've never heard of any incompatibility issue on modern top materials. I've used 303 and West Marine on my 2016 GT convertible and both performed very well.
 

TasGT

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If you are spending more than 10 minutes masking/protecting you are doing it wrong. Just trap thin plastic under top, add couple pieces to side/back and mask rear window.

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Brilliant idea, many thanks. So easy and the 2 ultra thin plastic painting drop sheets were just $1.50 each . 🏆👍🏻
 

#1ford

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Does 303 help with taking away light wrinkles
 

#1ford

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Johnnybee

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Agreed on the sunshine. Probably the best way to get them out is to wash the car and then let it dry out in the sun.
 

JCFoster

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I'm thinking that the mfgs of the top fabric along with Ford requirements far exceeds the performance of an off the shelf coating that's not proven compatible with the top fabric chemical composition.....anyone have any thoughts on this?
I agree, my top is five years old. The stuff others use to make it more repellent isn’t required.
 

Intrepid175

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I agree, my top is five years old. The stuff others use to make it more repellent isn’t required.
May not be absolutely required but my experience suggests to me that it's not hurting anything and I like the fact that it helps the fabric shed water. I can't imagine that being a bad thing. Ultimately, only time will tell.
 

Johnnybee

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I agree, my top is five years old. The stuff others use to make it more repellent isn’t required.
For me the extra repellancy is worth the application. My first couple of winters I had done the top late in the fall and it shed the salt very well. For 20/21 I didn’t get to it and relied on the mid-summer application. Did not work nearly as well and I had salt staining to deal with in the spring. This year I made sure I got two coats on close together, the last one in October, as I expect to be back in the office in the new year and back to typical exposure. I feel it helps for this, dirt and bird poop. I’m not really putting it on for water. I guess it depends on what everybody’s car is exposed to as to the value of these products.
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